It happens every year. You’re deep in renewal season, your events calendar is bursting, and your team is giving 110% just to keep everything on track. Then suddenly, someone hands in their notice, or you realise you need an extra pair of hands to deliver on all those member promises.
You tell yourself, “We’ll sort it in the new year when things quieten down.”
But here’s the truth: waiting to hire often costs you more, not just in pounds and dollars, but in member experience.
When you’re short-staffed, it doesn’t take long before members start to notice. Emails take a little longer to get answered. Event planning slows. That extra bit of personal attention, the thing that makes your organisation special, starts to slip.
For membership teams, people are the product. They’re the voice on the phone, the brains behind the campaigns, and the smiling faces at every event. So when a role sits vacant for too long, the impact isn’t just operational: it’s relational.
Your members feel the difference, even if they can’t quite put their finger on it.
Delaying recruitment can seem like the “sensible” choice during a busy period, but the hidden costs stack up fast:
Lost engagement: fewer touchpoints and slower service lead to missed renewal opportunities.
Increased pressure: your existing team ends up firefighting, risking burnout or even further resignations.
Financial fallout: you may end up paying more later — for advertising, agency fees, or a rushed hire that doesn’t last.
When you think about it, waiting to hire isn’t really saving money at all. It’s just deferring the problem, and potentially making it bigger.
Hiring early isn’t about being overly cautious; it’s about being strategic.
When you start your search ahead of the curve, you:
Have access to a wider, higher-quality talent pool before the January rush.
Can train and onboard new starters before renewal season hits full swing.
Give your team breathing space to focus on what matters — your members.
Think of it this way: early recruitment isn’t just filling a role. It’s investing in the relationships that keep your member community thriving.
Membership organisations run on trust and connection. Your members want to know there’s always someone there to answer their call, deliver on promises, and keep things moving.
When your staffing is stable, your service is consistent. When your service is consistent, your members stay engaged.
And when members stay engaged, everything else follows: renewals, referrals, and revenue.
That’s why hiring early isn’t a HR decision, it’s a member experience decision.
At Membership Bespoke, we understand the unique challenges that come with running a membership organisation. We know that when you lose a team member at the wrong time, it’s not just about replacing a skillset, it’s about protecting member relationships and keeping your mission on track.
We help you:
Build a proactive recruitment plan that aligns with your membership calendar.
Benchmark your salaries and roles across the sector, not only in our annual salary guides but also as an entirely tailored service.
Engage quality candidates before the market heats up.
Save time, money, and stress, while keeping members at the heart of every hire.
The best membership teams don’t wait for a crisis to start recruiting; they plan ahead so their members never feel the gap.
So if you’re already thinking, “We’ll sort it in the new year,” take this as your sign to start now.
Because every week a role stays empty is another week your members might feel the difference.
Get in touch with Membership Bespoke today to start your early recruitment strategy — and give your members the consistent, quality experience they deserve all year round.