Running trustee elections can be extremely daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. There are a few ways to ensure that your election is a success. In this first article, we look at the planning aspect, which is vital to managing the nominations and elections phases.

Member data: Accurate and complete member data is absolutely essential. This is especially necessary for communicating to members, and for verifying your results during the audit phase. At the very minimum, you should have an ID number, Fund number, mobile number and/or email address (ideally both) for all of your members.
Platform choice: Will your election take place online, via mobile, by means of hard copy, or a combination of any of these? Which platforms are your members most likely to prefer? The easier it is for them to get involved, the more likely they are to do so.
Stakeholder involvement: If you are relying on HR or shop stewards to help with the process, have you made sure of their willingness to assist? Are they fully aware of what is required of them, and do they have the capacity to fulfil this role?
Member awareness: No campaign can succeed if it doesn’t reach its target audience. Your members need to be alerted to the fact that elections will be taking place. They also need to understand the nomination and election process, and the duties and responsibilities of trustees, to ensure that they participate meaningfully.
Member incentives: It can be difficult to overcome apathy. If you worry that your members will not really care about elections, there are ways to combat this. Posters highlighting why it’s important for them to get involved, and even small spot prizes for participation, are a good way to handle this obstacle.

In our next articles in this series, we’ll look at platform choice in more detail, and we’ll consider an election case study in the third and final instalment.

ENDS