By Matt Ball, Senior Associate at Agenda Comms | 7 min
Across the union movement, there’s a need to engage a wider range of members - so we’re more relevant and responsive, we have more people willing to take part in our campaigns, we have younger people ready to step into rep roles.
And across the union movement, the answer is usually investment in a digital platform: a new app, a refreshed website, a rebuilt member area, a messenger channel.
Now, the answer to improved member engagement may well be a digital solution - but if the questions that are first posed are ‘what are other unions doing?’ or ‘what’s the latest platform we can adopt?’ then the project has already failed to answer the main questions: ‘what are our organisational priorities?’ and ‘what do members need and want?’
Without strategic thought and without placing members’ expectations and experiences at the heart of platform procurement, when the platform is launched, the product won’t be fit for purpose, member engagement will be low - and a newer, shinier platform will be sought.
Start with member needs, not channels
Here’s a hard truth: members don’t care about platforms. They care about outcomes: quick, authoritative answers; easy access to agreements and guidance; clear signposting; and confidence that what they’re reading is accurate and official.
Most frustration comes from fragmentation: too many channels, unclear purpose and slow responses. When the “official” route doesn’t work, WhatsApp groups, Facebook pages and informal chats fill the vacuum because they deliver speed and – most importantly – relevance to members’ needs and wants.
Governance beats technology every time
A recurring failure pattern is choosing technology before agreeing principles. Start with governance:
who can communicate what, to whom and how quickly?
what content needs approval before posting?
how are out-of-hours issues handled?
which spaces are for announcements or Q&A or discussion or casework?
When governance is unclear, platforms become contested territory: reps work around slow processes, members learn which channels actually deliver answers, and official tools lose legitimacy.
Unions that succeed digitally agree governance first – and a lack of management and consistency only serves to cause confusion and increase risk to authority, accuracy and reputation.
Data and insight are the hidden foundations
Digital decisions should be driven by insight, not hunches or the latest fad.
Data can help you understand member journeys – when and how different groups of members join, pay, update details, get help, participate. Data helps you spot when drop-off happens so you can intervene beforehand.
Evidence helps you prioritise what the platform needs to do, what consent and data standards are needed, which teams need oversight and input - and will guide you to choose tools that fit the job.
We know that a good Customer Relationship Management system is the most important building block. A CRM is more than a contacts list, or subs database, or a casework system, or a means of sending emails, texts or managing events.
A CRM provides a single, trusted view of members and their interactions with the union – a one-stop-source of data that should power segmentation so you can target your organising, elections and ballots; casework so you can spot emerging issues; engagement levels so you encourage members to get more active in the union.
By making sure your digital platforms draw data from and deliver data back to the CRM you have a reliable source of what’s working and what’s not. By not integrating your platforms with your CRM, you lose valuable insights, and your digital ecosystem is fragmented and fragile.
Discussion spaces are high-risk, high-value
Unions have a mixed view on whether to have online discussions – whether those be messenger platforms, social media forums or member spaces on the website. Some choose to avoid running official spaces as discussions don’t remain civil or content is leaked to non-supportive actors.
Some unions have strong moderation, standards and escalation protocols – including a willingness to apply the union’s rules on dealing with poor member-on-member behaviour or content that brings the union into disrepute.
Without clear scope and capacity to resource online discussion spaces, risk and workload grow faster than trust and ‘usefulness’ to the member.
The question isn’t “forum or no forum”. It’s whether you can govern and sustain the space you create.
Informal messaging is a reality
Messaging apps dominate because they’re fast, familiar and always on. If unions ignore that reality, communication moves further outside organisational oversight and increases the risk of misinformation, legal or compliance mistakes, and rep burnout.
Options are limited:
tolerate informal use and accept the risks
try to replace it, which is rarely successful
take a hybrid approach with a trusted, branded “source of truth” for official updates alongside informal discussion
“One platform” is usually the wrong answer
Members often ask for “one place to go”. That usually means one clear front door, not one piece of software.
Different tasks need different environments, there’s not usually one platform that can deliver the very best in: negotiation updates, structured Q&A, searchable policies and agreements, member casework, surveys, event sign ups, contact details and, where it can be supported, discussion.
A better approach is a coherent ecosystem of suitable platforms with: single sign-on, shared standards and consistent user experience; clear roles for each space, strong signposting, with room for local variation.
Measure what matters, not what’s easy
Too many digital projects are judged on engagement metrics: logins, posts, comments. But most members don’t want to post. They want answers.
Measure outcomes that matter: speed of response, fewer repeated questions, reduced reliance on unofficial channels, sustainable rep workload and member confidence in communication.
Mobile optimisation is best treated as a diagnostic, not a tick-box requirement. If key journeys can’t be completed smoothly on a phone, that usually points to deeper issues: unclear ownership, fragmented systems, PDF-heavy processes or a lack of insight into what members are trying to do.
Fixing those foundations typically improves mobile experience as a by-product and it should shape which platforms are chosen.
Digital reflects organisational health
How unions choose and use digital platforms usually reflects organisational health. So consider, how far does your union ask the following questions before choosing a digital solution:
Do we have organisational aims around organising and representation that could benefit from a digital-first approach?
Do we know what members experience and expect from the union and therefore which platform(s) can help meet those needs?
Do we have clear governance and behaviour standards, and can these be delivered and maintained via these platform(s)?
Do we have enough resources and the right processes to meet members' expectations on content and response times on these platforms?
Do we have a means of integrating these platforms into our ecosystem to deliver a seamless experience and also draw out the very best insight?
Unions that ask what they need to achieve and how far they can resource a new platform before they make decisions inevitably fare better than those who jump straight to solutions.
To paraphrase Kevin Costner: “Build it and they will come”, but only if you research and resource it first!
