Membership Survey Shows High Satisfaction

Last year, CAS members were asked to complete the 2003 CAS Membership Survey, and the response rate was incredible. More than 52 percent of the membership (1,934 members) submitted a completed questionnaire. (For comparison purposes, 32 percent of the membership responded in 1998 and 41 percent responded in 1993.) Before the Membership Survey Task Force even had a chance to analyze the responses to survey questions, one message was loud and clear—CAS members are strongly interested in the future direction of the organization.

The Membership Survey Task Force has completed its report and is pleased to share the survey results with the membership.  

The survey results offer a great deal of positive news for the CAS. For starters, when asked to rate their overall satisfaction with the CAS, more than 80 percent of the respondents indicated that they were very satisfied or satisfied. In addition to asking about overall satisfaction, the survey asked about satisfaction with five specific aspects of the CAS. CAS staff garnered the highest satisfaction ratings, followed by communications/publications, and meetings/professional education. Ratings for committee chairs and the leadership were somewhat lower, although still very high as shown on the chart.

Although satisfaction levels were high, responses offered insights into areas of the CAS needing improvement, such as in its communication efforts. For example, while a large majority of the respondents felt that CAS research was useful and valuable, less than 20 percent felt that they were well aware of the research that was performed or sponsored by the CAS. And while many respondents took the time to suggest improvements to the Web site, many of the suggestions have already been implemented, indicating the need for greater education of members about the offerings of the Web site.

A positive observation from the survey is the fact that the CAS leadership has already begun to address some of the issues that are important to the membership. For example, the respondents reacted favorably to the changes made to the election process in 2002. Furthermore, the CAS Board has formed two task forces to address voting and other rights of Associates, which was an area that generated many comments from respondents.

The CAS has also formed a Task Force on Publications, which provided several of the questions that appeared on the survey. The responses indicated that the CAS should strive to maintain some form of refereed journal and should concentrate on improving the overall organization of CAS papers and the quality of nonrefereed papers.

Because the CAS Membership Survey is conducted every five years, the Membership Survey Task Force was able to examine the results of the 2003 survey against responses from 1998 and 1993. The Task Force was surprised by a trend that indicated an increase in the proportion of respondents involved in the traditional actuarial activities of ratemaking and reserving. At the same time, there is a decline in membership involvement in the areas of executive management, strategic and financial planning, marketing, and underwriting. Based on these findings, the Task Force has recommended that the CAS further explore the apparent downward trend of CAS members in executive management and nontraditional positions.

The Membership Survey Task Force offers 11 other recommendations in its report that touch on professionalism, general business skills, Regional Affiliates, the CAS Web Site, and other areas. The report has been accepted by the CAS Board of Directors, and the Board has charged the CAS Executive Council with considering the recommendations and taking appropriate action.

The Task Force extends its thanks to the CAS members who took the time to respond to the survey and encourages members to read the full report on the CAS Web Site or in an upcoming issue of the CAS Forum.

Editor's note: In addition to Chairperson Joanne Spalla, members of the Membership Survey Task Force include Roger M. Hayne, Douglas W. Oliver, Stephen W. Philbrick, Alessandrea C. Quane, James B. Rowland, and staff liaisons Todd P. Rogers and J. Michael Boa.