January is a time when we often reflect on what we accomplished during the previous year, and what we hope to achieve during the New Year. People often set goals and make resolutions for the coming year, to help them get where they want to be during the next 12 months.
We often think of New Years’ Resolutions on the personal level, but your Local can make some resolutions for 2014 as well. As a Local, consider setting some membership goals for the year. Decide exactly what you want to accomplish, and set some goals accordingly. While “increasing membership” is the end result we all want, your Local will be far more successful at recruiting if you set a number of smaller, quantifiable goals.
Goals need to be specific and measurable, so it is clear to everyone whether or not they have been met. Aiming to sign up one new member a week or five new members a month, for example, would be easily measurable goals.
Your goals should be ambitious enough that you have to put real effort into working toward them, but not so lofty that you’ll be discouraged from trying to achieve them. Give your Local something to aim for and that you will all feel good about accomplishing.
It is helpful to set both short and long term goals. This will give your Local immediate milestones to work toward, but also help keep you on track for sustained organizing success. How many members do you want to sign up per month? Where would you like to be in six months? How about in one year? These are the kinds of questions your Local should consider when setting goals.
Also keep in mind that your organizing goals do not simply have to include the number of new members signed up. Practices that will increase your Local visibility and help you recruit new members make good goals, too. Consider goals like talking face-to-face about the union with one non-member every day, e-mailing at least one message a month to your full bargaining unit, or getting a Local Organizing Committee in place if you do not have one. These things are still measurable, and will help with your organizing efforts.
If your Local does not have organizing goals in place, consider setting some today. If you already have some membership goals, reevaluate them and determine if they are still valid for 2014, and adjust them as needed. If you need help setting reasonable goals for your Local, or just want a second opinion, NFFE’s National Organizing Directors would be happy to work with you. Let’s all resolve to make membership building a top priority for NFFE in 2014.
