Lubricating the Well-Oiled Machine—
CAS Committee Focuses on Volunteers

"Members serving members" is an unwritten motto of the CAS. Consider that in 2000, CAS published 32 papers in the Proceedings, Forums, and the Discussion Paper Program.  Think about the thousands of hours members have devoted to preparing professional, well-run, and informative meetings and seminars, which, in turn, have given other CAS members the opportunities to earn hundreds of hours of continuing education credits over the years.  And what about our future members? In 2000 CAS created and graded four spring exams and two fall exams that all together were administered to a total of 2,428 candidates.   Now consider these numbers: 56 committees, 12 publications, 14 Regional Affiliates, and 12 meetings and seminars a year.   They're all made possible by an army of volunteers who work closely with our dedicated professional staff.  Their unheroic, day-to-day activities keep the CAS healthy, cohesive, and strong.

The CAS has a far greater percentage of member involvement than most organizations.  Almost 40 percent of all CAS members make some sort of unpaid contribution to the CAS. The actuaries who plan, organize, publicize, and conduct our meetings and seminars are volunteers.  The actuaries who speak at those meetings and seminars are volunteers.  CAS officers and Regional Affiliate officers are volunteers.  Volunteers write articles and papers, and volunteers edit those works and provide them to you in the CAS publications. Volunteers serve as CAS representatives to the American Academy of Actuaries and other actuarial organizations.  And there were 56 different CAS committees last year, staffed by a total of 734 volunteer committee members!

How does the CAS recruit this efficient army of volunteers and make it operate at peak levels?  The Committee on Volunteer Resources (COVR) is responsible for this.  This group of volunteers focuses on the volunteering process and the volunteers themselves.  In its short history (the committee was first formed as a task force in 1997), COVR has learned much about the process of volunteering inside the CAS.

In 1999, COVR designed and implemented a New Member Mentoring Program.  This program provides new Associates and new Fellows with the opportunity to be connected with an experienced Fellow who can answer questions and offer guidance during the new member's first year.

The Participation Survey

COVR administers the annual Participation Survey, which is the major tool that the CAS uses to identify and involve its members in the work of the committees. Every summer, the CAS sends its members a Participation Survey to fill out and return. After the survey is complete, the names of members who expressed interest in a listed activity are forwarded to the appropriate committee chairs. The chairs recruit new members for their committees during September and October.

Some survey respondents felt frustrated by the participation survey process a few years ago, because no one contacted them. COVR changed the recruiting process, and committee chairs are now responsible for contacting every member who indicates a high level of interest (the top survey response) in serving on a particular committee. Beginning this year, COVR will also keep track of committee openings during the year, increasing the odds that interested members get an opportunity to serve.

The Members' Concerns

Last year, the response rate to the Participation Survey dropped. In an effort to understand this result, COVR conducted a series of interviews with CAS members. COVR gained significant insights from these interviews:

• Many Fellows are reluctant to put time into volunteer activities on top of a heavy workload.
• Most Associates spend their "free time" studying, but they also do not feel as if they are really encouraged to volunteer.

Thus, COVR found a significant amount of untapped interest by the membership in volunteering.

The Committee's Actions

COVR has been active in responding to these concerns. COVR has alerted the committee chairs to the concern about workloads. The chairs have been asked to staff and prioritize so that their committee members do not feel burdened by their committee responsibilities.

COVR has also asked committee chairs to examine the role of Associates on their committees and to encourage Associates to contribute. Associates are indeed welcome and encouraged to volunteer. Obviously, we expect fewer Associates than Fellows to be involved in the committee work.

COVR recently established a task force to examine the present Participation Survey process and redesign it to make it more user-friendly, easier-to-complete, more informative, and completely electronic.

COVR believes that the recruiting and placement process can be improved further. COVR also believes that the volunteer experience must be a positive one. Work will continue to bring about improvements along both dimensions.

COVR's Priorities for 2001

In response to the biggest concerns of the members, COVR has undertaken a number of actions to make the process better. These include:

• Assisting committee chairs with the staffing process, including addressing workload concerns.
• Recommending that a formal volunteer recognition program be established. Members who offer their time and talents in the advancement of the CAS deserve recognition and thanks.

The 2001 Participation Survey is scheduled for release in June. We want everyone to return one, even if the answer is "not now."

***

To contact the committee for any reason, please e-mail Roger Schultz at RSC13@allstate.com or call him at (847) 402-6226.

COVR's Charge The Committee on Volunteer Resources is responsible for reviewing volunteer involvement in the CAS and recommending ways to increase volunteer involvement and improve member satisfaction with CAS methods for utilizing volunteers.
Committee Members
Roger Schultz, Chairperson	Regina Berens
Chris Carlson	Paul Cochran
Bob Conger, ex-officio	Jerry Degerness
Roberta Garland	Ted Kuss
Jeanne Swanson	Todd Rogers, Staff Liaison