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| Client Case Studies |
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Transition from a Management Company
The American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (AALNC)
AALNC is a nonprofit organization of more than 3,700 members, dedicated to the professional advancement of registered nurses practicing in a consulting capacity in the legal field. Founded in 1989, AALNC serves as a resource to its members and provides a forum for education and the exchange of information.
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| Challenge: |
AALNC made the decision to move to SmithBucklin about two months prior to their annual conference. The plan was to transition management of the conference following the event. Two weeks into the headquarters transition, however, the AALNC board requested that SmithBucklin manage the conference. |
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| Solution: |
In light of this decision, the transition plan was revised to realize dual objectives: 1) the planning and execution of a successful conference; and, 2) the creation of an efficient and effective operational and service model. Immediately, the transition team leaders met with the heads of SmithBucklin's service units to identify and assign those employees best qualified for both tasks.
With an experienced conference team in place, the daunting task of managing a conference in an abbreviated timeframe became a professional challenge the SmithBucklin team enthusiastically tackled. Energies were divided between managing the logistics of the meeting and the marketability of the program. Past attendance and satisfaction trends were reviewed, along with the organization's financial position to create a cost-effective promotional effort toward target audiences. This effort resulted in one of AALNC's highest attended meetings and AALNC exceeded its revenue budgets for both registration and commercial support. Additionally, this meeting was the best rated by meeting attendees in AALNC history.
Over the same 10-week period, a dedicated team managed AALNC's transition from its prior management firm. The goal was to not only move AALNC's base of operation from point A to point B, but establish an infrastructure that best leveraged the association's resources and was responsive to its members and external market. To create a system specifically tailored to AALNC's needs, the team went through a diagnostic exercise focusing on key areas to AALNC's business.
The following areas were examined:
Internal Systems
- What type of environment is required to provide the resources needed for smooth operations?
- What procedures are needed to coordinate work and information flow appropriate to the tasks, technology and environmental constraints of AALNC?
- What technology can be employed to facilitate operations, improve communications and optimize outputs?
- What kinds of administrative practices are needed to bridge AALNC with its members and with outside audiences?
Financial
- What levels of liquidity are needed to cover short-term and long-term expenses?
- What are the limits to AALNC's continued growth? (e.g., saturation, competition)
- What is AALNC's cash flow position?
- How financially flexible is AALNC?
External Market
- Is the demand for current products and services changing and/or are there outside developments on the horizon which could affect demand?
- Do AALNC's products and services meet the expectations of its members and/or other constituents?
- What types of strategic alliances can be forged with related organizations to further AALNC's strategic positioning?
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| Results: |
At the end of the 10-week period, AALNC was able to seamlessly transition its operations to SmithBucklin without any disruption in service. Moreover, AALNC saw improvements in its core services through quicker turnaround times for member deliverables and product fulfillment, enhanced communication, and consolidated administrative expenses.
Within six months after coming to SmithBucklin, AALNC had a new marketing plan, a redesigned Web site ready to launch, a comprehensive membership plan and commercial support sales strategy.
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