Case Study: Australian Anthropological Society
From Several Complex Systems to a Single, Connected Membership Management
How the Australian Anthropological Society (AAS) reduced administrative complexity, simplified conference management and made future committee handovers easier.
Every Leadership Change Creates Risk
The Australian Anthropological Society (AAS) supports a community of around 450 anthropologists across Australia, bringing together academics, researchers and practitioners through membership, conferences and professional engagement.
Like many membership organisations, much of that work is delivered by a small administrative team (in this case, a lone administrator) alongside volunteer committee members whose roles naturally change over time.
When Tim Pilbrow joined the executive committee and suddenly found himself needing to step into the role of Acting President, his first challenge was managing two administrator changes in quick succession. Each new person had to learn a membership platform that no current committee members understood, with only a short handover from the previous administrator.
“I had to onboard someone to take their place, they didn’t stay very long and I had to do it again. I was dealing with two people trying to learn the software that we had. I didn’t have much of a sense of it myself.”
What became clear was that the challenge wasn’t simply learning a new piece of software.
The Society had gradually accumulated a collection of systems, processes and workarounds that made everyday administration increasingly difficult. Every new administrator inherited not only the platform, but the complexity that surrounded it.
“The back end was… almost scary looking. It was fairly busy, a little clunky, and our new administrator was finding it difficult to work with.”
Membership, conference registrations, abstract management and payments were handled through separate systems. Support wasn’t always as responsive as the team needed. Knowledge about how everything worked often lived with individual people rather than within the organisation itself.
For volunteer led organisations, that creates an operational risk. Every committee or administrator change has the potential to slow the organisation down.
Recognising It Was Time for Something Simpler
Interestingly, AAS didn’t begin with a lengthy procurement exercise or an extensive feature comparison.
There was simply a growing realisation that running the Society had become more complicated than it needed to be
“Kyle contacted me through LinkedIn at a moment when I was open to the idea that maybe there was another solution out there. I hadn’t gone looking for one, but I was very open to considering it.”
Rather than making a quick decision, Tim asked VeryConnect to reconnect a few months later, allowing time to experience a full year of operations before properly exploring the options.
As those conversations developed, one priority consistently rose to the surface.
“We were really looking for something that was a little simpler in the back end, a little cleaner, better load times, all those kinds of things.”
The objective wasn’t to find software with the longest list of features. It was to reduce operational complexity and make the organisation easier to run.
“I did my homework, but VeryConnect was the only solution we really went into a long conversation with.”
Bringing Membership and Conferences Together
Initially, AAS planned to replace its membership platform and website. However, discussions quickly revealed a much bigger opportunity.
One of the AAS’ most important activities is its annual conference. Delivering that event required staff and volunteers to move between separate systems for registrations, abstract submissions, payments and conference programmes.
Each platform added more administration, more duplicate work and more opportunities for information to become disconnected.
“One of our primary activities is an annual conference, so it made sense to bring it all together rather than rely on external software.”
Aside from its simpler, cleaner lines, what made the VeryConnect platform attractive was its integrated Event Ticketing and Conference Abstract Management functionality. Working together, AAS and VeryConnect implemented an integrated membership platform tailoring the Abstract Management functionality to the AAS’ requirements.
Rather than asking AAS to change how it worked, the platform evolved alongside the organisation’s processes.
Simpler Systems. Stronger Continuity.
For Tim, the biggest improvement wasn’t a single feature. It was knowing AAS had become easier to manage.
Membership management, website updates, communications and conference administration could now be handled within one connected platform rather than several disconnected systems.
Although AAS hasn’t formally measured time savings, the impact has been clear.
“Our administrator says most of the day to day maintenance saves a lot of time over what it used to. It’s a better user experience, a more efficient platform and a nice clean interface.”
Just as importantly, reducing administrative complexity addressed a challenge that had become increasingly significant – organisational continuity.
For many membership organisations, operational knowledge often sits with long serving administrators or volunteers. Every handover carries the risk of losing that knowledge, making onboarding slower and increasing pressure on incoming committee members.
With simpler systems and fewer disconnected processes, AAS no longer faces the same dependency.
“If we lost our administrator tomorrow and there was no handover, it would not be difficult to onboard a new person.”
For a volunteer-led organisation, that’s more than an operational improvement. It’s resilience.
For many membership organisations, operational knowledge often sits with long serving administrators or volunteers. Every handover carries the risk of losing that knowledge, making onboarding slower and increasing pressure on incoming committee members.
With simpler systems and fewer disconnected processes, AAS no longer faces the same dependency.
“If we lost our administrator tomorrow and there was no handover, it would not be difficult to onboard a new person.”
For a volunteer-led organisation, that’s more than an operational improvement. It’s resilience.
A Platform That Continues to Improve
Implementation marked the beginning of the relationship rather than the end.
As AAS continued refining its conference processes, new ideas emerged and additional functionality was developed collaboratively, benefiting both AAS and the wider VeryConnect customer community. This led to VeryConnect developing a searchable online Event Programme module that integrates seamlessly with the existing Abstract Management functionality.
“We’re not just getting our problems fixed. We’re helping VeryConnect improve things that probably have an impact for other clients as well.”
Today, the Australian Anthropological Society continues to work closely with the VeryConnect team as its needs evolve.
“We’re looking at a long term relationship. We’re looking for something that really works, and it’s been really good working with the team.”
For AAS, success wasn’t simply about replacing software. It was about making the Society easier to run, easier to hand over and better equipped for the future.
Key Outcomes
- Reduced day-to-day administration by replacing multiple disconnected systems with one integrated platform.
- Simplified conference delivery by bringing registrations, abstract management, conference programming, payments and membership management together.
- Made onboarding significantly easier for future administrators and volunteer committee members.
- Reduced reliance on individual organisational knowledge, improving continuity during leadership transitions.
- Established an ongoing development partnership that continues to evolve alongside the Society's requirements.
See how VeryConnect could support your organisation.
If the challenges AAS faced feel familiar, book a demo call to see how we can bring your membership, events and day-to-day management into one connected platform.
See How VeryConnect Works for Professional Bodies
Looking for a simpler way to manage membership, events, communications and engagement? Explore how the VeryConnect platform brings your core membership processes together and supports the way professional bodies work.