The life blood of a trade union is its fee-paying membership. In this country legislation requiring compulsory membership of a union has often meant that the question of how we attract and retain members has not received the attention that it should have.

All that has changed. Membership of a union is now voluntary. In addition, the Employment Contracts Act treats trade unions no differently than any other 'agent' who a worker may choose to represent him or her. In other words, services that trade unions provide have been exposed to competition.

The Minister Of Labour in recent speeches has suggested that Trade Unions and workers have little to fear from the Employment Contracts Bill because 60% of the existing workforce is non unionised. I suspect that the figure which he is quoting may not be correct. Harbridge (1991) refers to 55% being unionised , based on 1986 census figures, or, if the September 1990 Household Labour Force Survey is used, approximately 60%. Regardless of who is right, there are still a large number of potential union members in the work force and consequently considerable scope for unions to increase their membership.

Who are unions competing against for their share of this market? Under the Employment Contracts Act workers may represent themselves in negotiations with their employer or choose someone else. The Act does not provide a code in respect of minimum standards that an agent must abide by. Therefore, in effect, the potential for competition is great. However, in view of the fact that there is nothing so near and dear as ones own wages and conditions, it is fair to presume an individual who is not confident in their own negotiating ability will try to select an agent who has some experience and expertise in the process. This narrows down the field somewhat.

While it is conceivable that a union or unions will attempt to encroach into an area currently serviced by a union, it is hoped that this will not occur. The Trade Union movement itself, via the Council of Trade Unions, is investigating the introduction of a voluntary method of determining union coverage. Such an objective, should be supported because it will unite and strengthen the movement. Not all unions, however, belong to the Council of Trade Unions and even those who do may be considering whether or not to 'reposition' themselves.

Lawyers are probably the most obvious area from which competition is likely to come. Industrial law is not an area in which a great number of lawyers specialise. However, as union officials know, that has not previously prevented lawyers representing workers. In recent times Industrial Relations has become more specialised and more legalistic and under the Employment Contracts Act it is likely to become even more so. Lawyers would seem to be ideally placed to take advantage of this. On the other hand the cost of having a lawyer as your agent is likely to be many times more expensive than belonging to a union.

The other major area from which competition is likely to come is the emerging area of Labour Relations Consultants. Sometimes such people have worked for unions and therefore have experience and expertise gained from a practical union point of view, something incidently not many lawyers have. Labour Relations Consultants tend not to be qualified lawyers, which can be a disadvantage, although many of these people have picked up the basic principles of Industrial Law. While not as costly as lawyers, their fees are still likely to be much more than the cost of belonging to a union.

So, how can you both attract new members and retain existing members faced with this competition?

Many unions have been expanding the range of services offered to members, eg access to Credit Union facilities, low cost insurance schemes, low cost legal aid, low cost medical services, access to holiday cottages, etc. In my view these are vital in terms of offering alternative reasons for belonging to a union. History, however, shows that workers united to form trade unions because they found that they were being exploited by employers who were imposing totally unreasonable wages and conditions. Those areas of concern, to use a management term, were and still are the core business of Trade Unions.

Apart from activists, most workers generally do not belong to a trade union for intrinsic reasons. Unions should, therefore, not be lulled into the belief that it is membership, per se, that workers are after. It is a fact of life that we are now living in a society where there is greater emphasis on the individual. The majority of prospective members will, perhaps selfishly, be asking themselves and union officials "what can the union do for me?"

The principles of trade unionism are, however, founded upon the ideal of collectivism, ie individual workers will achieve more when they act in unison. A trade union is, therefore, merely the vehicle by which the collective achieves its objectives. The challenge then for trade unions is to provide such an outstanding service, in respect of its 'core business', that prospective and existing members can see that their interests are better advanced and protected through union membership.

My objective in compiling this manual is to provide an insight into how union officials can examine their union's own internal systems, procedures and operating environment in order to ascertain whether there are barriers present which prevent their union achieving its core business objectives. If there are barriers preventing this, then those barriers are effectively also preventing people from joining a union or causing others to resign their membership.

I have based the need for this manual on the assumption that in the competitive environment in which unions now find themselves, they need to adopt a much more proactive approach in respect of their core business. As such, in undertaking this barrier exercise, it is implicit that overcoming barriers requires the developing and use of marketing based strategies. Marketing has been defined as:

• A social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others. (Kotler and Armstrong 1989)

In terms of a union, marketing is the social and managerial process by which the union exchanges services for membership. In my view the removal of barriers, as a part of this process, will lead to increases in membership numbers.

I have briefly referred to a union's core business activities as wages and conditions. Before embarking on the exercise of ascertaining whether barriers exist, it is perhaps useful to provide some detail on just what exactly is core business.

Broadly speaking the core business of a union requires it to represent members in the same way a lawyer or Labour Relations Consultant acts for a client. I have broken this issue down into two keys areas:

1. Bargaining
   
   • - provide advice
     
   • - negotiate employment contracts with employers
     
   • - police contracts
     
   • - enforce contracts
     
2. Personal Grievances
   
   • - provide advice
     
   • - attempt to resolve with employer
     
   • - if necessary, pursue to the appropriate institution for resolution
     
   • - enforce any decision
     

• 'Anything that keeps a consumer from doing what producers want'. (Buchanan, R W, 1990)

In terms of a union's core business, a barrier is anything which prevents the union providing the standard of service expected by the collective (intending and prospective members), which as a result, will cause a prospective member not to join a union or an existing member to resign.

