How do you get enough candidates for your works council election?

It happens more often than you'd think. The election date is set, the announcement has gone out... and then nothing. No candidates. Or three, for five seats. Awkward.

Getting people to put themselves forward for the Works Council is one of the biggest practical challenges in organising an OR election. And yet it's also one of the most solvable. Here's what actually works.

1. Start early, much earlier than you think

The number one reason organisations end up scrambling for candidates is that they waited too long to ask. Putting yourself forward takes courage, and courage needs time to build up. If you send out a call for candidates two weeks before the deadline, you'll mostly get silence.

Aim to start recruiting at least six to eight weeks before the nomination closes. That gives people time to think about it, talk to their manager, discuss it at home, and eventually say yes.

2. Make it concrete, not abstract

"The Works Council needs You!" sounds great on a poster. But it doesn't tell anyone what they'd actually be doing on a Tuesday afternoon.

Be specific. Tell candidates: you'll meet roughly once a month, you'll get to weigh in on things like flexible working policies, reorganisations and working conditions, and you're entitled to training hours under the Works Council Act. Show what it looks like in practice: a short interview with a current WoCo member is worth ten posters.

3. Ask people personally

The single most effective recruitment tactic costs nothing: walk up to someone and ask them. Not in a group email, not via a Teams message, but in person (or at least directly and personally).

Think about who in your organisation always has an opinion in team meetings. Who asks the questions others are thinking but not saying? Who cares about how things are run? Those are your candidates. Give them a personal nudge. Most people who end up joining the Works Council say they only did it because someone specifically asked them.

4. Involve managers, but carefully

Managers can either make this much easier or much harder. The good news: many managers actually want employees to join the WoCo, because it makes internal communication easier and shows the organisation takes employee voice seriously.

Brief your managers in advance. Ask them to actively encourage team members to consider standing. But be careful not to cross into pressure. The Works Council Act is clear that candidacy must be voluntary. A manager saying "I think you'd be great for this" is helpful. A manager saying "I really need someone from our department on the list" starts to feel like an obligation.

5. Tackle the most common objections head-on

Most people who hesitate have a reason. And those reasons are usually the same:

"I don't have time" Under the Works Council Act, WoCo members are entitled to paid time off for WoCo activities. You don't do this on top of your normal job, you do it instead, during working hours.

"I don't know enough about employment law" You don't need to. New WoCo members receive training, and the WoCo works as a team. Nobody expects you to arrive knowing everything.

"I don't think I'm experienced enough" The WoCo requires only three months of employment. That's it. The rest you learn on the job.

Have these answers ready, and share them proactively: in the announcement, in conversations, on your intranet.

6. Make the election itself easy to participate in

Here's something that doesn't get mentioned enough: the easier and more professional the election looks, the more seriously people take candidacy. If the process feels messy or improvised, people assume the WoCo itself is messy and improvised. Who wants to join that?

A clean, digital election process, where candidates can present themselves properly, where voting takes two minutes from any device, and where the result is clear and trustworthy, signals that the WoCo is worth being part of. It's a small thing that makes a real difference.

Still not getting enough candidates? Don't panic. If you end up with fewer candidates than seats, you can either extend the nomination period or ask the Director for more time per WoCo member. But in our experience, organisations that start early, ask personally, and make the process look professional rarely get to that point.

Curious how ORvox can make your election run smoother — from candidate registration to final results? Book a free demo and we'll show you in less than 20 minutes.

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