CNGA members recently completed a 20-question survey to provide feedback on a variety of association programs and activities. This information is being used by the Board of Directors to help plan for future growth and program improvement as part of the CNGA’s long range planning process. Below is a summary of the survey results, showing the key percentages of the 67 responses received.
Q1: How many CNGA events do you attend each year?
- 49% Just one or two
- 41% Three or more
- 8% I don’t attend any
Q2: What are the key reasons if you don’t attend any?
- 58% I’m too busy
- 41% Too far to travel
- 11% I don’t get any value from them
Q3: What value do you receive from the Buyers Expo?
- 37% Little/No Value
- 46% Moderate/Some Value
- 16% High Value
Q4: What value do you receive from the CHREF Golf Tournament?
- 68% Little/No Value
- 28% Moderate/Some Value
- 2% High Value
Q5: What value do you receive from the Horticulture Leadership Retreat?
- 53% Little/No Value
- 26% Moderate/Some Value
- 19% High Value
Q6: Do you regularly attend ProGreen EXPO?
- 77% Yes
- 23% No
Q7: If you don’t regularly attend ProGreen EXPO, why?
(Note: these are the percentages of people who responded ‘No’ to Q6)
- 10% It’s the same every year/there’s nothing new for me
- 5% for each It’s too expensive/I’m too busy/It’s too far to travel
Q8: What are your top three favorite CNGA programs?
- 68% ProGreen EXPO
- 50% Member BBQs
- 40% Women in Horticulture Luncheon
- 26% Plant Walk
- 26% Industry Celebration
- 22% Buyers Expo
Q9: Should there be more women focused events/programs?
- 67% Yes
- 33% No
Q10: What should the focus of women-focused events/programs?
(Note: these are the percentages of people who responded ‘Yes’ to Q9)
- 37% Educational
- 22% Social
Q11: How often should women focused events/programs be offered?
(Note: these are the percentages of people who responded ‘Yes’ to Q9)
- 56% Two times/year
- 10% Four times/year
Q12: What education format do you prefer?
- 79% In person/Classroom
- 17% Online
Q13: Have you viewed any of CNGA’s online training videos?
- 74% No
- 26% Yes
Q14: If you have viewed the online training videos, how valuable are they to you/your staff?
(Note: these are the percentages of people who responded ‘Yes’ to Question #13)
- 13% High Value
- 13% Moderate/Some Value
- 4% Little/No Value
Q15: If you have not viewed the training videos, why?
(Note: these are the percentages of people who responded ‘Yes’ to Q13)
- 46% I didn’t know CNGA had online training videos
- 14% I don’t have time
- 11% The content is not relevant to me
Q16: What areas of education would you be interested in learning more about?
- 65% Operations (growing, irrigation, disease/pest control, inventory management)
- 61% Product Information (new plants/supplies, technical reports, structures)
- 43% Sales (training your sales force, outside/inside sales, marketing, customer retention)
- 43% Labor (retention, team building, time management, managing people)
- 43% Water Management (laws, water sources, costs, conservation practices)
- 40% Legislation (new laws impacting my business)
Q17: Is CNGA meeting your needs?
- 89% Yes
- 11% No
Q18: What key issues/business problems require your attention the most?
- 56% Inflation and Price Increases
- 53% Labor Issues
- 47% Planning for Environmental/Weather Uncertainties
- 46% Inventory Management
- 35% Supply Chain
- 34% Drought and Water Supplies
Q19: Would you like to see additional professional certifications that are more specialized – for example a Certified Container Grower or Certified Plant Propagator?
- 71% Yes
- 29% No
Q20: How often do you visit the CNGA website?
- 59% A few times/year
- 28% Once or twice/month
- 10% Weekly
Please provide any additional comments on how CNGA can improve the value of your membership.
Responses:
“Being more accessible to people all over Colorado, and not just catering to the front range.”
“Online is great, but does not compare to in person classes/events.”
“I would like to take the CCNP class, but it is only offered online for me.”
“Would love to have more in-person workshops, maybe even a spring workshop, even though it may be challenging as places get busy for the summer growing season.”
“I would love to see events that brought CNGA members together for education and social reasons. Years ago ALCC had events like this- held at a restaurant, with a speaker. Those were very informative events plus we had time to socialize.”
“Being on the Western Slope, it is more difficult to attend some events. More events on this side of the state and specific to our more rural environment would be appreciated.”
“Surveys like this can lead to false results. Yes/No answers and pick only this number of answers really don’t reveal real feelings. You need to take these topics and talk to the members to get their real feelings, needs, and what is important.”
“The email newsletter and bulletins are great.”
“ProGreen is tired and has been the same for 15 years. I don’t need to buy bobcats and tractors. I want to learn about plants and not showy cultivars of petunias. We have some of the coolest plants in the world endemic to Colorado. Let’s grow them.”
“It needs to stay fresh. The younger folks seem to love the online, computer ways of doing things.”
“I am pretty low on the totem pole, so I am unable to go to the Buyers Expo, CHREF golf tournament (wouldn’t anyways, don’t play.), and Hort Leadership retreat. Maybe you can give some tickets away to not bosses or owners?”
“I do value being a member of CNGA. There are many things that I cannot attend because of the distance for me to travel and time constraints. More online learning would be awesome for me.”
“Certified plant propagator sounds awesome.”
“CNGA has lost significant momentum and relevance in the past few years. I believe the reasons for this are multifaceted, but the primary reason is that the CNGA staff no longer ventures out of the CNGA offices (except for CNGA events) to go “on the road” to visit member organizations, shake hands, see firsthand the operations and get to know the owners personally beyond occasional conversations at industry events. Our previous executive director Sharon Harris would travel often with CNGA board members on visits to member organization sites to talk with leadership to keep their finger on the pulse of the members. The current status of the CNGA (except for the Women in Hort event) shows signs of very concerning low levels of participation. I think CNGA needs a serious “face-lift” in terms of member engagement and overall charisma of the staff. You’ve been doing the same thing for years now and it’s time to re-think strategies because your members are losing interest.”