If your purpose in reading this manual is to find out what specific barriers are preventing your union achieving its core business objectives, then you will be disappointed. The Oxford Dictionary defines the word 'manual' as 'book containing information or practical instructions (on a given subject)'.

In Part Two I have identified a number of topics. There is an introduction to each topic followed by a number of questions and/or orders. The reader should address the topics and/or orders. The objective in doing this is for the reader to ultimately to find out if a topic area could contain in it thoughts that will ultimately lead to identifying barriers which may be present in the reader's own union, or competitive barriers, which, if known, could be utilised to attract new members away from competitors.

My purpose in compiling this manual initially was because it was a mandatory assignment for the Marketing Module of my MBA programme. However, as I put more research, time and effort into the 'assignment', the more determined I became to produce a document that would be of practical assistance to Trade Unions. I hope I have achieved that objective.

A union's operating environment consists of the actors and forces that affect its ability to develop and maintain successful services for members and potential members.

In some cases it is possible to 'manage' environmental forces eg lobbying politicians has been known to have resulted in politicians changing direction. In other cases unions must react to environmental forces which are beyond their control eg the emergence of Labour Relations Consultants means that unions must develop strategies to protect their 'market share'.

Environmental forces can be classified as belonging to either the microenvironment or the macroenvironment.

The Microenvironment

A union's microenvironment consists of the following forces, both internal and external (but only those external forces which are close to the union).

Internal Union Forces

Joining the Union and Paying Fees

• - How easy or difficult is it for a prospective member to join the union?
  
• - Are there officials available to 'sign up' new members? eg is there a delegate in a prospective members workplace who can do this or is an officer of the union required to physically visit the workplace on a regular basis to do this?
  
• - Do employers supply details of new employees? If not, can provision of this information be negotiated with the employer?
  
• - How easy or difficult is it for members to pay their union fees? Is it necessary to have these collected by a delegate or official or can fees be paid by automatic payment from the member's bank account? Better still can it be negotiated for the employer to deduct fees direct from the members' pay and pay this, in bulk, to the union?
  

Objectives

• - Does the union have a Mission Statement and/or objectives which state exactly what it is that the union is trying to achieve and how this occurs?
• - If not, are there resources available within the union to provide this or is external assistance (eg Consultant) required to undertake this?
• - Most unions provide this information in their Union Rule Book. Are the existing objectives within the Rule Book satisfactory or do these need changing?
• - If these are in Rule Books, are Rule Books freely available to members and/or officials?
• - Do all officials (both paid and elected) understand the role they play?
• - Is there an organisation chart?
• - Are there job/position descriptions?
• - Are the responsibilities and accountabilities of elected officials clearly defined in the rule book?
• - Is there acceptance of these? If not, what has to be done to overcome this? eg Is it necessary to conduct 'team building' exercises?
• - Have officials been adequately trained and educated to undertake their respective responsibilities? If not, then can this be provided by:
  • - Trade Union Education Authority
  • - NZ Institute of Management
  • - Universities eg Industrial Relations Centres
  • - Polytechnics
  • - In-house
• - Is the union accessible to members?
• - Do members know where the union's office/offices are? Is publicity required?
• - Does the union have the resources to service membership enquiries? If not can more staff be employed/more delegates appointed and trained?
• - Do officials have the means to visit members at the workplace?
• - Has access been granted by employers? If not can this be negotiated with the employer?
• - Is transport available? If not are there delegates on hand or nearby?
• - Is there adequate finance available to provide the necessary level of membership service? If not, should membership fees be increased or should some services (such as Personal Grievance prosecution) be charged at cost? Is it possible to generate alternative sources of income eg selling advertising in the union's journal, making details of the union's membership available to mailing-list brokers (such as the New Zealand Post Direct Marketing Centre)? It may be advisable to seek advice from an accountant or solicitor as to whether such income would be taxable.
• - Are there adequate structures which allow for membership participation?
• - How easy or difficult is it for members to
• be elected to office holder positions?
• - How easy or difficult is it for members to initiate changes in union policy?
• - If there are problems which limit membership participation then how can the existing union rules be changed to overcome this?
• - What mechanisms are available to advertise participatory procedures to members eg Union Journal, information kit.

Finances

• - Can the cost of individual services be measured? If not does the union have the resources to put such a system in place or is external assistance required eg from an accountant.
• - Does the union provide some services which are unprofitable? Is this desirable?
• - Have budgets been established so that officials know within what financial limits they must operate? If not, can these be established from existing resources or is external assistance also required for this.

The Union's Own Staff

• - Have staff been trained to do the job expected of them eg does contact with members indicated that the union's services are not being properly provided because the person responsible for 'delivery' does not have the necessary skills?
• - Do staff have safe and healthy working conditions eg if visual display units are in use, are the requirements of the Code of Practice adhered to; are the provisions in the Factories & Commercial Premises Act adhered to?
• - Are staff being 'fairly rewarded' for their work eg has a comparison of appropriate rates of remuneration been made.

