Using recruitment for feedback and growth
Recruitment is the time we convince new members to join our chapters. At the same time it is also a period for self-reflection. With the right work, we can use recruitment activities to learn about our chapter brand, how we are perceived on campus, and reevaluate whether or recruitment methods are effective.
Too often we get caught up in selling our chapter to new members and we do not always remember to look at the healthy feedback that comes from the recruitment process. Ideally, if your chapter is recruiting in the best manner possible, you will be engaging a countless number of new members, seeking to learn about them while also helping them learn about you.
Do not miss the opportunity to learn from them too! The people that do not join our chapters can be the biggest sources of recruitment support if we remember to ask them for feedback; feedback that can greatly improve our recruitment process. Let’s focus on turning recruitment into not only a method for gaining new members but also a source of growth. To do this, all we need are to conduct Recruitment Focus Groups.
The Recruitment Focus Group is one of the most powerful tools we have for learning about where we are lacking. Similar to what companies do when testing a product, it should be your goal to learn from the people who go through your recruitment process to become better at your recruitment techniques. Here are the simple steps on how to do this.
Keep Track of Who Accepts Bids and Who Doesn’t
You should already be doing this. As a part of recruitment, you should always be tracking information on every potential member, actively keeping track of who you are bidding, who is accepting bids, and who does not.
Work to Identify a Core-Group of Men for Feedback
In this case, while you can question the member who accepted your bids, the focus is on those who turned you down. Where no chapter likes to be rejected, in this case it is a good thing. Focus on a variety of these groups, specifically looking for three different categories.
- Individuals who rejected a bid but may still be interested in joining.
- Individuals who rejected a bid and made it clear they will likely never join.
- Individuals who rejected a bid and accepted a bid to another chapter.
Facilitate a Conversation
Next, contact all of these people, setting up a time to talk. Meet with them either individually or as a group. During this time, seek to learn from them. Ask them to be brutally honest. Ask questions about what your chapter did wrong. Look to learn about what you could have done better. It is your goal to figure out why they did not accept a bid. To make the most of this process, be sure to keep notes, tracking the information you hear.
Use this Data to Grow
This is the most important part. It is great getting people together and even better if you manage to learn about where you messed up. Don’t let that information go to waste. Figure out what it is that your organization can do to become better and grow in recruitment. Use this feedback and implement it in improving your future recruitment and chapter functions. Do not let it go to waste but instead become better as a chapter.
Continue Recruiting Your Focus Group
Here is the added bonus piece. The focus group you met with, go back to them. After you have implemented potential changes and figured out what you could do better, do it, show this to them. Demonstrate that as an organization you took time to listen and improve. This can be one of the best recruitment tools that exist because you are showing the people you met with that you value their opinion through listening and learning. Don’t waste an opportunity but instead learn from these groups and then recruitment them using that learning.
Credit // Author: Tim Mousseau