Vice Archon Recruitment Manual - Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity
Vice Archon Recruitment Manual - Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity
Vice Archon Recruitment Manual - Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity
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THE VICE ARCHON<br />
RECRUITMENT GUIDE
TABLE OF CONTENTS<br />
The Ideal Chapter <strong>Recruitment</strong> Model .......................................................................2<br />
Values-Based ..................................................................................................................................................3<br />
Three <strong>Pi</strong>llars of <strong>Recruitment</strong> ....................................................................................................................5<br />
People (Part 1)...............................................................................................................................................6<br />
People (Part 2)...............................................................................................................................................9<br />
Message......................................................................................................................................................... 11<br />
Venue .............................................................................................................................................................. 13<br />
Chapter-Shared........................................................................................................................................... 14
THE IDEAL CHAPTER RECRUITMENT MODEL<br />
In this manual, we will examine what it takes to create a truly effective recruitment strategy, one that will help you recruit<br />
year-round as well as during formal recruitment periods. For <strong>Vice</strong> <strong>Archon</strong>s and their recruitment committees, its important<br />
to understand what goes into a good recruitment strategy, the steps to take to plan it, and how to include everyone in<br />
your recruitment efforts. In order to help you better understand everything involved, we’ll look at recruitment through the<br />
Ideal Chapter <strong>Recruitment</strong> Model – a recruitment strategy that is values-based, people-centered, and chapter shared.<br />
While this model may seem complex at first glance, this manual will break down each level of the model and show you<br />
how to use to plan effective recruitment. Let’s examine the basics of what go into this model.!<br />
Values-Based<br />
Why does <strong>Pi</strong> <strong>Kappa</strong> <strong>Phi</strong> exist? What<br />
makes us different from other<br />
fraternities? What do we believe in?<br />
What is the <strong>Fraternity</strong>’s purpose? How<br />
has it changed you? When it comes to<br />
bringing new men into life as a <strong>Pi</strong><br />
<strong>Kappa</strong> <strong>Phi</strong>, our identity is very<br />
important. Men often join fraternities<br />
out of a need to belong, a sense of<br />
purpose; when we can articulate who<br />
we are and what we believe, we can<br />
connect with people who share the<br />
same values and beliefs. When we<br />
can discuss these things, we can<br />
better know the type of men that we<br />
are looking for and know how to find<br />
them.<br />
People-Centered<br />
When recruitment is people centered,<br />
it means that the chapters focus is on<br />
building your network: establishing<br />
relationships not only with PNMs –<br />
potential new members but also with<br />
the larger community, the people<br />
through whom you will often find<br />
some of your best referrals –<br />
suggestions for potential new<br />
members. With people-centered<br />
recruitment, we pay more attention to<br />
the relationships we develop then the<br />
events we host or what our rush shirt<br />
looks like. This not only makes<br />
recruitment more effective, it can<br />
create a stronger sense of<br />
brotherhood before a bid even goes<br />
out. While the logistics of recruitment<br />
break down into 3 pillars – people,<br />
message and venue, the focus should<br />
always be on the personal<br />
relationships in order to be<br />
successful.<br />
Chapter-Shared<br />
One of the easiest ways for<br />
recruitment to fail is by placing all the<br />
responsibility of the chapter’s<br />
recruitment efforts on one person –<br />
the vice archon. When recruitment is<br />
chapter shared, there is a system in<br />
place that helps balance the<br />
responsibility of recruitment and gives<br />
everyone in the chapter a voice. The<br />
vice archon oversees the vision, goals,<br />
and strategy involved with<br />
recruitment. He works with a<br />
committee in which each member is<br />
charged with the planning of the<br />
logistical aspects of the 3 pillars of<br />
recruitment, and makes sure that the<br />
chapter can learn the process and<br />
help in the recruiting of individual<br />
PNMs.<br />
Throughout the rest of this manual, we’ll get into these levels more thoroughly and help you apply it all to your chapter’s<br />
recruitment plan.<br />
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VALUES BASED<br />
!<br />
Why <strong>Pi</strong> <strong>Kappa</strong> <strong>Phi</strong>?<br />
If someone were to ask you this question, how would you answer? People join for different reasons, but those who stay<br />
tend to do so for many of the same reasons. They often seem to tie back to our identity – how we see ourselves and our<br />
organization; reflective of our values, our mission, and our personal experiences. Our identity tells ourselves and those<br />
around us who we are and what we believe. Most members can easily discuss what we do - ritual, social events,<br />