External Union Forces

Competitors

• - Does the union know who it is competing against in terms of providing membership services eg other unions, lawyers, Labour Relations Consultants?
• - Does the union provide a better service than its competitors? Is there overall better value for money in a member belonging to a union as opposed to that member having the service provided elsewhere?
• - Is there research being undertaken in respect of competitor services to ascertain what services are being provided and at what cost? (see the next section of this manual for further information on research.)
• - Is the Union adapting its own strategies and services to counter new initiatives and services provided by competitors?

Strategic Alliances

• - Are there benefits in forming strategic alliances eg through mutual co-operation and exchange of information?
• - What organisations exist, both nationally and internationally with which strategic alliances could possibly be formed. The Council of Trade Unions could assist in identifying like or similar organisations.
• - Does the union belong to the Council of Trade Unions? If not, then the Secretary of that organisation can be contacted to provide information on the benefits of affiliation.
• - Are there other New Zealand unions in the same or a similar industry with which the union could amalgamate? What are the benefits of a possible amalgamation eg critical mass, reduced operating costs, improved services etc. Again the Council of Trade Unions could assist in this area.

Employers

• - Can the employers, who employ the union's members, be influenced to the extent that a favourable and co-operative working relationship can be developed, without the union compromising its principles eg a 'social' visit to the employer with the specific purpose of engendering a co-operative working relationship, as well as demonstrating over a period of time that the union and its officials are realistic and honest professionals who at all times act with integrity.

A union's macroenvironment consists of the following wider societal forces which affect the total microenvironment.

Political/Legal

• - Does the union have access to political speeches, news media statements, newspapers, magazines so as to:
• - keep ahead of changes in Government thinking and policies (personal access to influential politicians is also advantageous here as well);
• - be aware of trends and concepts developing within society in general eg the concept of freedom of choice has been developing for some years and will severely undermine the concept of collectivism.
• - Does the union have access to the legal skills necessary to interpret legislation and act on its behalf eg access to either a law firm or its own 'in-house' lawyer.
• - Does the union have access to the legal skills necessary to interpret legislation and act on its behalf eg access to either a law firm or its own 'in-house' lawyer.

Economic

• - Is the union aware of general changes in the economic climate which may mean that union membership is something that members are considering that they can do without (because they cannot afford it) or are such that the union needs to reassess services provided to members eg in times of high interest rates a Credit Union operated by a Trade Union may be able to offer mortgages at below market rates. The mechanisms for keeping in touch with economic change are newspapers, financial magazines and bulletins and news-sheets published by financial organisations.

Technology

• - Does the union have the means of keeping abreast of technological change. Technology will have an impact on both the way in which a union provides a service to its members as well as impacting upon members' jobs.
• - In respect of the provision of service to members, technology can be of assistance in providing an enhanced service. Is the union aware of advancements in technology, such as enhanced information systems and just exactly how these can benefit members? If not, then providing that the union does not have the necessary expertise in this area (which for most unions is likely to be the case) then it may be necessary to engage some assistance to ascertain what the benefits are, what type of technology (if any the union should invest in) and what the costs are.
• - In respect of technological change impacting upon members jobs, does the union have the expertise or access to the appropriate information so as to hopefully negotiate with employers the introduction of technology, in such a way that both employees and employer benefit eg access to magazines, newspapers, studies into similar types of technology both within New Zealand and internationally (strategic alliances by way of affiliation to international trade union organisations may be appropriate here). Has the union been able to negotiate some type of 'early warning' system so that employers advise the union of impending technological change (a type of consultative approach). In some industries this type of joint approach has even extended to the employer funding joint union/employer overseas study missions.

Cultural/Social

• - Is the union aware of the beliefs and values held by society concerning those things that unions have an interest in? eg union membership, collectivism, agreements negotiated by a union as opposed to individual employment contracts.
• - Are unions aware that there is an important difference between 'core' values and 'secondary' values? Most people believe in core values eg honesty, and therefore these are difficult to change. Secondary values eg union membership are not held so firmly and can therefore be influenced. The method for influencing these will be addressed later in the section entitled 'promotion'.
• - Is the union aware of changes in cultural and social norms? eg The last decade has seen the question of minority rights become a major cultural/social issue. The emergence of this type of issue will mean that unions need to examine their services, to ensure that these properly address the issues being raised, as well as ensuring that the way in which they operate (eg participative processes) also properly address those issues. The way in which unions can keep abreast of these changes is through newspapers, magazines and journals, news media statements issued by politicians and Government Departments as well as through being aware of pressure group activities.

Demographic

• - Is the union aware of changes in the age and structure of members, where members work, how many members are male, female, black or white? These facts can be important in helping to develop strategies which address those issues previously referred to under cultural/social. Access to this information can be obtained from membership application cards or preferably a computerised membership roll, if one has been established. Alternatively general demographic and population trends and statistics can be obtained from the Department of Statistics.

If it was just a matter of going out and removing barriers then the exercise would be straight forward and everyone would be doing it. In fact barriers which prevent 'better business' would probably not exist. However, sometimes we are not aware that barriers exist. On other occasions we are aware of them but we don't know why they exist. Similarly, research and information is often a prerequisite to the removal of barriers.

