RGI believes it’s good to be different. We work to set ourselves apart as creative and personal yet efficient. Our approach allows us to give clients our full attention to their unique needs and goals.
Our philosophy means being a partner, not just an administrator. Our Midwestern work ethic means we can crunch the numbers and ask about family vacations all in the same breath.
Well, we’re not going to try and candy-coat it: It can be difficult no matter what management firm you decide on. Much like moving to a new town, buying a new car or getting married, there’s some adjustment. There are always personalities to assess, learning curves for new technology and time spent figuring out how to work with new processes. That’s all obvious right? Well here’s the good news: We’ve been there, and as we say here in the Midwest, “This ain’t out first rodeo!”
There are many things to think about when it comes to switching association management firms: How do we switch our phone system? How much will it cost to change the addresses on our training manuals? How will we figure out the hotel contract for next year’s meeting? How often will our financials be delivered to us? Questions like these have been asked and answered many times at the Robstan Group. Your association can rest assured that the Robstan Group is an association management firm that you can trust to guide you through the process.
Whether you’re currently using a management firm or you have a captive staff and are looking to outsource your association’s management, the Robstan Group has the experience it takes to make the transition as smooth as possible while reducing transition costs and minimizing member turnover.
Interested in finding out more? Contact Us
The evaluation of these questions will go a long way in choosing the correct AMC for your association. Remember, ultimately it is not about the fee, structure or processes, it is whether there is a ‘fit’ with your association and the AMC. It’s a people business and the most successful AMC/association partnerships are built around that fact.
An AMC has a vested interest in making sure the association is successful. Our success depends on your success. After one conversation with the Robstan Group, you’ll understand that we’re passionate about associations. And, we are committed to your assocaition’sassociation’s vision, your mission and your membership. We will take time to make sure your organization runs with maximum efficiency and growth. Our success depends on your success!
AMCs can be a smart choice for many associations, because of the wide array of benefits and advantages they offer.
Operational & Staffing Benefits
Business & Back Office Benefits
Long-Term Benefits
Want to work with a different AMC?Contact Us
We don’t have an "out of the box" answer to this question because there are a lot of variables that influence the timeline. Most of the factors that influence the transition are described above in the "What’s the process" FAQ. It has been our experience however, the actual transition time is not long (30 to 90 days) but getting completely in tune with the association with all its variables takes a minimum of time to transition 9 months. The Robstan Group will help develop your transition plan and make the switch as painless and seamless as possible.
Things that will make the process go smoothly and help streamline the transition:
This is a question that every association faces. It has been our experience that growth of an association is based not only on getting new members but strong retention of current members. To succeed in building a stronger association we always recommend:
Over 30 Years and Going Strong!
The Robstan Group was created by owner Ken Bowman. Typical of Ken's sense of humor, he announced his intention to leave the mother ship of Hallmark Cards/Crown Center and embark on his own way on April Fool's Day, 1977. On that day, Projects Unlimited was born, and the journey began. A warehouse space at 18th & McGee became the hub of that first entrepreneurial incarnation's business activities. Many of those first jobs were designed and built as props for advertising promotions and theatre productions. One of the first big jobs was the design/build of a 9' by 9' wooden shipping crate for an "invisible" dragon for a "Walt Disney promotion for the movie, "Pete, the Dragon." Another memorable project was an authentic, wooden gypsy wagon for a local car dealership's advertising program. The business began to morph into more theatre related projects.. .including painting backdrops, expanding into lighting and equipment rental. These were also the days when on at least one occasion payroll was covered on Ken's personal credit card.
Several years later Ken saw the potential in the association management business, even though it was something he had never done before. Seizing that opportunity proved to be the turning point for his entrepreneurial journey. With SWRI (still a client today) on board, Ken began to think of moving the company in a new direction away from advertising and marketing and toward association management.
At The Robstan Group we believe that what we did yesterday isn’t good enough, there are always ways to do things better, work smarter, make it look better and work more efficiently.
With the Robstan Group your trade association will see a noticeable difference, whether it’s consulting in the development of your next strategic plan, using social media to share the concepts and ideas of the association or seamlessly communicating with your membership with great customer support and Midwestern hospitality, you’re going to notice a difference.
The relationship between the association and the AMC is a deep one, and one can that lasts for a long time. As in any long-term relationship, there are bound to be bumps in the road. The longer a relationship lasts, the better the two sides understand one another… warts (bumps) and all. Because switching management companies is not as simple as, say, switching cars or grocery stores, it is not advisable to make a change for change's sake, or because someone is having a bad day. Don’t get us wrong… we want you try The Robstan Group, we just want you to know that once your choose The Robstan Group, we’re in it for the long haul.
Things you can expect from the Robstan Group
See the difference.Contact Us
We work with trade associations and professional organizations who need consulting, management and leadership services to help evolve, grow and sustain their membership for many years to come. We’ve had a great deal of experience in the following industries:
Ideally we enjoy working with clients that answer yes to any or the questions below:
Need help with your association?Contact Us
RGI's backoffice runs on Microsoft Small Buisness Server. We have servers, which are backed up every night with data stored off site. We use the current MS Office software: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Access. We also maintain and host websites for all our clients in an IIS environment. All of our servers are kept up to date with the latest updates and service packs to maintain a 99% uptime as well as maintain security standards.
The Robstan Group uses the following software and hardware: