Organising and recruiting

Tips and resources to improve organising and support active member recruitment

Group of UNISON members on a picket

Organising

Organising is the process of building and maintaining a strong and functional union. It is how we provide essential support and build the power necessary to deliver big wins on the issues that matter most to members.

Successful organising relies on a set of tools and techniques like the anger-hope-action conversation, workplace mapping, and leader identification. 

When applied in a strategic plan to win, these techniques can grow the union and build member confidence, participation, activism and leadership – shifting the balance of power towards members to achieve meaningful wins.

Recruiting

UNISON is proud to be member led. The more of us there are, the louder our voice and the stronger we are in defence of each other and in improving our lives at work. 

That’s why member recruitment is such an important part of our work. We know from experience the best people to recruit new members are their colleagues – people they know and trust. You can help build a stronger UNISON in your workplace by asking a colleague to join.

You’ll find advice and guidance in our Organising to Win guides. And to get started straight away, log in to MyUNISON and download your personal QR code recruitment materials, and ask a colleague to join today.

UNISON members on the picket smiling
Advice and guidance

Organising to Win strategy

Tip and resources to help you build sustainable union power within your branch

Explore our articles

Information and tips to help organise in the workplace and recruit members

Organising planning

Effective organising needs a plan. But where on earth do you start? Follow our organising framework

Organising conversations

How to conduct conversations with colleagues to inspire them to get more involved in the union

Member recruitment

The more members we have, the more powerful we are. Find out how to boost recruitment numbers

Identifying future activists and leaders

How to identify develop, mentor and train new activists, which helps to lighten the load for everyone

Supporting new activists and leaders

How to ensure new activists get the help they need to get up and running

15 reasons people give for not joining a union

Find out what might be stopping them and how to change their minds

Branch Vision Project

A branch development process that recognises a strong union is built of strong branches