intramurals, study groups; often times though, we have trouble discussing why we do what we do – we believe in<br />
leadership, service, we share a common loyalty that transcends personal selfishness. The reason why this is so crucial to<br />
recruitment is that in order to find and recruit the best people for your chapter, you must be able to share this identity<br />
and make sure that those that you are recruiting believe the same things. As Simon Sinek says “People don’t buy what<br />
you do, they buy why you do it… If you hire people just because they can do a job they will work for your money, but if you<br />
hire people because they believe what you believe, they’ll work for your blood, sweat and tears”.<br />
What Makes Our Identity – Values, Mission and Personal Experience<br />
Values<br />
We can find our values in many places, but they all say<br />
many of the same things about who we are.<br />
Personal Experience<br />
Mission<br />
What is the most powerful experience you’ve gotten out of <strong>Pi</strong> <strong>Kappa</strong> <strong>Phi</strong>?<br />
How has your fraternity experience changed you as a person?<br />
What would life be like if you hadn’t joined <strong>Pi</strong> <strong>Kappa</strong> <strong>Phi</strong>?<br />
The mission / vision of <strong>Pi</strong> <strong>Kappa</strong> <strong>Phi</strong> and Push America<br />
puts action to our values, providing us with a purpose<br />
and space to fulfill them.<br />
• We will lead.<br />
• <strong>Pi</strong> <strong>Kappa</strong> <strong>Phi</strong> will redefine fraternity as a<br />
lifelong brotherhood of leaders.<br />
• Building leaders of tomorrow by serving people<br />
with disabilities today.<br />
• Changing the way society views people with<br />
disabilities and fraternities.<br />
The answers to these questions solicit emotions that cant often be put to words, but it’s a powerful force we must use to<br />
drive us in recruitment.<br />
!<br />
Using Values in <strong>Recruitment</strong><br />
By articulating our identity, we not only express what we are about, we can also better target men who share the same<br />
values and make a more powerful connection with them. Doing this can help ensure that recruitment is more successful,<br />
fulfilling and adds men to the chapter who make good, contributing, lifelong brothers. !<br />
!<br />
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INFLUENCES ON CHOOSING TO BE GREEK<br />
According to a recent study…<br />
Reasons For Joining Their <strong>Fraternity</strong><br />
99% liked the members<br />
felt like they fit in<br />
felt members were sincere and friendly<br />
Wanted more opportunities for community service 94%-90%<br />
Expected a good social life<br />
Believed the fraternity had the most to offer<br />
84% Expected fraternity to provide leadership training<br />
83% thought alcohol was not a chapter focus<br />
70% wanted an alumni network after graduation<br />
62% believed that fraternity could help their grades<br />
47% had a friend who was a member<br />
Reasons For NOT Joining Their <strong>Fraternity</strong><br />
51% said fraternity didn’t offer what they wanted.<br />
34% Thought it would cost too much<br />
30% Worried it would harm their grades<br />
The Take Away<br />
30% Did not want to be hazed<br />
People join because they see the positives, they see how it will benefit them. We have to be able to communicate these<br />
things to the people we want to recruit. People often decide not to join because they are worried about the stereotypes<br />
associated with Greek life. The only way to break down this barrier in people is to get to know them and show them how<br />
we live our values.<br />
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THREE PILLARS OF RECRUITMENT<br />
The next layer of the Ideal Chapter <strong>Recruitment</strong> Model is the Three <strong>Pi</strong>llars, or people-centered level. While its important to<br />
use our values and identity as the core of our efforts, the Three <strong>Pi</strong>llars – people, message and venue comprise the<br />
three components of the logistics involve with recruitment.<br />
Message<br />
People<br />
People-centered recruitment means that the majority of the<br />
time, money and effort dealing with recruitment are focused<br />
on expanding your network and building relationships above<br />
all else. This pillar is broken down into two segments. First<br />
and foremost is one-on-one – the interpersonal<br />
relationships that develop when recruiting. This means the<br />
focus is on finding and meeting new people, establishing a<br />
friendship, slowly introducing them into the fraternity and, if<br />
they share our values and accept the responsibilities,<br />
inviting them to become a part of the fraternity. Without a<br />
doubt this recruitment cycle is the most important part of<br />
your chapter’s recruitment effort; no cookout or rush shirt<br />
will ever replace the ability to make real connections with<br />
people. The second part of this pillar is large-scale – the<br />
management of names generation and tracking of all<br />
potential new members using an organized system. The<br />
main components of this section deal with using your<br />
network to actively seek referrals and tracking these<br />
potential new members as they progress through the<br />
recruitment cycle.<br />
Message deals with everything that your chapter communicates about itself. How does your chapter choose to express its<br />
values and identity? How to people outside of the chapter see you? Being strategic about your message year-round is<br />
crucial to maintaining respect and a good reputation with your network and finding the ideal recruits your chapter seeks.<br />
The main components of message are telling the story – being able to articulate your identity, especially how your<br />
