Earlier this year, Unison launched ‘Who needs a union?’, a recruitment pilot in the West Midlands. The original aim was to target young people specifically but, given the relatively low levels of young people working in public services, we decided
to aim wider. We kept the style and presentation of the campaign attractive
to a youth market, but our message was designed to appeal to every potential member of a trade union.
There were two main strands to the campaign: one aimed to raise awareness of trade unions generally; the second targeted non-members in public services. Each highlighted the benefits of trade union membership.
It sounds simple. But it’s amazing how many times trade unions neglect these basics. Too often, we assume that everyone else
has the same interest in and knowledge of unions we have. Or we campaign on niche political issues that just aren’t of prime concern to our members.
The first strand of the campaign used slightly tongue-in-cheek adverts on billboards and in local newspapers which tapped into the negative emotions that work can provoke. The second strand took us straight to public sector workplaces, where we distributed ‘Take a break’ packs: a brown paper bag containing Fairtrade tea and a booklet.
If you read the booklet from one end it contained ‘Ten good reasons to join Unison’. If you read it from the other, you had, ‘Ten good reasons to become more involved in Unison’. We were trying to attract new activists as well as members. The bags were given out to everyone – members and
non-members. There’s no point divorcing recruitment of members from recruitment
of activists.
The ‘Ten good reasons’ booklet focused on a mixture of hard financial gains from being in a union (average earnings in unionised workplaces are around eight percent higher than in non-unionised ones) to direct benefits (get a say in how to improve things in your workplace, or representation when you have a problem). The bags were backed up by posters in
the workplace.
All of this is being followed up by personal contact. The full results aren’t in yet, and we still have further research to carry out to see how perceptions of Unison have changed. But we are hopeful, and believe that the simplicity of our messages can be carried over into other recruitment campaigns.
So what can Labour learn from this? Political parties are always going to find it harder to recruit than trade unions, because they don’t offer such clear, tangible benefits. ‘Your chance to stand for an elected position and attend as many branch meetings as you can stomach’ isn’t the best sales pitch.
But there are certain lessons we learned that could be applied. Be clear about your message. Find out what potential members’ suspicions of political parties are, and address them. Test what could possibly appeal to them about Labour party membership. Perhaps it’s by focusing on single political issues – only research will tell.
‘Like recruits like’ is an old trade union mantra. The young should recruit the young. Speak to them in an environment where they want to listen. Ambient advertising in pubs and clubs has its place, but you’re more likely to have a dialogue in places where they’re open to ideas – such as schools
and universities.
This has already begun, with the government introducing citizenship studies to the curriculum. In an ideal world, the government should educate young people about the role of political parties – in the same way that it promotes careers in the police service or teaching.
Another technique is to use case studies to illustrate benefits of membership, showing that you can make a difference – locally, nationally or globally – if you get involved. Try to recruit activists, not just members.
Support your activists. While the Labour party doesn’t have the same support network of staff that most unions have, they could put more resources into educating young people about the kinds of roles they can take on in the party, and exactly how to go out there and recruit.
Finally, avoid trying to be too trendy. Media-savvy young people can spot tokenism a mile off. Keep it simple. Don’t pretend to be something we’re not. It’s not rocket science. It’s just about being simple and playing to our strengths, and understanding what members and potential members are really interested in.
