Find out how interim professionals bring the right skills, ideas and capacity to deliver membership events that make a big impact.
There’s no such thing as a quiet season when you work in membership. Even the quieter months are just “preparation for the next big thing”. From AGMs and annual conferences to roadshows, awards and working group meetings, events are the heartbeat of most membership organisations. But keeping that rhythm steady isn’t always easy, especially when teams are already stretched.
But whether it’s covering a gap, testing a new format, or simply bringing in some energy during a busy patch, interims can help organisations stay on track without having to expand the permanent headcount.
Membership teams are often lean by design. A recent Brightelm blog pointed out that most associations operate with around 10% annual member churn, meaning they’re often trying to grow and deliver value at the same time (if you’re not sure how to calculate your churn rate, this article will walk you through it).
Events, naturally, play a huge part in that member experience - they’re one of the most visible ways organisations demonstrate value. But planning and delivering events isn’t just about being available on the day. There’s comms, logistics, content planning, delegate support, post-event reporting…and usually a few last-minute surprises too! That’s a lot for a core team to manage alongside everything else.
It can be tempting to see interim hires as just ‘extra hands’. Sometimes they are, but often they’re much more than that. Many arrive with specialist knowledge, industry perspective, and the kind of confidence that only comes from having done it all before.
Think about hybrid events. According to Eventsforce, 66% of associations planned to run hybrid events in 2024, but 49% said they still felt uncertain about whether hybrid was truly the future for their organisations.
Uncertainty like this is where an experienced interim professional can really add value. Yes, they make things happen, but they also help teams test, learn and improve as they go. From choosing the right platforms to managing delegate expectations across formats, they could help your team avoid common pitfalls and build confidence in alternative delivery models.
Some kinds of events carry more weight than others. Rebrands, major anniversaries, new CEO introductions or a significant policy launch - these events can come with higher expectations, increased visibility and more scrutiny from members, boards and external stakeholders.
They also often land on top of an already full calendar!
That’s why additional support can make such a difference. According to Eventbrite research, 58% of membership organisations plan to increase their event activity, signalling a shift not just in frequency, but ambition too. At the same time, 91% of associations report fewer than 200 attendees per event, which suggests these moments are often more intimate and high-touch than large-scale conferences - and the stakes feel personal.
Interims can help shape your content strategy, refine member journeys, manage stakeholder expectations, or guide the wider team through unfamiliar formats or high-pressure timelines. When events are this visible and this important, having experienced support in the room helps to make sure that events are really designed for maximum impact.
Interims aren’t just for registration desks and room turnarounds. A lot of the most valuable event support happens behind the scenes, and often well before the event itself.
Maybe you're planning a major member conference and suddenly realise your CRM won’t cope with the registration data. Or your email platform isn't syncing properly and you feel like it’s time for an upgrade. Or your reporting tools don’t tell you who actually turned up. There are interims who specialise in sorting all of that, fast.
Others can help sharpen your commercial offer, rethink your sponsorship model, rework your exhibitor packages or even negotiate new partnerships that actually reflect your audience.
And for organisations that find themselves stuck in a reactive cycle, there’s real value in bringing in an interim project lead to plan the year’s events properly. One calendar with clear roles, shared expectations...and hopefully, fewer last-minute panics.
In other words, it’s not just about pulling off a successful event. It’s about setting your team up to do it again, with more clarity, better tools, and less stress.
“I think a lot of organisations are genuinely surprised by the ways interims can help improve their event delivery - like sorting the CRM, or tightening internal processes. It’s not always the flashy stuff, but it changes everything.”
Anna Christofis, Director of Interim and Temporary Recruitment at Membership Bespoke
Events rarely exist in isolation. They influence, and are influenced by, everything from member retention to sponsorship income. Research shows that nearly 70% of associations see events as a cost-effective way to meet their objectives, which means every event has the potential to do more than just fill a room.
An interim can help make those connections. It might be spotting that your AGM content could double as a recruitment tool, or that your annual conference is the perfect time to renew partnerships. Sometimes it’s just getting comms, policy and membership teams talking to each other so the follow-up actually happens.
When those links are made, the event becomes more than a one-off success, it actually feeds into your organisation’s longer-term goals.
We probably don’t need to tell you that membership events aren’t just a date in the diary, but a way to show members why they belong. And with more organisations increasing their event activity, the pressure to deliver well is only going to grow.
The right interim can bring the skills, perspective and focus to make sure those events don’t just happen, but actually make a difference. And it might just be that the unexpected things they do that make the biggest impact.