In the business and commercial sector, the removal of barriers is a part of the marketing process and the information required to do this is obtained through market research. Market research specifies the information necessary to address marketing issues; designs the method for collecting information; manages and implements the data collection process; analyses the results; and communicates the findings and their implications.

In terms of barriers, this section of the manual focuses on what information is needed by those in the union who undertake this task, how the information is gathered and analysed and how it is used to achieve the desired objective. These tasks make up what could more commonly be referred to as the union's Marketing Information System.

Assessing Information Needs
Those responsible for developing and promoting the unions services should be asked the following questions:

• - What types of decisions are you regularly called upon to make?
• - What types of information do you need to make these decisions?
• - What types of information do you regularly get?
• - What types of special studies do you periodically request?
• - What types of information would you like to get that you are not now getting?
• - What information would you want daily, weekly, monthly, yearly?
• - What magazine and trade reports would you like to see routed to you on a regular basis?
• - What specific topics would you like to be kept informed of?
• - What types of data analysis programs would you like to see made available?
• - What do you think would be the four most helpful improvements that could be made in the present information system?
• - Are you aware of changes that the union's competitors are making and which are likely to result in union members resigning.
• - Are the benefits of having an item of information worth the cost of providing it? While this may often require subjective judgement, it may be possible to measure the number of new members against the actual cost of providing a specific piece of information. With regard to relatively small amounts of expenditure this may not be important, but when the expenditure involved is large then the question of benefits obtained versus costs becomes important.

Gathering and Analysing Information

• - Are those responsible for gathering information aware of the following sources:
  • - Internal union records can be accessed in respect of finances, negotiating successes/ losses, frequency of organising visits, current concerns of members, difficulties which are preventing officials performing their job etc. Is the information available from internal sources accurate (if the information has been gathered for other purposes it may be incomplete or inaccurate for research purposes).
  • - Everyday information (ie intelligence) about developments in the industrial relations/union environment. Have the union's officials been trained and encouraged to develop networks eg with members, employers, management, officials from other unions, consultants, the Mediation Service. Do they obtain helpful information from these sources and if so are there mechanisms in place to allow that information to be reported back and made use of? Are newspapers, magazines, journals, etc being scanned (both news and advertisements) to keep abreast of competitors' activities?
• - If the union cannot obtain the required information from either internal records or by means of intelligence activities, does it have the skills and expertise to conduct a formal marketing research exercise eg can the union:
  • - define both the problem and research objectives;
  • - develop the plan for collecting the information;
  • - implement the plan;
  • - collect the data and analyse it;
  • - interpret the findings.
• - If the union does not have the skills and expertise to do this, can it afford to engage the services of a Market Research firm either on its own or with another union in the same or a similar industry. If so, then contact the Association of Market Research Organisation, PO Box 331353, Auckland, for details of Research Organisations affiliated to the Association.
• - Does the Union have the skills and expertise and resources to analyse the information obtained from internal records and/or intelligence and/or formal research (if the union rather than a research organisation has undertaken this)? eg Can the union conduct a statistical analysis of the data to learn about relationships, has the union computer facilities and programmes to enable spreadsheet modules to be developed and 'what if' scenarios to be applied.

Distributing Information

• - Is the organisation structured in such a way that research results and recommendations get to the appropriate official for implementation? Has that person got the authority to implement changes necessary to improve services? What controls and report back procedures exist to ensure that this actually gets done? (Check the union's rule book and formal organisational structure to ensure that there are no organisational barriers which prevent these things being done.
• - Are changes which have been implemented being promoted to prospective and existing members?

With the repeal of the Labour Relations Act and its requirements relating to union registration and coverage, any union is conceivably able to have a rule which admits to membership any worker from any occupation or work within New Zealand.

However, as was mentioned in the introduction, it is hoped that this will not occur. That is not to say that there will not be repositioning as a result of amalgamations. Additionally, if some unions become 'casualties' of the Employment Contracts Act, then gaps will open up which will need to be filled.

That still leaves the threat of competition from lawyers and consultants, who will, no doubt, attempt to focus on the most profitable areas of the market.

This part of the manual will therefore assist in determining which segment of the market a union will operate in and what type of service or services should be provided for that segment.

Determining a Union's Market Segment

• - Is the union so big, powerful and well resourced that it can be 'all things for all people'?
• - If not, what particular industry or industries should it concentrate on?
  • - Manufacturing
  • - Timber/forestry
  • - Communications/electrical
  • - Transport
  • - Retail
  • - Entertainment/services
  • - Processing of agriculture
  • - Farming/fishing
  • - Finance
  • - Health
  • - Administration
  • - Education
  • - Construction
  • - Natural resources
    • (NZ Council of Trade Unions May 1989)
• - Does the union have any particular expertise, practical experience or tradition of involvement in a particular industry in terms of competitive advantage which would assist in determining the industry the union should concentrate on?
• - Following consideration of this, should the union endeavour to provide a single service or multiple services in a single industry or
• - Should the union provide a single service or multiple services in more than one industry?`
• - The industry could be segmented on the basis of:
  • - service provided ie the level of service provided is dependent upon either what a member wants or is prepared to pay. eg member could require:
    • - all services (including non-core services such as credit union, legal assistance, holiday accommodation etc and/or
    • - negotiation of collective contract and/or
    • - negotiation of individual contract and/or
    • - enforcement of contract and/or
    • - assistance with grievances.
  • - Income status eg the union could focus on trades people and/or middle management and/or senior management and/or professionals.
  • - Geographical areas eg if say 80% of members/potential members were in the six main centres the union could use this as a basis for the level of service and/or costs. A two tier structure for services could be adopted based on either cost ie lower fees for those in the six main centres or a lower standard of service for those outside the six main centres.
  • - Age or length of working life ie research could show that certain age groups use the union's services more than others and therefore this group should pay more.
  • - Employer relationships eg an option would be for a union to focus only on workers employed by Telecom in the Communications Industry.

Deciding on How Many Segments to Service and How to Identify the Best Segments

• - What are the Union's options:
  1. The whole market with one offer eg negotiate collective contracts with all workers who want that service only or
  2. Several segments of the market but with a service specifically tailored for each segment or
  3. Concentrate on one or a few segments.

• - What factors should the union consider in choosing an option?
  • - What is the level of the Union's resources -if resources are limited, option 3 may be best.
  • - Are each of the services provided clearly different - if so then option 2 may be best.
  • - If there is likely to be heavy competition then option 1 would not be the best.
  • - If specifically tailoring a product for a particular segment involved extra costs then option 2 may not be the best.
  • - If the future of a single segment is not secure then option 3 may be the best.

Choosing a Segment or Position in the Market

• - In which segment or segments does the union have a competitive advantage?
• - In terms of lawyers and Labour Relations Consultants how do the unions fees, expertise and practical experience compare?
• - In terms of other unions who might compete in a particular segment, how do the union's fees compare and does the union have practical experience and expertise in that sector which the other union does not have?
• - How do potential members perceive the service or services provided in comparison to competitors?
• - Has the union got the means of communicating and delivering the service to members (see the part on promotion which follows later.

Unions provide a service or range of services. A service is defined as:

• 'Any activity or benefit that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. Its production may or may not be tied to a physical product. (Kotler & Armstrong 1989)

In the Introduction to this manual I pointed out the danger in unions offering 'membership' or focusing on 'features' rather than benefits. In the competitive environment in which unions now find themselves, the only thing which is certain is change. Accordingly, a union must ensure that its services give it an advantage over competitors. This part of the manual focuses on ways to achieve this.

Factors Inherent in Services

The provision of services is different to the production of goods. Goods can be produced and then stored until they are required.

• - Is the union aware of these inherent factors which impact upon the provision of quality services?
  • - Services are intangible. Therefore, will the provision of a quality service reduce the level of uncertainty to make it more 'real'?
  • - Services are inseparable from the people who provide them - the person who provides it is a part of the service and therefore interaction is important.
  • - Services can vary because there are many different people involved in the process of providing the service eg from the receptionist to the person who actually fixes the problem.
    • - Can the inseparability and variability factors be eliminated or reduced through quality control methods eg the careful selection and training of staff, surveys of members to obtain their views on how good the service is?
    • - Services are perishable and cannot be stored.
    • - Is the demand for services steady? If so, then there are likely to be less resource allocation problems. If not, how can demand be matched with supply eg would a regional operation rather than a district operation give more staffing flexibility?

Branding

• - Does the union have an identity, status place in the market or advantage which is of such significance that it can be utilised to clearly differentiate the union from its competitors (in the same way that producers brand products eg IBM and Kelloggs are such well known brand names that people ask or look for the products produced by IBM and Kelloggs by their brand names rather than asking for computers or breakfast cereal).
• - What sort of name, term, sign and/or symbol could the union adopt which would have the effect of serving the same purpose as a brand eg a union which concentrated on servicing workers in the communications industry could with the acronym 'UCW' (Union of Communication Workers) together with an appropriate symbol (see example) achieve a high profile. The objective would be for anyone working in the communications industry to automatically think 'UCW' when it came to Trade Union issues.
• - Are there any advantages for the union in doing this eg if the union provided a quality service which was better than its competitors, would it be possible to make the acronym 'UCW' synonymous with quality?

Strategies for Introducing New Services

Services provided at any given time may not be appropriate in the future. As previously pointed out, changes in the external environment (eg political, legal, social) will require improved service and/or different services. If the union is considering the need for new services what are the stages in the development of a service?

• - Idea generation: Can the union consider all ideas or should there be some direction as to which services and/or markets to focus on? eg the Communications Union could focus on extending its service to youth workers in the newspaper and circular distribution area. It could then solicit ideas from both internal and external sources as to what should be provided and how this should be done.
• - Screening of ideas: Those directly responsible for the development of new services would subject all ideas to a series of questions to ascertain which best fitted with existing strategies.
• - Testing the idea: Are there either internal or external sources who could be used as a 'sounding board' to gain reaction.
• - Development of a marketing strategy:
  • - Which segment and share of the market is being aimed for?
  • - What are the goals to be achieved in the first few years?
  • - What is the price to be charged? How is the service to be delivered and how much is to be spent on promoting it?
  • - What are the long term objectives and goals for the new service and how will it fit in, long term with other union objectives?
  • - Will the new service be viable? Can the benefits be measured against costs? Does it compliment or enhance existing services/image?
  • - Development of the service ie how the service will actually be provided. This could only involve the writing up of an appropriate job description, right through to a detailed step by step plan, including provision and utilisation of resources, and then testing this under 'field conditions'.
  • - Testing the market. This may involve providing the service in a limited way so as to uncover potential problems and see how it could be improved.
  • - Launching the service. The union would need to decide when it was to be launched, where, how and by whom eg if it was the provision of services to youth workers in the communication industry would the introduction be staggered throughout the country?

