Members Share Feedback through Survey

2009 Membership Survey Results

This past summer you shared your opinions by responding to the 2009 RCA Membership Survey.  In general, the survey results provide positive feedback regarding many key service areas and helped identify areas for improvement.

The survey was distributed to all members and 19% of you responded.  Many thanks to those of you who completed the online survey and made your opinions heard!   Your voice matters and has a great impact on RCA initiatives.  Read on for highlights of the survey, which will serve as a guide for future strategic planning. 

Membership
We’re pleased to report almost 87% of those members who responded to the survey feel that RCA meets their needs, as compared to other industry organizations. 

Most respondents (61%) have been members for more than three years and 75% have been in the food industry for more than 10 years. Consistent with 2006 findings, nearly half of respondents work for food manufacturing and processing companies (46%) and ingredient suppliers (17%), with the number of chain restaurant respondents increasing by 4% (to 10%) since 2006.

Most current members (61%) became aware of RCA through word-of-mouth, and are most likely to also be involved with the following professional organizations: the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), the American Culinary Federation (ACF), and the National Restaurant Association (NRA.)

Respondents rated their most valued RCA products and services, indicating the Annual Conference and Culinology® Expo as their top ranked selection, followed by the online membership directory and continuing education for research chefs.  (See chart for top ten rated benefits.)  Comments indicated that members are looking for enhanced availability of continuing education workshops, more job postings, more regional meetings in a variety of locations, and increased opportunities for non-US based members. 

Over 25% of the membership uses the RCA List Serve, although its ranking dropped as a member benefit since 2006.  Of respondents who subscribe to the list serve, 7% indicated that an archiving mechanism would be very valuable.  Of those who do not subscribe, 50% indicated they would find archiving very valuable.

Culinology®
Members were asked to rate the value of the discipline of Culinology® - the blending of culinary arts and food science - as relates to their professional development and career advancement, the success of their company, and awareness of the discipline from the perspective of their senior management.  Overwhelmingly, members find value in the discipline of Culinology, with 76% rating it as very valuable or valuable to their career.  Further, 65% found the discipline of Culinology to be very valuable or valuable to their company with 66% of their organizations’ senior management being aware of the discipline, an increase of 16% over 2006.  All member categories equally found Culinology to be very valuable or valuable to the success of their company (60-75%.)

Education and Certification
Overall, 55% of members are interested in pursuing additional continuing education, with Chef (64%), Culinology (67%), and Food Science & Technology (70%) category members most interested. Most Chef members (70%) strongly agree/agree that Culinology workshops for chefs meet their continuing education needs, while 81% of Food Science and Technology members strongly agree/agree that culinary arts for food techs workshops meet their continuing education needs.  With regard to continuing education delivery methods, respondents prefer face-to-face workshops (84%), followed by recorded sessions (68%) and live webinars (58%.)

Response was limited from professional members to interest in pursuing some type of an undergraduate degree, while approximately 11% indicated possible interest in pursuing a graduate degree.  Nearly 50% of Student members indicated interest in pursuing a graduate degree.  Some professional member respondents (17%) are RCA certified and 35% intend to pursue an RCA certification, with 27% unsure on whether to pursue.

Your Feedback Matters
Once again, many thanks to those of you who participated in the 2009 survey. Your responses provide a particularly useful tool for your board and staff, as we strive to continually better serve RCA members and the industry at large. Keep in mind we welcome your input year round and invite you to reach out to headquarters should you have any questions or comments to share at any time.