RICS updates for Member Engagement, Experience and Value - May 2022

Update from Rory Murphy FRICS, Chair of the Member Engagement, Experience and Value Working Group (MEEV)

Since my last update earlier this year the MEEV Working Group, in partnership with the RICS team, has been working hard to respond to the feedback received from members and deliver tangible benefits in high priority areas. I’d now like to share some updates on progress made to date.

I’m pleased to say that, since January 2022, more than 1,500 members over 19 countries have attended free local engagement events held worldwide. The format and agendas for these events have been led by members with RICS staff supporting on delivery and it’s been wonderful to see many of these take place face-to-face, with some attracting over 150 members at a time. More opportunities to network and share common knowledge and experiences was a major element of what members told RICS they wanted to see, and I look forward to seeing many more events coming up for the remainder of this year.

To support the delivery of future member-led events and initiatives, and enable more member autonomy, I’m delighted to confirm that dedicated financial budgets have now been agreed with World Regional Board chairs and RICS regional leads. Look out for more opportunities to meet with industry peers in your area and please contact your RICS lead with any ideas for your own events and initiatives.

Another priority area we want to implement real change in is member-led communications. You told us that you wanted simplified, relevant and regular updates pertinent to your part of the world so we’ve introduced new member-to-member newsletters, created by the chairs of our regional, national and local boards. Since launching three months ago, open rates for these emails have been as high as 70% in some global regions – a promising sign that this tailored content, highlighting local issues and opportunities, is hitting the mark so far.

The Member Value Hub is the place to find all aspects of the member value proposition and it’s being continuously updated. The Hub has so far attracted thousands of page views but I’m keen to see this fantastic resource better utilised by members. I’d encourage you to check the Hub out if you haven’t already and access your free CPD Support Pack for candidates and members – this includes over 500 CPD resources.

The MEEV working group still has plenty of work to do but we’re making progress in accordance with the urgency and importance of this programme, and its role in delivering for RICS members and firms. In the next few weeks I will be updating on more localised resources being made available to support boards, firms and member engagement as well as looking ahead to the launch of the myRICS Community. This new platform will incorporate the latest technology to enable seamless member-to-member communications and networking and allow for the introduction of a full member directory.

Looking towards the future of the profession, members will shortly be hearing from Matrics, which supports new members entering our profession, on how it is directly benefitting from the MEEV programme of work. Similarly, looking ahead, the MEEV Working Group is also anticipating the Bichard Review findings in the coming weeks and will be seeking opportunities for further integration of this feedback into our work programme.

I hope you have found this update informative and I’d like to thank all the members of the MEEV group and all the team across RICS for their commitment to making a real difference for our members.