TUC Digital Lab

Managing CRM change projects in unions

As unions digitise more and more of their operations, new tech tools are becoming essential across all their functions. However, the systems used to manage membership data are still the most critical that unions rely on.

This new TUC Digital Lab report looks at Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems from the perspective of the union movement.

Running CRM projects in unions

In September, the TUC Digital Lab ran a workshop for unions working on or considering CRM migration projects.

This is the second time we’ve covered CRM in the Digital Lab and, for the second time, it was very popular, with 40 union staff from 20 union organisations of all sizes attending, ensuring we captured a range of experiences.

What we’ve learned from growing the TUC’s social media comms

The TUC has been evolving our approach to social media in the last couple of years. Here are a few of the principles of what we’ve tried, and what we’ve learned in doing it.

We Demand Beta: Digital responses to the cost of living crisis

Last week’s TUC Digital Lab workshop brought together colleagues from different unions to discuss unions’ digital responses to the cost of living crisis.

In short – what can we all do to help people when: Inflation is running at 9-11%; energy bills are soaring; the government response is weak; and their default position is to be anti-worker?

Improving inclusivity in online union meetings

Many unions found that the number of people attending union events and meetings rose during the pandemic, as events moved online. Also the diversity of members attending grew, as many of those who had previously found in-person meetings difficult could now join in.

But online events are not universally inclusive either, and present many of their own issues for inclusivity. There’s now a challenge to unions to make sure as many people as possible can participate as fully as possible.

Driving real world activity through distributed digital event campaigns

In the run up to the We Demand Better rally on 18 June, the TUC tested new ways to spread the word amongst union activists and potential marchers. As well as a series of local “road show” events, we sought to use the Megaphone campaign platform to support activists in hosting their own leafletting sessions at train stations across the country.

Tories’ online voting block makes digital more important for strike ballots, not less

This weekend, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng signalled in the Telegraph that the government would finally rule out allowing unions to use online voting in strike ballots.

Talking about digital campaigning in unions

This week, colleagues from 10 TUC unions came together at a Digital Lab office hours session to share thoughts on digital campaigning. Here’s a note of some of the points we discussed.

Join Together – a new approach to joining unions online

Join Together is a new Software As A Service (SaaS) platform for unions, focused on supporting unions with online joining. They’ve been working with the TUC Digital Lab over the last two years to devise a product that works for unions, and to build it into a sustainable option for the longer term.

We talked to two of the team, Sam Jeffers and Tekin Süleyman, about the tools and their ambitions for them.

Making the most of mobile for union digital

One of the biggest shifts in digital over the last decade has been the move to mobile. The overwhelming majority of working age Britons now own a smartphone, and it’s given them a new and much more natural relationship with digital channels.

The ability to complete an ever wider range of tasks over the internet, from wherever you happen to be, has raised users’ expectations. And that can be hard for unions to keep up with.

Our latest report, “Making the most of mobile for trade union digital”, takes a closer look at what mobile means for users and their unions. It’s been written with regular Digital Lab contributor Simon Parry of infobo.com.