Service Life Cycle Strategies

There are a number of different stages through which a service passes during its life cycle. Is the union aware of these different stages and how each stage affects the union in a different way?

• - Introduction Stage - Can the union afford to carry the higher costs associated with this stage while getting nothing in return?
• - Growth Stage - As more people get to hear about 'the excellent new service' will resources be able to cope with the demand?
• - Maturity Stage - At this stage there is a slow down in demand. Often competition starts to impact as well.
• - Service Modification Stage - How will the union halt the decline in growth and the impact of competition? Can it do this by improving the quality and features of the service.
• - Decline Stage - Hopefully this won't occur but if so, is there further room for modification or can the service be phased in with another similar service or offered at a reduced level?

Trade Unions are non-profit making, service orientated organisations. As such many commercial concepts which relate to pricing for profit are not relevant.

Pricing as it affects Trade Unions has traditionally related to what level the membership fee will be set at in order that sufficient income can be generated to recover the cost of services. Membership fees have generally only increased when extra revenue has been required to meet the increasing cost of existing services and/or when extra revenue has been required to provide new services.

With the introduction of the Employment Contracts Act unions are exposed to competition. This may require a new approach concerning the setting of membership fees. In this respect I am not advocating a move away from the 'not for profit' philosophy, but there will be a range of pricing factors which in the future will need to be considered if unions wish to adapt to the new environment. This part of the manual attempts to raise some of those issues.

Factors to Consider When Setting Prices

Factors affecting pricing decisions are determined by both internal union factors and external environmental factors.

Internal Factors

• - Does the union have an accounting system which provides accurate costing information? If not, then the union should seek advice, probably from its accountant, on how this can be rectified.
• - Has the union targeted a particular sector of the workforce?
  • - If the union is clear about which sector of the workforce it is to focus on, the development of a fee structure becomes easier. eg If a union is only going to concentrate on say middle management (the higher paid) then it will probably be able to set a higher fee than if it concentrated on unskilled workers or if it focused on only those in metropolitan areas it would not have the extra costs associated with servicing workers in rural areas.
• - Does the union have a clear idea of its mission and objectives?
  • - If the union wants to be open to anyone then will it need to adopt a higher fee structure to provide services on a far greater occupational and geographical base.
  • - At the other end of the spectrum, if membership is open only to a smaller group then will the fees need to reflect the quality of service that a smaller membership may expect?
  • - Is the union aware of how the type of service provided will impact upon the fee structure? eg If there is a ratio of paid officials to members of 1:1000 then the fee structure will be higher than if it was 1:2000.
  • - Are there benefits to be obtained by reducing variable costs (eg travel) through operating out of a number of various locations rather than one centralised location?

External Factors

• - Are there any taxation impositions which would affect the union's income? If the union is considering sources of income other than membership fees then advice from an accountant should be sought before proceeding too far.
• - Is the union able to study its competitors to see if its services can be provided in a way which is so different to its competitors that a higher fee is acceptable to members? eg If the union is able to show that it has experience, expertise and provides a quality service far beyond that which anyone else can provide, will this justify a higher fee?
• - Is the union aware of what services its competitors provide and how much people pay for those services?
• - Is the union surveying general economic indicators? eg In times of a recession people may be reluctant to part with union fees - on the other hand, if 'times are tough' then union membership may be more important, especially if there is a change in legislation which tips the balance of power in favour of employers. Then membership of a union is more important in terms of protection.

General Pricing Approaches

• - Is the traditional approach to setting fees appropriate?
• - Is it appropriate to adopt a cost plus pricing policy in order to provide a cushion against increasing costs and/or to provide a fund from which new services can be developed?
• - Is the perception which members and prospective members hold about value for money in respect of the union's services and fees important? Do members consider that they get good value for their fee? If so, would this allow fees to be set at a higher level?
• - What is the 'going rate' for certain services? Should the union charge more or less or the same?

Price Setting Strategies

• - What type of mix does the union want to adopt in terms of price and quality?
• - Is the union prepared to effectively cross-subsidise some members and/or some services eg rural members at the expense of metropolitan members, personal grievances at the expense of the collective negotiating process?
• - Are fees fixed on the basis of where the member resides (to overcome the extra costs of providing services outside the large populated areas)?
• - Are fees linked to members' rates of pay - the more people are paid the higher their membership fee is?
• - Are future fee adjustment mechanisms an appropriate factor to consider when considering a pricing strategy. eg If fees are linked to members rates of pay will this enable fees to automatically increase when rates of pay increase?
• - Should some of the more costly services be provided only on a full or partial cost recovery basis? eg Membership entitles a person to advice on a grievance but if the grievance can only be resolved by court action then the member pays an additional sum.