personal experiences help illustrate our values; branding – having consistency in both the symbols and the messages<br />
we use to make others aware of us; the sales pitch – how you explain the tangible benefits of membership, or tailor a<br />
conversation towards the PNM’s interests; and broadcasting – how you leverage your network and forms of media to<br />
help tell your story for you.<br />
Venue<br />
Different from just events, venue is people-centered in that it is less about what is going on and much more about who it<br />
is going on with. When we plan events, they can often be rush-style, large group events at the house or regular chapter<br />
location involving much of the chapter. While these events can be great, they only address the later stages of the<br />
recruitment cycle, and can be intimidating to people you are just meeting for the first time. They can often scare away<br />
people who wouldn’t normally join fraternities out of fear of the stereotypes. The two components of venue are cycle<br />
awareness – planning meetings, interviews or events that meet the PNM where they are on the recruitment cycle; and<br />
venue 365 – fitting the recruitment cycle into your calendar all year by creating a schedule that is flexible and can<br />
utilize large-scale events your chapter already does.<br />
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PEOPLE (PART 1)<br />
One-on-One <strong>Recruitment</strong><br />
In its simplest form, recruitment is all about relationships. If the fraternity is a lifelong brotherhood, then recruitment<br />
should gradually bring men into that relationship. Think about it this way: if you wanted to seriously date someone, what<br />
are the things that you would do? It starts with an introduction, then the two of you get to know each other, if you decide<br />
that you might want things to be serious, you make sure that you agree to what the relationship ought to look like and<br />
make sure you have the same core values. Once you’ve gone through all of this, if you really feel like you belong together<br />
than you ask them to commit to the relationship long-term. While dating and join a fraternity are different, they are both<br />
serious, long-term relationships. Both rely on a common bond, loyalty, some level of secrecy and intimacy, and a common<br />
set of beliefs, without these elements, there is no real guarantee that any relationship will last. Therefore, your<br />
recruitment efforts must center around building relationships, cultivating a brotherhood before PNM’s even join.<br />
The <strong>Recruitment</strong> Cycle<br />
If the Ideal Chapter <strong>Recruitment</strong> Model is the ‘macro’-level recruitment, then the <strong>Recruitment</strong> Cycle is the ‘micro’-level<br />
- the process of establishing a relationship with brothers, then the brotherhood, then eventually the fraternity before he<br />
can be fully ready to become a member. As stated before, this is the most important part of your recruitment efforts.<br />
Everything that the chapter does for recruitment should center around it. Being successful with the recruitment cycle<br />
means being able to be bold and outgoing, reaching out to your network to get referrals for men that fit what your chapter<br />
is seeking, being able to talk to strangers and develop a repore, and most importantly, not being afraid to develop new<br />
friendships and share your values. Every member of your chapter should understand how this works, and those that are<br />
most successful at it will make your most useful recruiters.<br />
Names Generation<br />
The first step is names generation – actively and strategically seeking out referrals for potential new members. We will<br />
discuss a number of ways to do this later, the important thing to remember is that many of the best people who could join<br />
your chapter will often not seek you out, but would be willing to meet you and here what the organization is all about. In<br />
order to find these men, you need to turn to your network to get their information.<br />
Step 1: Make the Call<br />
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Once you generate PNM referrals from your network, the chapter must reach out to those interested to arrange a meeting<br />
and establish a relationship. This often means cold-calling someone you don’t know. While it can be strange to call<br />
someone you’ve never met and ask them to meet with you, there are ways to make this easier. Get some information<br />
about them. When you seek referrals, try to get some of the following information. All of this can help build the<br />
connection and ‘warm the cold call’.<br />
a. Who referred them – when you can tell them who suggested them, it establishes a common bond between<br />
you and them.<br />
b. Why they were referred – If you can get the referral source to tell you what makes them a good fit, it will often<br />
be something that reflects the values that they share with our organization.<br />
c. Interests, hobbies, etc – depending on where you get your referrals from, you can find out additional<br />
information about them, sometimes, you can simply looking them up on social media will tell you what their<br />
interests are or what other friends to have in common.<br />
1. Establish the connection. Use what you know to help establish a commonality.<br />
a. “Hey this is _________, do you know ________? I was talking to her sorority the other day and she told<br />
me that I should get a hold of you…<br />
2. Explain their value – what important feature made you want to contact them?<br />
a. “When I was talking to _______, she described you as a leader and a quality guy…”<br />
3. Present an opportunity – what can you do for them?<br />
a. When I was talking to ________, he said that you were looking to get involved in the community. I<br />
