IPMA Sells Its Office, Goes 'Virtual'

With its international conference a month away, the International Publishing Management Association has made several major changes to the way it operates.

By Bob Neubauer

The IPMA has relocated—into cyberspace.

In just a few short months the International Publishing Management Association has gone from having a staffed headquarters building to existing on a server accessed by employees working from scattered home offices.

In late February the group sold its headquarters building in Liberty, Mo., and moved its business files to a hosting site in Arizona. At the same time, it implemented new software designed for association management.

This experiment in virtual management will not only cut costs, says Carol Kraft, chief operating officer, but improve efficiency and information sharing for the 41-year-old association.

"We have to think of better ways for us to be able to communicate with one another in order to have an association like IPMA be of value to people," she says.

When IPMA moved its office from New Orleans to Liberty in the mid-1980s it had a full staff of nine.

"That's when we did everything manually," says Kraft, who works from a home office in Minneapolis.

But as computers reduced some of the workload, staff size decreased, and the world's largest association for in-plants found itself supporting a 3,200-square-foot building for just two full-time employees and one part-timer in recent years. When one of them, Office Manager Jeff Langford, left a few months ago, it was time to take action.

So Kraft and the IPMA board discussed the possibility of selling the building and running the association "virtually." There was just one small problem: accessing the digital files.

Antiquated Systems

Over the years, a patchwork of home-grown systems had evolved at IPMA headquarters. Staff was able to find what it needed, but the setup was far from perfect.

"I could not access our files from Minnesota," Kraft says. When she needed information she had to call and have it sent to her. Not only that, IPMA's server was seven years old and not very fast or secure.

So Kraft went on a hunt and discovered AssociationEZ, a division of Epsilonium Systems. The firm could store IPMA's files on a secure server, backed up nightly, and provide password-protected access. In addition, its association management software would greatly enhance IPMA's services, giving easy access to the membership directory, prospective member data, job postings and much more.

"It's really fast," exclaims Kraft. "Much faster than what we had before."

With this in hand, IPMA put its Liberty headquarters up for sale. In just 30 days it sold, leaving staff in a scramble to sort paper records and move furniture into storage.

This sale of the building also had an effect on the In-Print 2005 contest, a partnership between IPMA and IPG. For the past two years contest judging had taken place at the building, and this was where entries were being mailed this year. Kraft loaded most of them in her car and drove them up to Minnesota, where she secured storage space at the BlueCross BlueShield of Minnesota facility, her former employer. Later entries were rerouted to a different address in Missouri, then shipped to BlueCross, where judging took place in April.

IPMA has kept its phone and fax numbers, as well as its general e-mail address. Faxes, however, are now being routed to Epsilonium Systems, where they are digitized and sent to Kraft as e-mails.

So far, Kraft says, all IPMA files have been moved to the hosting site, and she is starting to use the new software. She likes the fact that she can now enter the name of a prospect or a new member, and chapter presidents will have instant access to that information. Automatic notices of chapter meetings can be sent out to both members and prospects.

"We can start marketing much differently and much better than we had been marketing to those prospects," she notes.

There are other benefits of Association EZ software, as well:

• IPMA's treasurer will be able to log in and see the latest financial data.

• IPMA can have a stronger and more interactive Web site.

• Members can sign up for events (local and international) online.

• A job board will allow members to post openings and announcements.

• Members will get automated renewal and certification notices.

• Chapters can integrate better with the international system.

Kraft feels IPMA's information is much better off being stored at the hosting site in Arizona.

"They do a backup for us every single night," she says. "They provide our disaster recovery plan."

Changes In Member Leadership

While these changes were taking place at the association management level, IPMA's member leadership was also undergoing a bit of a shakeup. International President Bruce Hunzeker retired early from this role after assuming a new position with his employer, the State of Nebraska, that took him out of printing. As a result, president-elect John Hurt, of Oklahoma Gas and Electric, became president on April 1.

A runoff election for the president-elect position had members choosing via e-mail between Larry Clements, of Redlands Community College, and Mike Loyd, from Louisiana State University. (At press time we learned Loyd won the vote.)

Currently, Kraft and the rest of the IPMA leadership are putting the final touches on this year's conference, to take place June 26-29 at Oak Brook Hills Resort in Suburban Chicago. The main focus will be on technology changes impacting the industry, Kraft says.

Though the sale of its headquarters building and the move to a virtual office structure may seem drastic, the digitization of IPMA's services has been happening for years:

• IPMA's e-mail listserv has virtually replaced the traditional monthly chapter meeting as a way for members to consult with one another.

• The group has moved from a printed monthly newsletter to a biweekly e-mail version.

• IPMA's Web site has been offering white papers and educational materials previously only available at its conferences.

The new virtual management structure, Kraft says, is right in line with trends like these.

"This, to me, is just an advancement of that kind of communication," she says.