TEI member survey finds high level of satisfaction but highlights areas for improvement.

• Position: Tax Executives Institute

A survey of Tax Executives Institute's membership reveals that on the whole TEI members are satisfied with the Institute's activities in three major areas: educational programs, technical activities, and networking activities. Responding members also suggested that there are a number of areas in which the Institute can enhance its effectiveness. Approximately 1,300 of the Institute's 4,500 active members responded to the survey, which was sent to the membership on September 22, 1992. Twenty-six percent of the respondents included written comments on subjects ranging from the Institute's policy on reserved tables at Annual and Midyear Conferences to the desire for TEI to increase its involvement in state and local tax activities.

Overview

The tabular results from the survey are set forth in the accompanying tables. Respondents were asked to evaluate, on a scale of 1 to 5, whether TEI's membership dues are a bargain or expensive for value received. Of those responding, 64 percent said the Institute's dues are a bargain or somewhat a bargain for value received; another 30 percent were neutral (choosing answer 3); and 5 percent responded that dues were somewhat expensive for value received. None of the respondents chose answer 5--that dues were expensive for value received.

With respect to TEI's educational activities, 85 percent of the respondents said the Institute performs "very well" or "well." Eleven percent said the Institute performed at a satisfactory level, whereas 2.4 percent said TEI did somewhat poorly or poorly. The Institute's technical and liaison activities received similar ratings: 78 percent gave the Institute ratings of 1 or 2 (on a scale of 5), 20 percent rated those activities "satisfactory," and two percent gave the Institute's technical activities either a 4 or 5 rating ("somewhat poorly" or "poorly"). With respect to networking opportunities, 68 percent of the responding members said TEI performed "very well" or "well," 24 percent said TEI did a satisfactory job, and 6 percent gave the Institute either a 4 or 5 rating.

The survey also asked respondents for their views on how important certain TEI activities or benefits are-- from technical submissions and liaison meetings, to educational programs (at the chapter, regional, or national level), to publications, and networking opportunities. The last activity (networking opportunities) received the highest rating--61 percent said such opportunities were very important or somewhat important. In contrast, the largest "not very important" or "not important at all" responses were received by the Institute's Midyear, Annual, and Regional Conferences.

Comments Are Plentiful and Diverse

Twenty-six percent of the responding TEI members included written comments in the survey. The comments touched on all aspects of the Institute and reflected the diversity of the Institute's membership and what its members look for in their professional association. According to TEI Executive Director Mike Murphy, "the positive comments far outnumbered the negative ones, but that does not mean they will be ignored. We are going to review all aspects of the Institute's operations in light of the comments." Reprinted below are a cross-section...