actually work with a group that serves people with disabilities, maybe it’d be a good placed for you to get<br />
involved.<br />
b. “__________ said he played football with you in high school, do you play intramurals? We have an open<br />
spot on our team and we were looking for someone who could fill it.”<br />
c. “I belong to a group that is leadership oriented and it sounds like you would be a good fit.”<br />
4. Get a meeting – be flexible, but get a face to face in the next few days.<br />
a. “Do you think you’d want to meet up in the next few days for ten minutes or so to talk more about this?”<br />
b. “Are to going to be at the union this week? Maybe we could be up for a cup of coffee on Tuesday.”<br />
By following these steps, you can go from being complete strangers to having a connection and having a meeting. Keep<br />
in mind that many times when you make these calls, you’ll meet rejection, but just like anything else, the more you do the<br />
better you’ll get.<br />
Step 2: Meet the Brothers<br />
If you can make a connection during a cold call, the next step is to meet in person. This can be just the two of you, or in a<br />
small group (come with another brother, have him bring other people that might be interested, or arrange for the person<br />
who referred him to come with him); the point is to meet in a neutral location where you can get to know eachother. Avoid<br />
having your first meeting at the house or a ‘Greek-heavy’ locations as it may be intimidating for those who aren’t used to<br />
Greek life. Use the following techniques to get to know new people.<br />
Open-Ended Questions<br />
Once you have a conversation started the key is to<br />
keep it going. You do this by asking open-ended<br />
questions, which are questions that cannot be<br />
answered with a “yes” or “no.”<br />
• “What sort of things are you interested in doing<br />
after college?” is better than “What is your major?”<br />
• “What do you like about living in ________?” is<br />
better than “Where are you from?”<br />
• “Tell me what you like about (our college)?” is<br />
better than “So, do you like it here?”<br />
• “What other activities are you interested in on<br />
campus?”<br />
• “I hear you’re on the swim team. How did you get<br />
into swimming?”<br />
• “Why did you pick ___________ University?”<br />
If you just have to use an “old standby” question, make<br />
it a two-part question.<br />
• “Where are you from?”… “What was it like<br />
growing up there?<br />
“What’s your major?” … “That’s interesting, what do you<br />
like about that?<br />
The 5 F-In’ Topics To Start a Conversation<br />
Each of the following topics are typically good ways to get<br />
someone to open up and talk about themselves. Asking<br />
questions about these topics and showing true interest in<br />
what the person has to saw is a great way to get to know<br />
them.<br />
! Family<br />
! Friends<br />
! Favorites<br />
! Where They’re From<br />
! What They Do for Fun<br />
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Step 3: Meet the Brotherhood<br />
Building off of this friendship, PNMs are gradually introduced into more of the fraternity, from meeting one or a few<br />
brothers the first time to meeting more of the group. Think about the settings or activities that your chapter is already<br />
involved in. Using study groups, intramurals, or Push events not only helps introduce potential new members to the larger<br />
brotherhood, but also helps them gain insight as to what its like to be a member. This will also allow you to see how they<br />
acclimate to the members of the fraternity.<br />
Step 4: Meet the <strong>Fraternity</strong><br />
Once a PNM becomes acquainted with the men, the next step is to introduce them to the fraternity. This means telling<br />
about our identity, our history and the opportunities available to them if they become a member. At this point it is<br />
important that the PNM agrees with the values of the organization and understands the obligations required for<br />
membership.<br />
The ‘<strong>Pi</strong> Kapp Conversation’ Questions<br />
Remember to ask open-ended questions to have a real conversation. If done right it should be a heart-to-heart, not<br />
an interview.<br />
“So what makes you interested in fraternity?”<br />
“What do you think makes <strong>Pi</strong> <strong>Kappa</strong> <strong>Phi</strong> stand out to you?”<br />
“What would you hope to gain from being a part of a fraternity?”<br />
“Is there anything that you think would make it hard for you to join a fraternity?”<br />
Explaining the Tangible Benefits of <strong>Pi</strong> <strong>Kappa</strong> <strong>Phi</strong><br />
Tangible Benefit – a feature of fraternity life in with <strong>Pi</strong> <strong>Kappa</strong> <strong>Phi</strong> that directly benefits someone in a measurable way.<br />
A tangible benefit should explain both why, how and what we do in ways that actually benefit the individual.<br />
Example: (What we do): Each year our chapter attends national leadership conferences.<br />
(Tangible Benefit): We believe helping you become a leader on campus and beyond. Our fraternity offers programming at<br />
the local and national level to achieve this. Each year our chapter attend national leadership conferences to develop<br />
better leadership skills.<br />
By explaining how fraternity life can directly benefit them as an individual and helping them understand the intent behind<br />
it, you give them direct by-in to fraternity life.<br />
What Every Potential New Member Needs to Know<br />
When looking at retention issues with men going through the new member process, much of it can be drawn back to a<br />
lack of understand of expectations prior to signing a bid. When potential new members get to this stage of the<br />
recruitment cycle, it is your job to make sure they understand the following obligations:<br />
