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Member Survey Research 2020

As Ireland’s leading membership body for 3,000 directors and business leaders, we take members’ feedback and views very seriously. For this reason, we commission an in-depth membership sentiment study every second year to garner their views and thoughts. This independent research series started in 2008.

  • IoD Ireland commissioned research agency Behaviour and Attitudes (B&A) to carry out in-depth membership sentiment research, which took place between 10-24 February 2020.

    As part of this, 300 IoD members participated in the phone survey, with members being chosen randomly, but carefully structured to ensure an appropriate and representative balance in areas such as gender, sector, and region.  Below are some of the key findings from the research, on how members view IoD Ireland.

    • Nearly 7 out of 10 members (69%) indicate the average assessment of their experience of IoD Ireland as excellent/very good.
    • When asked what they rated as the most important aspects of membership, respondents rated the following as quite/very important (the below lists the top five): 
      • 94% of members nominated the opportunity to hear expert speakers
      • 87% of members suggested belonging to a professional body for senior business leaders 
      • 86% of members mentioned access to Director Development (training)
      • 84% of members cited an environment in which they can focus on their professional development and keep abreast of what their peer group is doing
      •  84% of members referenced the opportunity to build connections and network. 
      • 82% of respondents indicated the IoD as having lived up to or exceeded their expectations.
    • Respondent feedback indicated IoD Ireland as having a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of +20, essentially a strong positive advocacy score. When compared across industries this is highly favourable.
  • The quality of IoD Ireland’s services/benefits is rated very highly, with 79% of members ranking them as 4 out of 5. The top three services/benefits they highly valued include:

    •  86% suggested resource materials, for example, the Director Handbook, webcasts, briefing presentations, etc.  
    •  80% nominated free events, such as the Morning and Evening Briefings series, Lunch Bites @ the IoD, etc. 
    • 79% mentioned training and professional development, for example, the Chartered Director Programme.
    • 86% of members have attended one of the many IoD Ireland events, with 78% of members rating the quality of events very highly, ranking them as 4 out of 5.  
    • 7 in 10 members have taken part in some form of IoD Ireland training, and 83% have rated them as excellent or very good.

    The top three event series that members liked to attend include:

    • 69% attended the Morning and Evening Briefings series, kindly sponsored by Mazars
    • 51% attended our partnership events, which included such partners as McCann FitzGerald, IAPI, Edelman, William Fry, Davy etc
    • 2% attended the Lunch Bites series, kindly sponsored by IQ-EQ.

    When asked what areas IoD should focus on, participants rated the following as very important (the below lists the top five): 

    • 89% of respondents rated advocating for high standards of corporate governance and creating awareness of good governance practices.
    • 79% of respondents rated raising awareness of directors’ responsibilities.
    • 65% of respondents rated promoting the benefits of appointing non-executive directors. 
    • 63% of respondents rated the provision of training for directors and boards.
    • 61% cited developing policy positions and being a spokesperson for issues impacting directors.
  • IoD staff and the way in which they engage with members are rated very positively:

    • 88% of respondents rated IoD Ireland staff interactions as good to excellent.
    • 87% of respondents rated the IoD Ireland customer service as good to excellent.  
  • The quality of IoD communications is also rated highly with members ascribing the following descriptions/value to them: 

    • 98% see it as credible
    • 97% trustworthy
    • 89% balanced
    • 80% authoritative
    • 76% influential.