As you hopefully were aware, 16-20 November was Recruitment Week for our Branch (and the entire national organization). It is probably the busiest week for Recruitment Officers, who are nominally in control of all the events, and I spent much of the week trying (and sometimes failing) to ensure that all the stalls were adequately supplied with promotional material. At Northumbria we had three tables dotted about the campus. At Coach Lane, UCU volunteers were welcomed people entering the main foyer of the Campus. Although the draughts from the doors meant that this position wasn't as comfortable as it might have been, it enabled our volunteers to engage with a large number of staff as they moved around campus. UCU's stall at CCE was slightly more protected from the elements, and enabled volunteers to talk with staff members who were entering the building, heading for the café, or loitering at the building's entrance. Finally, a table outside the refectory in the Ellison Building offered volunteers the chance to meet large numbers of staff as they headed to and from their lunch. Thanks to the generosity of Head Office, we had a large quantity of goodies to give away. The book bags and notepads were extremely popular, although contrary to the prediction of our Health and Safety Officer, the apples we provided were not met with as much enthusiasm as the muffins that were also available.

 

At this stage it is impossible to quantify the success of Recruitment Week in terms of membership numbers but anecdotally, it has resulted in a small rise in our numbers. More importantly, it has reminded everybody that UCU is present and active in the University. All of our volunteers had many useful conversations with existing UCU members which, while not necessarily boosting recruitment, will have undoubtedly increased the feel-good factor among staff. We also talked to a number of nonmembers through the week, with conversations ranging from their opinion of UCU to the current government and so on. Of course, we were met by a number of refusals to engage with us, but that is to be expected. It remains important, however, that we try to engage with these colleagues in order that they know that UCU will always be present and is there to help them (provided they join us!).

As Recruitment Officer, I'd like to give my thanks and deepest appreciation to all the volunteers who took part in Recruitment Week. It was only thanks to you that we were able to hold such an event and I am very grateful that you all consider UCU important enough to give up some of your time.

We'll have two more Recruitment Weeks this academic year: 22-26 February and 25-29 April. Please give any feedback on the Week's events (whether good, bad, or indifferent) to your reps and they'll make sure it gets back to me so that I can take action and plan accordingly. Our next recruitment event is on 1 December. We have a stall at the University's 'Working at Northumbria' event in the Great Hall. Please let your non-unionised colleagues know about it and ask them to say hello!