APAS – the Association of Public Authority Surveyors in NSW – was formed in 1994 to cater for needs of professionals in the surveying and spatial information industries working within state and local government and the education sector. Their membership website was outdated in appearance and provided no functional advantage to the management and maintenance of the membership and events, requiring a lot of time spent by committee volunteers.
We worked with the APAS committee to upgrade their membership site to become an attractive and functional membership hub, more in keeping with their professional status and finally empowering the committee to offer online membership renewals and event bookings to the members whilst drastically reducing the time required by volunteers.
One year after launching their upgraded site at www.apas.org.au we asked for their general impressions and feedback on the overall experience. The response below is verbatim as received by the APAS President responsible at the time (Thomas Grinter, Deputy Surveyor General of NSW).
- Why did you update your website?
We had a very basic website based on a template and maintained by volunteers from our committee. We wanted to move towards online membership and event payments as well as provide an accessible and aesthetic overview of our organisation and the professional development and networking events that we organise.
- How did you find Mark’s service? Communication? Advice? Responsiveness?
Mark has been thorough, patient, attentive and hard working right from the start. We all know dealing with a committee when trying to get something done can be difficult but Mark’s proactive approach, regular communication, sage advice and quick responses ensured that we had a website up and running for our membership renewal process and conference last year. These same attributes have also resulted in constant improvement of the website throughout the year and we feel the website booking process for our most recent event significantly contributed to a full house and a successful night.
- What was the best part of your site upgrade?
The best part of the site upgrade was finding Mark. The process went smoothly and was a success due to Mark driving it. His ability to move us onto an online environment in the time frame and to continually make improvements has been greatly appreciated by the committee.
- Are you happy with the new site design and layout?
The committee and members are very happy with the new website design and layout. It utilises member photos and has a highly professional appearance and practical layout. Functionally it has worked very well.
- Does your new site benefit the APAS committee?
The new website is of great benefit to the committee in automating what were previously manual tasks as well as making a lot of information usually held by one committee member accessible to all members who require access. It also enables greater collaboration within the committee. Mark’s support to committee members, helping to administer the website has helped us to improve processes and eased our transition onto an online environment.
- Does your new site benefit the members?
The new website has vastly improved the membership experience, especially in terms of payment, notifications and accessibility. These improvements have received positive communication from our members that have used our new and improved website to renew their membership and book our annual events.
- Do you feel your new site may attract new members?
While we have a limited membership base to draw from we do feel the professional appearance and functionality of our new website will help us to attract new members, maintain existing members and keep in contact with past members and event guests well into the future. Basically we think it will help us to attract new people and to keep them coming back.
- Would you recommend Mark to other organisations?
Yes we would highly recommend Mark. He is professional, hardworking and a great person to have on your side. Whilst Mark’s technical skills have created a site that is functional and aesthetically appealing, Mark’s dedication and communication has been the real defining feature of what has been a very worthwhile relationship for our organisation.