Here we speak to Stephanie Field, Senior Director, Global Society Operations, CFA Institute, to learn more about her role and the direction of Society Operations and technology.
Many society leaders will know you from your 22 years at CFA Society Boston. How has your time at the local society helped in your role as Senior Director, Global Society Operations, CFA Institute?
During my 22 year tenure at CFA Society Boston, I served in a variety of roles, most recently as Chief Operating Officer. My experience of working with members, candidates, volunteers, Board members, and external stakeholders–such as institutions and universities–has given me a deep understanding of the power and value of the CFA Society® network.
By partnering with the CFA Society community, my goal is to use this experience to help define the operational and business needs of societies and deliver cost-effective solutions that will help societies to reduce technology costs, focus on strategic initiatives, and deliver member value.
What have you learned since joining CFA Institute that has perhaps surprised you or that informs your confidence in your ability to bring value to the society network?
As a former society staff member, I’m aware of the importance of effective society technology solutions. Since joining CFA Institute in April, I’ve had the time and opportunity to really delve into the organization’s overall technology strategy under new CIO, Marty Colburn, and his team. Their fresh, sensible approach to data governance, enterprise-wide efficiencies, and holistic solutions that serve multiple internal clients, as well as societies, gives me great confidence in our ability to deliver the right solutions.
It is also rewarding to get to know the staff at CFA Institute from this side of the fence. There are so many hard-working individuals here who truly care about the success of our candidates, members, volunteers, and societies.
Based on the current financial environment and the roll out of the new strategy, what are your key goals for Society Operations and technology?
As CFA Institute embarks on a new strategy, Society Operations has identified an opportunity to re-imagine how we serve and support our CFA Society network. We are evaluating the current society technology roadmap and re-prioritizing our goals and resources to ensure that we have the right support and capacity in place.
To create a cohesive, integrated stakeholder experience, we are focusing on the following functional capabilities:
- Member Profile – develop single sign on that enables integrated member and customer attributes. This will drive user personalization and help leverage both local and global offerings.
- Event Management – develop the capability to manage event registration and distribution at both the local and global level. This information will also be captured at the member profile level, helping societies understand member engagement.
- Content Development – leverage insights on the member journey to drive content creation and delivery at both the local and global level. This will also give societies an opportunity to increase the scale and diversify the product portfolio.
- Customer and Lead Management – develop the capability to manage and analyze interactions with local and global past, current, and potential customers and partners. This will give societies the opportunity to coordinate efforts at both the local and global levels.
- Marketing and Communications – develop the capability to assist societies with their marketing efforts by coordinating messaging and best practices with CFA Institute. This will allow societies to gain insights into effective market segmentation.
- Reporting – develop the ability to access and capture relevant member data to conduct appropriate analysis, which in turn will lead to more effective decision making.
How will you partner with the CFA Society network to achieve these goals?
The CFA Society network has a deep understanding of local markets and is best positioned to build meaningful relationships with stakeholders that strengthen local relevance and influence. Together, CFA Institute and societies can build a more agile, resilient network that serves both local markets and our global community.
To this end, a consolidation and integration of the systems at both the CFA Institute level and society level are critical for understanding member services and local innovation. This service level model also has the potential to create a seamless experience for both societies and members as they progress through the journey at both the global and local level, as well as reduce technology and operational costs at the local level.
We will continue to seek input from XL societies, the wider network, and individual societies on their needs and the vision for an integrated member experience. Society Operations is prepared to bring its capabilities and skills to the full network to achieve these goals. We are partnering with all areas of CFA Institute, especially IT, to ensure success and look forward to working on building on our partnership with the CFA Society network.
What changes can the CFA Society community expect to see in the short-term?
The CFA Society community can expect a more intentional approach to onboarding and training on the various platforms available to them. This will be in the form of readiness assessments, gap analysis, requirement reviews, training needs, and clear schedule. In light of the current financial environment, it is imperative that we also evaluate the usage of all our platforms to ensure equity and effectiveness. Societies can expect usage parameters around these platforms and intentional conversations around adoption. Lastly, societies can expect a commitment to consistent messaging and updates on data and solutions work from Society Operations in conjunction with IT.
What’s next for Society Operations?
We recognize that societies may be addressing operational and financial changes brought on by the current environment. I believe there is an opportunity to help societies use the tools available to them through CFA Institute to bring technology into alignment with their mission. I look forward to re-imagining Society Operations and its role to one of business partner so that staff and volunteers can focus on delivering value to members and constituents.
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