Initiating Price Increases

• - Can a system be implemented which allows for fees to automatically increase from time to time (see for instance the linking of price adjustment mechanisms with pricing strategies which is referred to above)?
• - Is there an alternative to increasing the membership fee? eg Could some services be shared with unions who provide a similar service in the same sector of the workforce?

This part of the manual concentrates on the mechanism or mechanisms which are responsible for the delivery of services - not just the person who actually physically provides a service but also the process by which the union delivers its services to its members.

You may recall prior reference to the inherent qualities of services and the difficulties these provide ie they are intangible, inseparable, variable and perishable. They do not exist until a member makes a request and action is taken to respond. The provision of services is very labour intensive. The largest part of most union budgets is wages. Distribution decisions will, therefore, have a significant effect on the union's cost structure.

Designing a Distribution Channel

• - What do members want?
  • - Do they want access to only one service or access to all available services and what are the services they want access to?
  • - Do members want to deal with a centralised service provider or a decentralised provider?
  • - What sort of problems do members have ie do they generally require immediate assistance or can they wait? If so, for how long?
  • - Do different segments of the membership require different types of service with different levels of service? eg members employed as Managers may require less service in terms of quantity but a more specialised service.
  • - Does the member have to be physically present for the service to be provided or can it be provided by alternative means? eg telephone.
• - What sort of distribution channels do competitors have? eg local, centralised, immediate etc. Can the union match this? Does it need to?
• - In addition to delivering a service 'today', will the chosen method of distribution also meet the future needs of members?

Factors to Consider When Designing a Distribution Channel

• - What sort of service or services are to be provided ie to individuals and/or to groups of members? If these groups have different requirements can they be provided by the same mechanism or are different mechanisms needed? eg A group of members considering industrial action will require a different type of service to a member who has been sacked.
• - Is it possible to enter into some arrangement with another union or group of unions to effectively share services? eg This could range from amalgamation, to another union providing an Organiser to advise a member on available services for challenging a dismissal.
• - If the union provides a decentralised service will this necessarily be an improvement on a centralised service and will it attract new members/retain existing members?
• - In terms of a centralised versus decentralised delivery mechanism, what are the positive and negative factors which require consideration?
  • - Centralised:
    • - time spent travelling and associated loss of productivity;
    • - vehicle running costs/travel costs;
    • - motel/hotel accommodation costs.
  • - Decentralised:
    • - Reduction in time travelling and travelling costs;
    • - reduction in accommodation costs;
    • - possible increased productivity;
    • - possible extra office accommodation costs and associated support costs eg telephone, fax, secretarial etc (unless these can be shared with someone else).

Promotion of services, along with designing, pricing and distribution, make up the four most important elements in the marketing of union services. In some ways it is the most important because it is usually at this stage that a potential member comes face to face (often in a physical sense) with what membership of the union means. As such it is vital that this initial contact creates a favourable impression.

Promotion of the union does not, however, start and finish with convincing a person that they should join. There is a need to regularly remind members of services provided to reinforce the value of membership. Such a process serves a dual purpose. It also demonstrates to employers, and perhaps to a lesser extent competitors, that the union is a force to be reckoned with.

There are several important factors to be considered when developing a promotion policy. Any communication needs to be effective. The actual communication process is extremely important, yet this is often overlooked as emphasis is placed on more tangible considerations such as how much money is available to be spent on promotion. This section of the manual looks at both these issues as well as other considerations which go towards the effective promotion of a union's services.

Communication

• - Does the union understand the relevance of the nine key elements of communication?
  • - Sender: the person sending the message.
  • - Encoding: the process of putting thought into symbolic form.
  • - Message: the set of symbols that the sender transmits.
  • - Media: the communication channels through which the message moves from sender to receiver.
  • - Decoding: the process by which the receiver assigns meaning to the symbols encoded by the sender.
  • - Receiver: the party receiving the message sent by another party.
  • - Response: the reactions of the receiver after being exposed to the message.
  • - Feedback: the part of the receivers response communicated back to the sender.
  • - Noise: the unplanned static or distortion during the communication process that results in the receiver getting a different message than the sender sent.
• - What practical steps does the union have to take to implement these key factors?
  • - Determine the target market ie that sector of the workforce to whom the message is to be directed.
  • - Determine how much about the message is already known (this is necessary before it can be decided what response the union is seeking).
  • - Choose a message. In doing this the message should be developed so as to get attention, hold interest, arouse desire and obtain action. Messages can appeal to the audience's self interest ("the union can protect me").
  • - Choose the method of conveying the message. This can be either by personal contact or through mass/selective media means eg newspapers, magazines, pamphlets etc. Face to face is more personal and effective because it allows for personal addressing and feedback.
  • - Selecting the message source. Messages delivered by highly credible sources are more persuasive (factors which make a source more credible are expertise, trustworthiness and likeability).
  • - Collecting feedback. This involves not only researching to see what people remember about the message (in effect checking to see how well the communication process worked) but also to see whether the message achieved the desired result (did it get people to join the union)?

How Much Should Be Spent on Promotion?

