Union members manage most of their lives through digital interactions. From banking and travel to shopping and public services, they are used to fast, personalised responses. As a result, they expect all organisations they interact with to be responsive, transparent and available whenever they need them.
However, many unions still run highly manual processes for membership services and communications. Updates are sent as generic broadcasts across too-broad subjects. Common member requests get handled late or inconsistently. Staff time is absorbed in administering predictable and repeatable tasks, delaying the speed of response.
When should unions use automation?
Marketing automation isn’t about “doing digital” for its own sake or simply sending out more messages. It’s a way of dealing with standard member interactions more efficiently. Counter-intuitively, in many cases an automated response can better meet a member’s expectations than a human one.
When more of the basics are automated, the union can respond out of hours, or during gaps in coverage. Data we hold about a member can make communications more relevant. And scarce time and energy can be redirected towards organising, representation and support work that can’t (and shouldn’t) be automated.
This new guide from the TUC Digital Lab focuses on how unions make those choices consciously: understanding where automation adds value, where human contact remains essential, and how to implement automation in a way that saves time and expense, whilst reflecting union values and realities.
For unions, well-designed automation helps to:
- Reach members at moments when they are most engaged
- Provide timely, relevant information without relying on manual follow-up
- Ensure important messages aren’t lost when staff capacity is stretched
- Free up staff time for organising, casework and member support
A new Digital Lab guide
The guide contains examples for unions to consider. Not as a prescription, but a starting point – showing how automation might support recruitment, engagement and retention in practical, union-relevant ways.
Not all will be technically possible for all unions. But nearly all will be able to make use of something in this guide, and as unions extend their core technologies and communications tools, new opportunities will continually open to them.
Dowload the guide here
Thanks to colleagues at the ACTU’s Union Innovation Hub and agency Forward Action, who have helped inspire and author this guide.