Recruiting members

The strength of the CSP, as a professional body and trade union, lies in its membership. Put simply: the more members we have, the stronger we are.

Why recruit?

An increasingly important aspect of both the steward's and safety rep's role is to help maximise our membership. Maximising membership brings increased professional and political influence, a stronger bargaining position when negotiating pay, terms and conditions and health and safety, and increased income to ensure the CSP can continue to deliver first class member services.

As a CSP steward or safety rep you only represent current paid up members of the CSP. This means that soon after your accreditation, and regularly thereafter, you will need to find out which colleagues are CSP members and which aren't – and encourage any physio colleagues who are non-union members to join.

Map your workplace

Workplace mapping is one of the most effective ways of communicating with potential members and delivering a successful recruitment campaign. Essentially it is about collecting and analysing information about your workplace and the people in it. Mapping is the most effective way to:

• know where your current members are
• identify target areas of membership
• recruit and organise members
• retain members
• develop new stewards and safety reps
• find out people's concerns
• begin identifying potential issues
• develop your own trade union confidence
• raise demands on your employer.

How to recruit new members

The most effective way to recruit new members is through face-to-face personal contact. According to the TUC, a remarkable 84% of working people not belonging to a trade union have never been asked to join. A personal invitation to join the union counts for much more than any other recruitment method. So make time to introduce yourself as the CSP representative to potential members. And make sure you don't overlook groups such as new graduates, assistants, overseas staff and any physiotherapy students who are on clinical placement.

Be prepared
Make sure you know all the reasons why people should join the CSP. Your helpfulness, ability and effectiveness are amongst the best means of recruitment. Don't be reticent about your successes: always publicise them – people will join if they can see the union making a difference.

Ask management or HR/personnel for regular lists of new employees, both qualified staff and assistants. Ensure you are part of any induction process for new staff and ask to put some recruitment material in the induction folder for new employees. It's a good idea to send a welcoming letter and invite them to become members. Follow this up with some personal contact where you can talk about the benefits of CSP membership.

Maintain a local profile

Keep a high, local, CSP profile by:

• publicising casework successes in CSP Stewards News
• use your noticeboard, but don't leave the same information displayed for weeks on end
• put up CSP posters and add your contact details – get free personalised resources
• leave CSP leaflets, journals and newsletters in communal areas
• send out a recruitment letter to every non-member eligible to join. If possible, attend trust induction days
• organise future meetings, surveys or petitions relating to workplace or national issues
• ask existing members to help recruit a colleague.

CSP recruitment materials

The CSP has a number of recruitment leaflets available as well as application forms. Keep a supply of these available ready for when you need them. They are distributed at reps' national induction and follow-up courses and regional training days and are also available via our free print on demand service. You can also obtain these from our enquiries team by phone on 020 7306 6666 or email enquiries@csp.org.uk.

• Find out how the CSP can support your workplace campaigning and organising.