Retention, retention, retention – a webinar for 105 activsts
We ran two webinars for our 105 activists, the objective was to provide an understanding of the work that will need to take place in branches to assist in our retention of members going forward.
We recorded one of the sessions which is available to watch below 📺
FAQs
Retention SW
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How do we divvy the responsibility for contact across the branch and hold each other accountable for retention?
Contacts with members who are about to lapse should be done by local reps in that workplace, sharing the workload across the branch is key. Any areas where there isn’t a local rep should be actioned by the Membership Officer / 105 code holder – if there are capacity issues to deliver on this please speak to your RO in the first instance.
Branches should add retention to meeting agendas, this is an opportunity to talk about retention and any organising opportunities which come from scrutinising leave reports and contacts with members.
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Membership Officers don’t have any in the person training which is hindering branches ability to retain members – can we have something similar to other branch roles?
The annual Branch Officers Weekend will incorporate Membership Officer training as of 2024. Thank you for your feedback on this.
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Our branch is really busy and will struggle to prioritise the leaver report actions, what should we do?
Retention is a national priority and each branch needs to play its part. The use of leaver reports to retain membership is a joint priority and endeavour for branches and region, a collaborative approach will see us meet the national priorities. If your branch is struggling to action leaver reports please speak to your RO in the first instance.
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What do IMPS do after they have identified members who aren’t paying?
IMPS send those who aren’t paying a email or letter to advise them their membership is about to lapse. Positive responses to that email / letter are added to a “urgent follow up” list that is dealt with directly by regional RMS. They contact the members swiftly and ensure the membership is retained.
Members who do not respond to the email / letter are then added to the leave report sent to branches.
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What is the timeframe for contacting those on the leaver report?
Timeliness in contacting those about to lapse is a GDPR consideration, you can only contact “members” of the union, once their membership has lapsed you are unable to contact them. RMS will have set a date to let them have details of any exceptions within the leaver report email – if you need an extension contact RMS Ops to request this and speak to your RO.
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When will Merlin be rolled out, will this be a tool to help with retention?
Merlin is a web based system which is more user friendly than the current WARMS system. There will be capability for branches to use the system to aide retention – it is understood that leaver reports will become part of that system.
Merlin implementation is delayed, as soon as a launch date is know this will be communicated with branches.
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Where does the data within the leaver reports come from?
Employers submit subscription deduction data to IMPS (Income and Membership Processing Services), the data is measured against the branch membership records. This identifies members on the membership system who have not been paying subs.
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Why are there big delays in branches getting the leaver reports – this hinders the timeframe to contact those who are about to lapse?
Employers have a DOCAS SLA (service level agreement), these agreement include how often they need to send deduction data with IMPS. Some employers are not upholding the SLA – there is a separate piece of work to be undertaken by region and the branch to understand the level of compliance.