CFA Society Croatia recently published a Book of Charterholders to increase institutional outreach efforts and create more value for its members. The book profiles 52 local members–showcasing their expertise and unique qualities–and promotes the CFA Program, ESG Certificate, and CIPM Program.

Targetted at employers, the book emphasizes the value of hiring a CFA charterholder, the benefits of CFA Institute and local society membership, and how the CFA Society Croatia career center can help employers in their search for talent. 

The local society printed 150 copies of the book, which have been shared in one-to-one meetings with large institutions in Croatia. The book was well received, as employers appreciated learning about talented workers and education programs that can add value to their organisations. Indeed, the initiative has opened up the possibility of creating long-term relationships with companies the local society had no communication with prior to this initiative.
 

Key successes

To measure success, CFA Society Croatia established several key performance indicators and tracked these throughout the project. Here are some highlights: 

• Over 70 companies were contacted.
• Online or in-person meetings with almost a third (32%) of companies contacted.
• Over half the employers contacted expressed a willingness to use the CFA Society Croatia career center (92% of them had never posted a job offering using the tool before).

• Local society members included in the book (more than 50 percent of the total membership) have been able to raise their profile among leading companies in Croatia. According to a questionnaire sent to these members, several received job offers as a result of being featured.

• It has strengthened the relationship CFA Society Croatia has with its members, as it required direct communication with them in the process of collecting CVs and images.

• Several lapsed members rejoined CFA Society Croatia stating that they wish to be part of this project in the future.

Tajana Striga, Executive Director, CFA Society Croatia, commented: “The initiative is unique in the way that it simultaneously targets a number of strategic goals set up in our business plan, especially combining institutional outreach with delivering value directly to our members through promoting their expertise and experience to employers. Feedback from members featured in the book has indicated that this initiative has allowed them to stand out from the crowd and validate the value they bring to their employers.”

How to produce a book like this in your local market

This initiative could be quite easily replicated by the CFA Society^® community, if adjustments are made to ensure the content meets the specific needs of the local market.

CFA Society Croatia divided the project into several stages:

1. Asking local members if they want to be a part of the project to gauge interest.
2. Communicating with the CFA Institute marketing and communications department to gather available marketing material and standardize the format of members’ CVs.
3. Collaborating with the graphic designer to develop the book.
4. Identifying target companies for institutional outreach.
5. Publishing the book online and printing hard copies.
6. Reaching out to target companies, sharing the book with them, and inviting them for an online or face-to-face meeting.

To read the full report, click here