Using surveys in your union branch to boost member engagement

As a trade union, our greatest strength lies in our members. Their voices, concerns and priorities are the bedrock of our campaigns and work. But how do you truly hear what they’re thinking and feeling, and how can you turn their thoughts and feelings into action? The answer is surprisingly simple, yet powerfully effective – surveys.

For any Community Rep, a well-designed survey is more than just a data gathering tool. It’s a strategic tool to help foster engagement, build a stronger Community branch and demonstrates the value of Community membership.

In this blog, we’ll explore how you can use surveys in your Community branch to transform your branch’s approach to member communication and actions.

Please note, if you intend on running a survey in your branch, you should work closely with your regional office. This ensures the survey is strategic, legally sound and coordinated with wider Community objectives. 

Why do surveys matter in a union branch?

When thinking of the traditional trade union model, we often rely on members to come to us with any issues they’re experiencing. However, many people keep how they’re truly feeling beneath the surface until something drastic happens. Surveys will allow you to:

Proactively identify issues

There’s no need to wait for a crisis. You can use surveys to uncover any systematic issues around workload, stress, ill mental health or health and safety concerns that may otherwise go unaddressed.

Demonstrate responsiveness

By asking your branch for feedback and then acting on it, you are showing members that their voice and concerns matter. This builds trust and reinforces that Community is actively working for their benefit.

Empower the silent majority

We know first hand that a lot of people are too afraid to speak up before its too late, or are uncomfortable being in the spotlight. Surveys provide these members with a confidential, low pressure way to contribute their thoughts and feelings.

What questions should you include in your branch surveys?

Any great survey starts with great questions. You should avoid vague or leading language, and instead, focus on clear, specific and actionable questions. Example questions could include:

• Current challenges and issues: “What are the biggest challenges you face day-to-day at work?” or “On a scale of 1-5, how safe do you feel at work?”
• Union priorities: “What specific issues would you like to see Community prioritise in our next negotiation with management?” or “Are you aware of the union’s recent campaign on X? If so, what are your thoughts?”
• Communication preferences: “How would you prefer to receive information from your branch (e.g., email, WhatsApp group, printed newsletter)?” This helps you tailor your communication channels to what members actually use.
• Member benefits: “Are you aware of the discounts and legal advice services available through Community? Have you used them?” This can help you better promote Community’s benefits, or make members aware of them.

You should keep your survey concise as long, sprawling surveys have high drop-off rates. You should respect your members’ time by keeping your survey as focused as possible and easy to complete (ideally between 5-10 minutes). To increase engagement with the survey, you may also want to offer an incentive for anyone who completes the survey, such as a voucher or some Community merchandise!

You should also include a deadline for members to respond by – this not only helps work the survey into your timeframes, but also creates a sense of urgency for members to respond by.

Turning survey data into action

This is where the real work, and the real value of any branch survey comes in. Gathering data is only the first step. The second, and most important, is turning your members’ responses into concrete action. This includes:

Communicate the findings to your branch

Once the survey data has been analysed, you should share the results with your members. The data should be presented clearly, such as pie or bar charts, as well as key takeaways. For example, “Our survey found that 70% of members are concerns about health and safety, and 60% are concerned that management are not addressing concerns around PPE enough.”

Report back to Community

Through your survey, your members’ responses may highlight opportunities for organising, or you may need support from your Regional Organiser in order to inform or implement your action plan.

In both  instances, you should get in touch with your regional office to get advice and support. If your survey data highlights opportunities for organising, we have plenty of printed and digital materials you can share with members (and non-members) on how we can support them.

Develop an action plan

Based on the results, you should then formulate a clear strategy (alongside any other Reps in your branch) and when you hope to achieve this by. This could be a new campaign, demands to take to management or implementing a health and safety policy by the end of the quarter.

Report back to members

This is non-negotiable. After you have taken any action(s) in response to your survey, you should report back to your members what you have done and the outcomes. For example “Following the survey results, we have raised issues around the suitability of PPE supplied to staff. Management have now agreed to review PPE and replace it by the end of next month”.

It’s important to remember the feedback loop when running any surveys — ask, act, report back. This is what transforms any branch survey from a one-off exercise into a powerful tool for engagement and accountability.

What survey tools are available to you?

There are plenty of free survey tools available to help you create and distribute surveys, including:

Google Forms

Google Forms is free, easy to use, and excellent for simple surveys, with an array of robust features through a drag and drop interface. It also integrates with other Google products, such as Google Sheets to help to easily analyse your data.

Microsoft Forms

Microsoft Forms provides unlimited surveys and questions and syncs with Excel for easy analysis. It also offers AI-powered features to help with survey design.

Survey Monkey

Survey Monkey offers a free starter plan basic surveys and is extremely user-friendly.

Smart Survey

Smart Survey offers a free plan is designed for individuals and simple surveys.

Qualtrics

While more complex, Qualtrics offers a free account, including templates and logic features.

There are numerous survey tools that offer free services, so if none of these take your fancy, take a look at what is out there.

So, why is surveying important in your union branch?

A Community branch that listens to its members is a branch that grows. By utilising surveys, you can move beyond simply reacting to problems and begin to proactively shape your workplace environment. You’ll not only address the concerns of your members, you’ll also demonstrate the value of being a member of Community, turning passive membership into active and engaged membership.

So, why not start surveying your members today? If there’s a particular issue, dispute or health and safety concern that’s on everyone’s minds, then get a survey sent out! The insights you’ll gain might just be the spark you need to ignite a new wave of engagement in your Community branch.