• Financial Responsibility – How much is required each semester.<br />
• Academic Achievement - The minimum GPA for a bid, initiation and to be in good standing.<br />
• Time Requirements – The amount of time required each week, the length of the pledging period.<br />
• Other Obligations – Rules about living in the house, mandatory events, and any other obligations for<br />
membership.<br />
Step 5: Seal the Deal – Confirming Values and Obligations<br />
Before giving a bid, it is important to make sure that you are bringing in people that share the same values that you have<br />
as an organization. There are ways to have a conversation about this as well. One way is a discussion about the creed.<br />
Have the new member look at our student creed and have a conversation where he can discuss how he feels about it.<br />
Below are some questions to ask:<br />
“One of main parts of our creed talks about financial responsibility. Part of being in a fraternity is contributing to a<br />
budget. How do you feel about this? Do you consider yourself financially responsible?”<br />
“Can you read this part of the creed that talks about citizenship for me? What do you think being in a fraternity has to do<br />
with citizenship? How do you feel about taking on a leadership role in the chapter?”<br />
By discussing our values openly with the individual and asking for feedback, he can give you indication of his feeling as<br />
well as whether or not he agrees with our beliefs.<br />
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PEOPLE (PART 2)<br />
Large Scale <strong>Recruitment</strong><br />
Its one thing to take a potential new member through the recruitment cycle, but its something entirely different to<br />
oversee the recruitment cycle for hundreds of potential new members. It requires good strategy in order to generate<br />
names and track potential new members, but with a good plan, the right tools and a skilled committee, you can put a<br />
system in place to recruit great members year-round.<br />
The Steps of Large-Scale People-Centered <strong>Recruitment</strong><br />
1. Set Your Goals – Look at not only the men you want to add to the chapter, but be realistic in<br />
how many men you’ll have to reach out to in order to reach that goal.<br />
2. Target Your Audience – Once you’ve figured out how many men you need to recruit, think<br />
about where you go to reach out to them.<br />
3. Names Generation – The driving force behind recruitment is names generation, meaning that<br />
you need to plan a strategy to get new referrals throughout the year.<br />
4. Manage Your List – Using your names list, you can track all the men you are recruiting as they<br />
go through the stages of the recruitment cycle. By using it the right way, you can actively<br />
monitor your progress with the recruitment goals you set.<br />
Set Your Goals - The <strong>Recruitment</strong> Cycle by the Numbers<br />
Its important to understand that when figuring out how many men you’ll need to recruit in a year that the number you’ll<br />
need to reach out to is something much larger. When you break down the numbers related to your recruitment goals, its<br />
noticeable the difference in the size of the prospect pool from the end number of men who end up signing a bid. How do<br />
you think these numbers effect your recruitment efforts?<br />
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Names Generation<br />
Getting Referrals<br />
The main objective of names generation is gaining as many referrals as you can. These can come from a variety of<br />
sources, such as your own chapter members, <strong>Fraternity</strong> / Sorority Life Office, alumni, sororities or simply meeting new<br />
people on campus. Keep in mind the sources that you listed on page 13 as well. The ways that you solicit names can vary<br />
depending on the group that your soliciting to. For sororities and student organizations, you’ll likely want to do a<br />
presentation. As for alumni, you’ll likely want to do a mass mailing or email asking for referrals. If your <strong>Fraternity</strong> /<br />
Sorority Life Office can usually provide you a list of non-Greek students, if not than you can either try to work with your IFC<br />
to make this happen or reach out to the national headquarters for assistance. The chapter can also do things to get<br />
potential new member to come to them. One of the best ways to do this is to establish a scholarship for non-Greek<br />
students. By doing this, applicants willing provide information about themselves that can help you in the recruitment<br />
process later on. Tabling is also a good way to get names if done correctly.<br />
Tips for Getting Referrals<br />
Presentations<br />
• Dress professionally – showing up in a suit will go a long way.<br />
• Command the room – show confidence, set a good tone, make them laugh.<br />
• Connect with your audience - show that you know about their organization, highlight your similarities<br />
• Tell the story – Tell them your identity, describe your ideal recruit<br />
• Ask for names – give them something to write down referrals, ask them to pull out their phones and look people up<br />
• Collect the names – DON’T WALK AWAY without getting some referrals in hand<br />
• Follow up – send thank you notes, reward individuals that give you a lot of names.<br />
Tabling<br />
• Lose the chairs – sitting behind the table is passive, don’t just expect people to come to you<br />
• Be seen by what you do – not how you decorate your table; simply have a sign or banner, some info to hand out and a sheet to<br />
collect names.<br />
• Have fun – use contests, games to collect more names<br />
• Walk away – don’t expect people to come to your table, walk around and meet people to bring over.<br />
• Manage your expectations – Tabling can be effective when its done on a regular basis, don’t expect big returns when done once in<br />
a while.<br />
Scholarships<br />
• Market – work with the university and the national organization to help advertise it to non-Greeks.<br />
• Tailor your application – ask questions that help you seek out your ‘ideal recruits’<br />
• Hold interviews – Setting up a day or two of interviews allows you to meet with dozens for PNMs and ask them upfront about their<br />
values, hobbies interests.<br />
• Get them to other events – be sure to follow up and get them to meet the guys in another setting.<br />
• *It may be difficult to get the names upfront, but it is a great way to meet ‘ideal recruits’ on your own terms.<br />
Names List<br />
Using a names list provides an organized way of collecting names and updating information about people you are trying<br />
to recruit. Using this list will make it easy for anyone in the chapter to contact potential new members or add new ones to<br />
the list. When you track all the information for PNMs on one document, it makes it much easier to track large number<br />
numbers of men as they progress through the recruitment cycle. When you use a grading scale that correlates to the<br />
recruitment cycle, you can actively track where individual PNMs are on in the cycle as well as how close you are in<br />
reaching your recruitment goals. Check out the example below that includes the information that you want to have on<br />
your names list.<br />
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MESSAGE<br />
Just like anything else you do for the fraternity, you are often forced to work against the misconceptions that other have<br />
of us. People may simply confuse us with other fraternities, or simply make assumptions about us based on stereotypes,<br />
or you may even be combating a negative image from the chapter’s past incidents. In any case, careful attention to the<br />
message the chapter chooses to put out can make a big difference in what type of members we bring in. Unlike<br />
marketing a single event, your message is the way in which you want the outside world to see you. There are a few ways<br />
that you can do this:<br />
Step 1: Build Your Message<br />
Think back to the values-based portion of this manual. It mentions how the identity is formed from your values, mission<br />
and personal experiences. Each of these things take an important role in your message. If these are the core reasons<br />
why your group exists, then they should be the main elements of your message. In everything from what’s on your tshirt<br />
to what you day about the fraternity during presentations, to the selling points for potential new members, your message<br />
should reflect the identity of your group.<br />
What’s the tagline?<br />
In the values-based section, you were asked to come up with a mission statement for your chapter. This is usually<br />
something simple that reflects the values of the organization and the direction it wants to take. <strong>Pi</strong> <strong>Kappa</strong> <strong>Phi</strong> for example<br />
uses ‘we will lead’ or ‘leaders by choice’ as not only a reflection of our belief in leadership, but also as a call to action.<br />
What is a good tag line for your chapter?<br />
Tell Your Story<br />
If a mission statement is a call to action reflecting our values, then your story is a collection of experiences that reinforce<br />
how our values our lived. This is important to be able to give context and personal testimonials to what the organization<br />
says it does in order for people to make the human connection to the identity. For example, when we discuss leadership,<br />
we can look to the story of the Nu <strong>Phi</strong>.<br />
“Over a century ago at the College of Charleston, a small group of men decided that they wanted to be leaders<br />
on their campus. In order to be a part of the Chresthomatic Society – their student government – you needed<br />
to be in fraternity. The men were not happy with the fraternities that existed there, so instead of joining one,<br />
they created their own. Ever since that faithful moment, our fraternity firmly believes in the abilities of men to<br />
be leaders and impact their communities.”<br />
Think about the questions you answered on page 3. How do these things help form your story? How do they tie back to the values?<br />
“I belong to a group that believes in being a lifelong brotherhood of leaders and serving people with disabilities.<br />
Last year, I had the chance to hold a leadership position that taught me a lot about myself. At the same time, I<br />
also raised $5000 to ride across the country on a ride called Journey of Hope for Push America. These<br />
experiences have truly helped me be a better person. “<br />
Step 2: Create Your Brand<br />
You are likely to have a number of Greek organizations on your campus, and as such, it can be difficult for non-Greeks to<br />
tell some organizations apart. One way to help make your chapter more recognizable is by having consistent messaging.<br />
This means that you used the same tagline, the same stories and the same imaging to identify your group in all of your<br />
marketing, This also means being consistent over time, not just choosing a new theme every time your chapter goes<br />
through formal recruitment. Think about this: on your campus, you can very likely have <strong>Pi</strong> <strong>Kappa</strong> Alpha, <strong>Phi</strong> <strong>Kappa</strong> Tau,<br />
<strong>Phi</strong> <strong>Kappa</strong> Theta, <strong>Pi</strong> Beta <strong>Phi</strong>, and any number of other groups, to someone who is non-Greek, trying to differentiate can<br />
be like learning a foreign language. When marketing the fraternity consider the following things.<br />
• <strong>Pi</strong> <strong>Kappa</strong> <strong>Phi</strong> and !"# look a lot like other organizations, but when you attach a tagline like “Leaders by<br />
Choice”, it becomes easier to differential you from everyone else.<br />
• Just like every fraternity has letters, they also have a crest, chances are, you couldn’t look at all the ones on your<br />
campus and match them to their fraternity.<br />
This stands out from these:<br />
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Step 3: Broadcast Your Message<br />
If your tagline and your story are the message you put out, then marketing is how you get that message to people. Once<br />
you are able to figure out what you want your message to be, you can then consider how to leverage your network and<br />
forms of media to help tell your story for you. There are some basic forms of marketing that are simple and can yield good<br />
returns.<br />
Direct Marketing<br />
Direct marketing is focused on the audience you would like to recruit. This can be done by giving marketing pieces like<br />
brochures, buttons or pens to PNM’s after you have one-on-ones, or giving similar materials as ‘rewards’ to the groups or<br />
individuals that provide you with the most referrals. You can also use your social media for direct marketing. For instance,<br />
Facebook will allow you to run ads for fanpages that can market specifically to people who list specific information about<br />
themselves. This could allow you to send ads to men on your campus that list volunteering or leadership, etc in their<br />
profile, rather than the entire population. While these materials may cost more individually then things like flyers, the<br />
amount you need is less and each item can be more effective because it is targeted.<br />
Mass Marketing<br />
Mass marketing allows you to market to the entire campus population. This usually involves things like flyers or<br />
handouts, banners or videos. This allows you to cast a wide net and see what you can pull in from it. What can make<br />
mass marketing successful is having a good, simple portrayal of the message, and providing information about how to<br />
easily find out more information or get in touch with a recruiter. While mass marketing may be good for formal<br />
recruitment periods, it may not have the same kinds of returns the rest of the year. Consider getting your mass marketing<br />
into platforms like campus television for recruitment videos or using mass marketing that moves around things like<br />
handouts or beachballs or Frisbees will move between people, extending the amount of people it gets out to. While this<br />
kind of marketing tends to be highly visible, it is passive and doesn’t prove to be effective at drawing people in, simply<br />
giving the chapter some brand recognition.<br />
Human Marketing<br />
Mass marketing can be made more effective when people are physically marketing it. When people form opinions about<br />
things they tend to way the opinions of those closest to them heavily. Therefore by having people wear or carry <strong>Pi</strong> <strong>Kappa</strong><br />
<strong>Phi</strong> items, it makes marketing more effective. For instance, when you bid new members, consider giving them a <strong>Pi</strong> <strong>Kappa</strong><br />
<strong>Phi</strong> tshirt, have designated days where everyone would wear these tshirts. When people see a group wearing the same<br />
item, they have the tendancy to exaggerate the figure in their head. This can be a force multiplier – causing people to<br />
think that the group is larger than it really is. The same can go for giving tshirts, buttons, etc to friends of the fraternity<br />
and incentivizing them to wear them on certain days, or even having small handouts to provide people they know that<br />
would make good potential new members.<br />
Social Media<br />
Social media can be a great tool in spreading your message. It allows you to project your message on a platform that<br />
many people are already tuned into with great frequency. If you leverage your social media outlets correctly, you can<br />
attract a large following that can help spread your message for you. This is a great way to give non-members a window<br />
into what life is like as a member, showcasing achievements and activities. Having a large following on sites like<br />
Facebook and Twitter can be done in part by doing the following:<br />
• Consolidate – Don’t use too many pages, you don’t need separate ones for Push and Alumni, etc. One page or<br />
profile for your chapter should suffice.<br />
• Don’t date it – When you name your profiles or pages as “Rush 2012” then, you’re forcing yourself to make a<br />
new page (and re-recruit followers) the next year. Keep consistent profile from year to year to accumulate<br />
followers.<br />
• Include a variety of media – use videos, articles, blogs and links in addition to basic posts. This gives people<br />
something to interact with rather than just a post.<br />
• Post regularly (1 to 2 times each week) – people have short attention spans, meaning that if you go weeks<br />
without posting things, people will not pay as much attention the next time you post.<br />
• Includes info other than just <strong>Pi</strong> <strong>Kappa</strong> <strong>Phi</strong> – Post items related to topics other than the fraternity. Use what your<br />
audience is attracted to, like campus or community sports, local news, campus events, etc, that apply to broader<br />
areas of their life.<br />
• Tag other people and organizations – most forms of social media have the ability to tag others, which shows up<br />
on their page as well. When posting about events with other groups, or sending congratulations, tag others in the<br />
post to give them some recognition and buy-in.<br />
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VENUE<br />
Just as the Message of Three <strong>Pi</strong>llars is meant to be broader than just marketing, venue is somewhat different from<br />
