What is workplace mapping, and why is it essential in your organising strategy?

For any Community Representative or Branch Secretary, understanding your workplace isn’t just about knowing who people are. It’s about having a deep, strategic insight into its intricacies, the people and how is works.

This is where workplace mapping comes in – your fundamental tool for effective union organising.

What is Workplace Mapping?

At its core, workplace mapping is the process of gathering and visualising in-depth information about your workplace and its workforce. It’s more than just a floorplan; it’s a living, breathing blueprint of your organising potential.

Workplace maps can come in many forms. Whether it’s a detailed excel spreadsheet of members of staff and their departments or a simple hand-drawn diagram or list, its purpose remains the same; to give you a comprehensive overview to inform and power your organising and union activity.

What does Workplace Mapping show you?

A good workplace map will highlight various crucial aspects to help you organise effectively. This can include:

Floor plans

A basic floor plan, detailing departments, work areas, break rooms and even management offices can help you understand your workplace’s proximity, communication routes and specific areas to target with your organising efforts.

Workplace demographics

By identifying workplace demographics, such as how many employees are in each department, shift and in different job roles, as well as their shift patterns or working hours, you can easily identify organising opportunities and look to recruit colleagues working with specific departments, or shift patterns.

Furthermore, demographic data on gender, age, ethnicity, disability and other protected characteristics can help identify organising opportunities around equalities and diversity issues, or health and safety concerns.

Branch density

Crucially, your mapping efforts should highlight how many members and non-members are in your workplace and where they are located. Non-members should be your key targets for recruitment drives.

Key stakeholders

When mapping, we would also recommend identifying key stakeholders or individuals that may play a part in your organising efforts, including:

• Existing Community Reps (who they are, where they work and their role)
• Informal leaders at work (who are invaluable in spreading the word, building solidarity and may even make good Representatives)
• Management and key-decision makers (for negotiations or highlighting concerns with)

Workplace issues

As part of your map, you should identify key concerns, grievances and common problems that are affecting members in different areas. For example, health and safety concerns, bullying or pay. This will help you  prioritise key issues to focus your organising efforts on.

Communications networks

To ensure you can organise effectively, you should understand the best way to communicate information within the workplace, both formally and informally. This can include noticeboards, WhatsApp groups, newsletters and even informal meet ups outside of work hours.

Why is Workplace Mapping essential for organising?

Workplace mapping is more than a bureaucratic exercise; it’s the foundation of effective organising and union building. Here’s why workplace mapping is an essential tool for all Community Reps and Branch Secretaries:

Strategic recruitment

By pinpointing areas with low membership, you can focus your recruitment efforts where they are most needed. Identifying these areas will also help you to tailor your approach to recruitment around specific issues affecting those non-members.

Branch growth

Workplace mapping also identifies “organising hot spots” where specific issues are affecting a large number of employees, or the potential of key stakeholders who would make excellent Community Reps or Branch Secretaries, especially where there are gaps in your team.

Improved communication

A well-mapped workplace will help you to establish robust communication channels, ensuring news, updates and information reaches Community Reps, members and non-members quickly.

Enhanced mobilisation

When launching a campaign or taking collective action, your map will help identify key stakeholders, as well as which members to rally for maximum impact.

Effective campaigning

Mapping allows you to identify “winnable” issues – widely and deeply felt problems that can unite both members and non-members to drive successful campaigns.

Resource allocation

By understanding the union’s strengths and weaknesses, you can strategically allocate resources to achieve your organising goals. For example, if membership density is low in a specific department (weakness), you can allocate your time to recruit members in that department.

Proactive problem solving

Updating your map regularly will help you stay attuned to issues and address them before they escalate further, allowing for proactive intervention.

Evidence-based advocacy

In-depth mapping will help you build concrete evidence, data and insights to strengthen your arguments when negotiation with your employer or management.

those widely felt and deeply felt problems that can unite workers and drive successful campaigns.

Getting started with Workplace Mapping

Don’t let the idea of workplace mapping feel overwhelming, it is in fact fairly simple to do, and once you’re started, you just have to keep updating your map whenever you undertake any organising activities. To start:

Start with a manageable area: Why not start by mapping your own department or shift?
Talk to colleagues: One-on-one conversations are one of the best methods of communication, and with that, tools to map your workplace. Make sure to actively listen to colleagues, ask open-ended questions and keep note of any key information, such as issues at work to assist you in your organising efforts.
Use what you have: You don’t need fancy software or programmes to map your workplace. Even the humble pen and paper can be used to kick start your workplace map.
Team up: Why not involve other Community Reps and members? Mapping is a collective efforts, and by involving others, you are strengthening your organising efforts by working as a team.
Keep your map updated: In this modern world of work, every workplace is dynamic and can go through both minor and major changes at the drop of a hat. So make sure to regularly update your map to ensure it remains an accurate and valuable organising tool.