• - If the union has decided to conduct a campaign of promoting its services, how does it decide how much to spend?
  • - By the affordable method? How much can we afford?
  • - By setting aside a percentage of income specifically for this purpose?
  • - By:
    • - defining specific objectives;
    • - determining the tasks which need to be performed to achieve these objectives;
    • - then estimating the costs of performing the tasks.

Determining How Much to Spend on the Various Means of Promoting Services

• - Does the union understand the characteristics of the various promotion tools?
  • - Advertising:
    • - its public nature suggests that it is legitimate and acceptable, is seen by many people, can be repeated many times, can be very expensive, is impersonal, the audience may not pay attention or respond, is only one way.
  • - Personal Contact:
    • - Involves personal interaction and therefore the message can be tailored to suit the circumstances, usually elicits a response even if its "no thanks", enables a relationship between the union and its members to be developed.

Developing an Advertising Programme

This requires five important decisions.

1. - Setting objectives:
   • - These can be informative (to introduce a new product) persuasive (belonging to the union is value for money) or a reminder (advertising what the union provides to remind members of services provided).
2. - Establishing a budget:
   • - factors to consider here are whether the advertising is for a new service or just to remind people;
   • - is advertising being done for a major drive or just to 'keep the ball rolling';
   • - the desired frequency.
3. - Establishing an effective message:
   • - this is important if the message is to gain attention and communicate well. To find an idea talk to members, union officials, other unions, competitors and experts. Messages need to be meaningful, distinctive and believable.
4. - Deciding on how to convey the message:
   • - in deciding upon the means to convey the message and how frequently this should be done, it is necessary to establish what percentage of the target market, various means of conveying information reach, and how often the average person is exposed to the message. eg What percentage of managers read all issues of the Post Office Union's Journal and of those, what percentage take in the important messages being conveyed?
5. - Evaluating the effect of communications:
   • - all the various means that the union uses to convey messages and information to members need to be evaluated to establish whether these means of communication are getting through, whether members are getting the message contained within and whether the desired objective is being obtained.

Public Relations

• - This involves building up good relationships with members, employers and the public in general. It can have a stronger impact on awareness and at a lower cost than advertising.
• - What means are available to the union to achieve publicity?
  • - logos, stationery, hats, badges;
  • - Union Journal;
  • - press releases;
  • - contributions to magazines eg guest editorials;
  • - by distributing written reports on projects undertaken;
  • - attending meetings and conferences;
  • - sponsoring events (eg co-sponsor sports events).

The Union's Sales Force

Everyone involved in union activities is a salesperson. Some people, those who work for the union, get paid for selling the union. Everyone, including elected officials, has the option of either selling the union or destroying it.

• - Are those involved in all facets of the union's work fully aware of the role they play eg if a Job Delegate is "the union" at the workface, what does this mean?
  • - do they sign up new members only, and if so how many?
  • - do they distribute information only?
  • - do they negotiate on behalf of members?
  • - do they answer members questions?
    • - or do they provide only some of these services? Are members aware of just what they do? If not then a refusal to assist because "it is not my job - you'll have to see someone else" fails to meet a demand for service and has the potential to destroy the union.
  • - Are there the structures in place to support the union's 'sales people' eg are these people regularly updated on union activities and initiatives?
  • - In respect of those employed by the union:
    • - How are work tasks allocated eg on a geographical or territorial basis? Which of these methods enables a person to develop a better relationship with members? Does job rotation count against developing better ties with members?
    • - How are people selected for the job eg by appointment or election? Which method ensures that the best person in terms of skills and ability gets the job?
    • - How do the union's employees present themselves? Do they convey a 'professional' image or do they convey a 1930's working class 'cloth cap' image?
    • - Do they know, in detail what the union's services actually provide? What methods of updating and training does the union have to ensure that employees can provide the best possible service?

I recently became aware of a discussion which took place within my own union between two groups of people. One group was arguing that in today's climate there was a real need to manage the union like a business. The other group took the contrary view. I suspect that debates of this nature are occurring in many unions.

It may be that a number of unions and union officials will argue that there is no place for 'manuals' such as this in Trade Unions and that marketing and other similar management concepts should remain the prerogative of 'the bosses'.

There may have been a time when Trade Unions could afford the luxury of adopting such a philosophy, but in my view to continue to hold such views would be disastrous. The plain fact of the matter is that unions are facing tough times. The objective of the Employment Contracts Act is to make unions impotent. The Government has not outlawed unions, but it has removed virtually all those mechanisms which allow unions to operate. The effect could be the same.

Faced with this challenge unions need to consider, and if necessary adopt, any concept which will enable them to continue to provide efficient services to members. It is only through this process that the future can be anything like secure. Marketing is one of those concepts that needs to be considered.

I do not profess to have asked all the questions or given all the directions necessary in an exercise of this type. If however the issues that I have raised start people thinking and asking other questions, which in turn result in change, then I consider that I will have achieved something.

Buchanan, R.W. (1990) The Great Barrier Thief.
Palmerston North: Buchanan & Associates.

Harbridge, R. (1991) Collective Contracts and the Employment Contracts Bill.A paper delivered to a seminar at the Industrial Relations Centre , Victoria
University Of Wellington.

New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (1989) Strategies for Change.
Wellington.
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions.