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Balloting services - Hints & tips

Balloting your workforce can be a tricky process, requiring attention to detail, strict adherence to rules and deadlines, and complete objectivity and impartiality.

It is important for the credibility of the whole information and consultation process, that the ballot to elect representatives is conducted in a transparent and proper manner, and using a third party organisation to conduct the ballot on your behalf is always a good idea.

There are a number of issues that need to be considered and agreed in setting up and running a ballot. Some of these may seem minor details, but can cause serious problems if got wrong.
The IPA has developed a checklist for its clients covering these details. Some of the main points are given below to illustrate the steps to be taken to run an effective ballot.

Organising constituencies

If you are electing more than one employee representative, it may be appropriate to divide the workplace into smaller groups or constituencies and elect a representative for each of these groups. When dividing into constituencies, some things to consider are:

Can people be grouped by location? Do employees in a single location have common interests?
Would grouping by function or department be more appropriate?

Voting Systems

There is no perfect voting system, but some consideration can be given to selecting an appropriate system for the culture of the business and task in hand. The most frequently used systems are:

Single transferable vote
Alternative vote
First past the post

Click here for more information on voting systems

Voting Method

This will again depend on the culture of the organisation, employees' expectations, and the speed of response required. Some options are:

Postal
Workplace or internal distribution system
Email
Online
Telephone

There are important issues to be considered with each method. For postal ballots, are personnel records up to date and regularly checked? Is it possible to produce mailing list information from personnel databases? Are staff used to receiving job related post at home or would this be regarded an imposition?

Likewise, if using an internal distribution system, is this safe and secure? What steps can be taken to make them more secure? Can those people not currently in the workplace on maternity/parternity/adoption leave, career breaks, or long term sick be easily identified and their papers sent to their home address?

Email and online voting require all staff to have access to electronic forms of communication at work, and as above should be offered in combination with postal voting for those staff who are away from the workplace.

Proxy Voting

Does the process take place during a holiday period? Bear in mind the location of school breaks.

Timetable

Set a timetable for the process at the outset. Make it achievable and allow for any delays which may occur. Work backwards from any deadline such as the scheduled date of the first meeting and don't forget to allow time for training the newly elected representatives. Set a date for this training early in the process and let prospective representatives know when it is.

Nominations

Consider the eligibility criteria for prospective candidates and how many supporters they should be asked to provide. Will you ask for an election statement, if so how long should it be and what are the provisions for editing anything over this length or judging if any statement is obscene or defamatory?

Communications Strategy

Decide on a communications strategy to raise awareness of the ballot and why it is taking place, well in advance of the start of the process. When requests for nominations are sent out, make sure as much information about the role of the representative is included as possible, such as the frequency of meetings, time off for representative duties, expenses to be met etc.

Conducting the Ballot

Security and anonymity is very important in conducting a credible ballot. When IPA acts on behalf of a client to run a ballot, papers or electronic communications are sent out by and returned directly to the IPA where they are stored securely until a designated date, when they are opened, counted and a certified result returned by the IPA Election Officer. The ballots are then stored securely for at least 12 months after the ballot.