Extreme Makeover: NMEDA.org Edition

By Katie McDonald, NMEDA DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS & SOCIAL

When I interviewed with Danny Langfield, NMEDA’s CEO, for the Communications Director position a little more than two years ago, I asked what type of projects I could be working on in this role. The annual conference was on that list, the Circuit Breaker magazine, and then the “big ticket item” would be an overhaul of our web presence. Danny explained that this overhaul encompassed three areas: 1) Our public facing website, NMEDA.org, 2) Our member portal, or association management system (AMS), and 3) Our training portal, or learning management system (LMS). He assured me the web overhaul was not an immediate project we’d be tackling, but it was in the not too distant future. Well, the future is now, and it sure is exciting. Much like a home renovation, this type of project may seem intimidating, it will be frustrating at times, but the end result will totally be worth it. Follow me on this renovation analogy…if our web presence is a house, the first step in a renovation project is to determine the scope of the renovation. Is it a complete tear down? Must we raze the property and start from scratch? Are the bones good? Do we just gut it to the studs and rebuild from there? Maybe there are certain rooms that function just fine and need some new appliances, and it’s only the bathroom that needs a deeper remodel.

It was determined that our NMEDA web presence home fell into the third category. Most of it was working fine, and could benefit from some organization, maybe a few upgrades, with some other areas needing a pretty significant remodel. Let’s start with the website, nmeda.org.

NMEDA.org – Simpler & More Intuitive

I would venture to guess that everyone reading this article has visited the NMEDA website. No one can deny that it holds lots of great information. From the most basic info about auto mobility for the consumer just entering this world, to more detailed information on conversions, and then of course QAP guidelines and specific information only of interest to our members. A struggle one may have though is navigating through all of this information to find exactly what it is you need. Much like a cluttered pantry, it badly needed some better organization and some better ways to provide information. We tackled this by first building a simplified and more intuitive navigation.

When a user visits the website there are three main doors that they can enter through: 1) Consumers, 2) Auto Mobility Professionals, and 3) Partners. With help from a mini task force of members we determined these categories best identified our three target audiences and each of these audiences will have their own landing page with resources clearly laid out that would be most valuable to each.

The next thing we’re doing to better provide information to our audiences is through a new “Industry Member Directory.” Similar to our current “Locate a Dealer” functionality, the Industry Directory will allow users to search NMEDA members based on line of business. We expect this new tool to be especially helpful to our Voc Rehab and DRS friends for when they’re recommending specific mobility equipment for their clients. The association has made great strides in making NMEDA QAP accreditation a gold standard for auto mobility--and now that QAP is a requirement in 26 states and 1 province for vehicle modifiers, this searchable directory will inevitably drive more business to our members.

On a related note, the next “upgrade” we’re excited about is our Legislative Action Center. QAP is a requirement in these 26 states and 1 province thanks to the efforts of our government relations team—no other entity is advocating for the interests of the auto mobility industry in the US and Canada. In addition, NMEDA is sought after time and time again as a subject matter expert related to Autonomous Vehicles, and vehicle safety as these topics pertain to individuals with disabilities. Our Government Relations team is constantly working on behalf of our members and this new feature will more easily share all of their efforts with you. You will be able to track specific bills of interest with the “Legislation Tracker” and a new blog devoted solely to GR efforts. The “Advocacy” tab on the new site is where the Legislative Action Center can be found, along with many other resources, including our Legislative Program.

Member Portal (AMS)

While the website just needed some organization, a few new appliances, and a fresh coat of paint, our Member Portal needed a bit more help. For years we’ve been using a custom-built AMS. At first it was exactly what we needed, but as the association grew and needs changed, the upkeep for a custom system was more challenging and costly than anticipated. For this, we opted to tear the AMS down to the studs. We have lots of great data and information but decided to seek a brand new system to manage this data. Our new AMS is powered by MemberSuite, an off-the-shelf product that has years of association management experience and is very easily integrated into our publicfacing website. Some of the benefits our members will see as a result of this change include:

Simplified Event Registration

When it comes time for the Annual Conference, a CAMS training, or the Manufacturer Service School, the process to register for any NMEDA event will be simple and non-headache inducing!

Easy Access to Member Data

Whether you need to update contacts for your organization, change a payment method, or access training records, the new system makes this easy and intuitive.

New Online Store

Ordering QAP labels, Make Inoperative labels, NMEDA brochures, and other items currently found on the Supply Order Form can now be done quickly and easily through the member portal. Faxing and scanning is a thing of the past--welcome to the 21st century everyone!

Training Portal

The last area that needed some help was our learning management system. The current platform, Brainshark, gets the job done but has some limitations we were ready to overcome. The new LMS, Path – by Blue Sky eLearning, connects directly with our AMS which will provide many improvements. Most notably, eliminating delays between course completion and certification. Many of you know the current LMS has a 24hour delay on the NCT exam, which causes some headaches around audit time. And, a common theme with each of the areas we are working on, the new system should be more intuitive and user friendly.

While the process has not been as fun as binge watching an HGTV marathon, it will be worth it. So tune in on November 16 when all of the new systems will go live! There will inevitably be some learning curves to overcome, but we are confident that the final product will be a breath of fresh air for both staff and our members.