College & University Professional Association for Human Resources

College and University Professional Association for Human Resources
1233 20th Street, NW
Suite 301
Washington, DC 20036
202-429-0311
[www.cupahr.org]
Contact: Audrey R. Rothstein, CAE, Senior Staff Associate

CEO: Steven Otzenberger
Budget: $4.2 Million
Staff Size: 26 Employees

Plexus Consulting Group, LLC
1620 Eye Street, NW
Suite 210
Washington, DC 20006
Phone:  202-785-8940
Fax:      202-785-8949
Email:   info@plexusconsulting.com

Vital Stats:

The College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) is a network of more than 6,500 human resource administrators at 1,700 colleges and universities nationwide and around the world. More than 40 percent of CUPA-HR members are vice presidents and directors, 13 percent are vice presidents and directors of finance or business, and 6 percent are presidents, chancellors, or chief executives. The remainder of CUPA-HR members, represent various HR-related directorships on campus, including payroll, EEO, HRIS, labor relations, employee relations, compensation, and benefit.
 

The Challenge | The Solution | The Process |Unitended Consequences | Unforseen Benefits | Measurements & Results | Lessons Learned

The Challenge

How to re-brand the association's name to reflect a fundamental shift in members' functions from personnel transaction administrators to human resource managers?

In the 1990s, demands and expectations of human resource professionals in colleges and universities began to change dramatically. These professionals were asked to perform a variety of functions outside their traditional role of administrators of employer-employee transactions. Now responsible on average for two-thirds of their institutions' operating budgets and for significant management support, many chief human resource officers had become partners with their institutions' leaders in strategic planning and other high-level activities.

A member survey in 1995 revealed that members supported a change in the associations' name to reflect the shift in their professions' focus. CUPA faced the challenge of re-branding itself to reflect this shift without losing its well-known and highly regarded identity.

The Solution

To reflect the evolution of its members' profession and avoid a radical change in its identity, CUPA (College and University Personnel Association) changed its name to CUPA-HR (College and University Personnel Association for Human Resources).

CUPA-HR used its re-branding initiative not only to underscore the increasingly higher profile of chief human resource officers on campuses but also to generate new marketing opportunities for the association.

The Process

To implement the re-branding initiative sought by members, CUPA-HR:

• Convened focus groups
  
• Supervised logo design
  
• Held a by-law vote
  
• Changed its articles of incorporation
  
• Implemented an internal and external communications program

All of these activities were completed in eight months.

Focus Groups
Focus group members suggested several possible new names. Key representatives from member institutions were asked to vote in these proposed names. Ultimately, a member suggested a name that won the full support of the national board because they felt it paid homage to the association's past (by allowing the association to retain its acronym) yet reflected the HR profession's new identity by eliminating the term "personnel" and adding the term "human resources".

Logo Design
CUPA's graphic designer prepared several new logo designs for the national board's consideration. One design entailed a modification of the former logo - the addition of the acronym "HR". The board selected that design.

By-Law Vote
As the first step in making the new name legal, CUPA incorporated that name into its by-laws following approval by the Board of Directors.

Articles of Incorporation
As the second step in making its new name legal, the state of Illinois in which the association is chartered, required a vote of the association's key representatives. That vote occurred at the association's regional conferences and the revised articles of incorporation were accepted.

Communications
CUPA staff were kept abreast of name change developments through e-mail and at staff meetings. The association kept members aware of these developments through:

• CUPA's bimonthly newsletter
• CUPA's semiannual journal
• CUPA's national Website and five regional Websites
• E-mail to members
• Voice mail
• Brochure
• Press release
• Direct mail to current and prospective members as well as vendors and suppliers
  

Unintended Consequences

Some members expressed resistance to the name change, but this resistance quickly dwindled when members realized that the new name incorporated the association's established identity.

Unforeseen Benefits

The association took advantage of the re-branding initiative to generate new marketing opportunities. To leverage those opportunities, the association redesigned its website. Traffic on the site increased dramatically after the site was re-launched.

 
Measurements & Results

Although no formal measurements were made to gauge the success of the name change, many congratulatory letters from association members and members of the higher education community at-large underscored that success. The re-branding initiative effectively highlighted an important change in the HR profession while avoiding a radical break with the association's established identity. It became the means for selling association products and services aimed at helping members succeed in their new, more important role on campus.

Lessons Learned

A name change, even if it does not involve a significant revision of an organization's identity, is rife with potential pitfalls. Several lessons emerged from CUPA-HR's re-branding initiative:

• Secure buy-in from the organization's members, leaders and staff.
  
• Establish a checklist: Don't overlook the signs on the doors and voice mail and don't forget to establish a new copyright.
  
• Use board members to generate awareness and support of the initiative.
  
• Notify all sister organizations of the initiative for maximum marketing leverage.

Establish an effective internal communications effort: As staff discharge responsibilities, they necessarily use the corporate identity. Effective communication about the timing of the name change is essential. Staff must know when use of the new name and copyright is legal.