Overwhelmingly, (82%) CFA members feel that CFA membership is good value for money. Furthermore, 90% of members are of the view that we represent the industry well, and they recognise the CFA as the representative voice of the industry.
Are we just saying that? No, we know it’s true because we asked them. At the end of 2021 we carried out a comprehensive survey, comprising in excess of 100 interviews. We focussed on three separate groups – current members, lapsed members and non-members.
It was the widest-ever survey conducted by the CFA in recent years and the results were overwhelmingly positive, which was very encouraging, not just as positive reinforcement, but also to gain a greater understanding of perceptions of the CFA and to help us shape the CFA’s proposition for the market, the benefits we offer to members and also our communications strategy going forward.
We know that the right to use the logo is considered a very important benefit of membership. In fact our survey showed that it was, by a large margin, the membership benefit which was most widely used by CFA members. The ability to use the logo and brand in marketing materials, on the side of vehicles and in emails and tenders provides a level of customer reassurance as to the quality of service provided by the flooring contractor who displays it. It means that the member is established in business, has been vetted by CFA processes and has made a commitment to carry out work diligently and to the highest professional standards.
Notwithstanding the above, it was interesting and very reassuring that the two top reasons for joining the CFA in the first place were that the member “felt it important to be part of a key industry trade body” (this was the number one reason for joining by a considerable margin) and that they valued the “industry representation” provided by the CFA.
We understand this aspect has grown in importance during the last couple of years when our industry has been affected by multiple challenges and members have benefitted firstly from the support and guidance we have been able to provide – regarding current Covid regulations, how to access Government funding, navigating the new Brexit regulations, combatting the skills and labour shortage and so on.
We have regularly updated our members on all these issues and plenty more through our website, direct mailings and other channels.
Lobbying Government and other bodies has also been an important part of our work and there have been a number of achievements in the past year which have genuinely only been possible thanks to pressure applied by the CFA. These include the reclassification of floor layers on to the Skilled Occupation List, which means that the industry is still able to attract foreign nationals to work in the UK. This complements our commitment to home grown talent, which also includes a notable success in lobbying Construction Industry and Training Board (CITB) to reinstate funding for apprenticeships in our sector, after this funding had been under threat following an earlier review.
Both of these examples show that CFA members’ aspirations for their membership – namely that they are joining a representative, lobbying trade association – are at the core of our continuing activities. On average, 95% of CFA members renew (another statistic we measure) and of those that don’t, the numbers include companies that have ceased trading and retirements. CFA members recognise the value of the benefits we offer – could your business benefit too? Email info@cfa.org.uk for your information pack.
Photo: Training through FITA, the CFA’s training arm – a success in the past year has been the reinstatement of CITB funding for apprenticeships.