{"id":7441,"date":"2025-06-20T13:10:58","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T13:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ata-divisions.org\/GLD\/?p=7441"},"modified":"2025-06-20T13:10:59","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T13:10:59","slug":"gld-membership-survey-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ata-divisions.org\/GLD\/gld-membership-survey-results\/","title":{"rendered":"GLD Membership Survey Results"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/p>\n

On behalf of the GLD Leadership Council, I would like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to the GLD membership survey this spring, and all the information and suggestions they shared with us.<\/p>\n

Communication Channels:<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is great to see that our Division newsletter interaktiv<\/em> (72%*), the listserv (59%), the member directory on the ATA website (54%), the GLD website (36%), and the GLD social media (49%) are being used by our members. However, our Collaboration Pool remains our \u201cSorgenkind,\u201d underutilized at just under 8% usage.<\/p>\n

Professional Development Preferences<\/strong><\/p>\n

When it comes to professional development, specialized translation fields (legal, medical, technical) emerged as the clear winner, chosen by 79% of respondents. The other three topics (tools and technology, business practices and client relations, and marketing and self-promotion) clustered together at 47\u201355%. Several respondents also offered additional topics that could be covered in the future.<\/p>\n

Format preferences are decisive:<\/strong> An overwhelming 74% prefer live webinars over in-person sessions.<\/p>\n

Time Zones<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our membership spans six time zones with a nine-hour difference from Pacific to Central European time. The distribution is 8% in the Pacific zone; 10\u201313% in the Mountain, Central, and Western European zones; 26% in the Eastern zone; and 31% in the Central European zone. This geographic spread, combined with the fact that most members work during business hours in their respective time zones, presents ongoing scheduling challenges for online events.<\/p>\n

Event Attendance<\/strong><\/p>\n

In-person events:<\/strong> Only 27% attended in-person events in 2024, with 73% citing various barriers including age, health, disability, time constraints, logistical issues, scheduling conflicts, distance, lack of awareness, or insufficient relevance. Those who did attend participated in the Annual Conference in Portland, the GLD Members in Europe workshop in Leipzig, and various Stammtische<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Online events:<\/strong> 56% attended online events including socials, regular meetings, webinars on AT\/CH translation issues, book discussions, and the IHK presentation. Forty-four percent did not attend any online events in 2024.<\/p>\n

Future Event Preferences<\/strong><\/p>\n

The priorities are clear when it comes to the types of events our members would like to see in the future, with webinars taking a decisive lead at 79%, followed by networking events (41%) and online social events (38%). Twenty-four percent each would like to see informal Stammtisch<\/em> gatherings and in-person workshops. Co-working sessions bring up the rear at 0%. Some respondents offered suggestions for new formats, such as hybrid web and in-person events.<\/p>\n

When asked what topics and speakers they would like to see in the future, respondents offered a broad variety of topics as well as potential speakers. The same applies to topics for future issues of interaktiv<\/em>, posts on the GLD blog on our Division\u2019s website, additional resources that could be helpful to our members in their work, and emerging trends and challenges. Please click the link to the results below to see all these valuable suggestions.<\/p>\n

Annual Conference <\/strong><\/p>\n

While 72% of respondents generally attend conferences, many haven\u2019t attended the Annual Conference in years (some have not attended since 2001\/2010\/2014\/2016\/2018\/2023 or since before COVID-19). Barriers include distance, rising costs (lost work time, travel, accommodation, registration fees), age and health considerations, pandemic concerns, decline in recruiting opportunities, scheduling conflicts with October timing, and current political uncertainties.<\/p>\n

Suggestions for increasing attendance include:<\/strong><\/p>\n