events. Venue implies that the focus is on building relationships in the right setting, making it more people-centered.<br />
When you simply focus on the event itself, it becomes less about the relationships that you are trying to cultivate and<br />
more about the tangible things that won’t make a great deal of difference in the relationships. It is important to apply the<br />
recruitment cycle when mapping out your schedule. The time and money that needs to go into each stage can differ, so<br />
its important to plan the right timing and number of events for each appropriately.<br />
1. Fit The Cycle – Build a schedule that accommodates PNMs on every level of the recruitment cycle.<br />
2. Use What You Already Do – Build recruitment into things your chapter already does.<br />
3. Adapt Year Round – Create a twelve-month schedule that is adaptive to what is going on.<br />
Planning Your Schedule<br />
Each stage of the cycle has a certain level of interaction, and therefore each have a different amount of time, timing and<br />
capital required. When building the schedule and budget, consider each of these stages.<br />
Getting Referrals:<br />
• When collecting names and adding them to your names list, you<br />
should account for about 1 minute per name.<br />
• Consider if / how much you will offer rewards for recommendations.<br />
• Most of your referrals will need to be collected at the beginning of<br />
semesters / summers, but it should be done regularly.<br />
• Sample events for getting referrals: presentations, tabling, dinners for<br />
referral sources.<br />
Contacting Prospects:<br />
• Contacting prospects costs little or no money, but you should account<br />
for about 2-3 minutes per name on the list.<br />
• Sample events for contacting prospects: cold call parties (get the<br />
chapter or committee to go through the list at the same time)<br />
Establishing Relationships:<br />
• These are much smaller and easier to plan, generally a public meeting<br />
with a recruiter.<br />
• Anticipate a first meeting to take about 20 – 30 minutes per person. Consider if you wan to budget for a cup of<br />
coffee, etc for each of these meetings.<br />
• Sample events for establishing relationships: 1 on 1s or 2 on 1s, meeting for coffee or going to lunch, going to<br />
the gym, attending a study group.<br />
Chapter Functions<br />
• These tend to take more time or planning, but include a large number of PNMs, so they don’t need to occur<br />
nearly as often as 1 on 1s.<br />
• Sample events for chapter events: Cook-outs, movie nights, sporting events, the more you can use events your<br />
chapter already does (intramurals, push events, brotherhoods, study groups), the less money you will need to<br />
spend.<br />
Interviews, Votes and Bids<br />
• For the most part these require virtual money, and if your chapter is doing enough to get to know PNMs, it<br />
shouldn’t require a great deal of time.<br />
• Sample events for interviews, votes and bids: formal interviews with officers, group interviews with multiple<br />
PNMs, keep in mind that it does not have to be too formal or ritualistic; interviewing or bidding in public, even<br />
while tabling can be a great way to market the fraternity.<br />
Suggested Frequency for Each Stage<br />
• Getting Referrals – take the average number of referrals you get from one effort and divide that number by the<br />
new of your total referrals goal. Then, take that number and divide it by twelve months. Typically, you should be<br />
doing names-generating events one to five times per month, heavier in the beginning of semesters and the<br />
middle of summer.<br />
• Contacting Prospects – This should be done weekly, for those further along the recruitment cycle, cold calls,<br />
should happen every other week so that your referral don’t go ‘stale’ .<br />
• Establishing Relationship – You should be having at least a few one-on-one style meetings each week, more<br />
during heavier times corresponding with names generation and cold calls.<br />
• Chapter Events – between what your chapter is already doing and independently planned recruitment events,<br />
you should plan on at least one chapter event to invite PNMs to.<br />
Interviews, Votes and Bids – The frequency of these events depends on whether you choose to them individually or in groups, but you should be doing<br />
them frequently enough to bring in 10% - 15% each month of your total goal of men who sign bids.<br />
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CHAPTER - SHARED<br />
One of the easiest ways for recruitment to fail is by placing all the responsibility of the chapter’s recruitment efforts on<br />
one person – the vice archon. When recruitment is chapter shared, there is a system in place that helps balance the<br />
responsibility of recruitment and gives everyone in the chapter a voice. The vice archon oversees the vision, goals, and<br />
strategy involved with recruitment. He works with a committee in which each member is charged with the planning of the<br />
logistical aspects of the 3 pillars of recruitment, and makes sure that the chapter can learn the process and help in the<br />
recruiting of individual PNMs.<br />
Manage, Plan, Do<br />
The <strong>Vice</strong> <strong>Archon</strong> of the chapter is elected to head all recruitment efforts, but in order to do everything involved in the role,<br />
he must rely on his committee and the chapter. In order to be successful at this, you must have a sense of where<br />
responsibilities lie. As you can see from the final level of the Ideal Chapter <strong>Recruitment</strong> Model, responsibilities are broken<br />
into three levels.<br />
Manage<br />
The manage level entails overseeing the vision, setting goals, training the chapter and ensuring the job gets done the<br />
right way. Things that are included on this level include deciding strategy for names generation and setting up<br />
presentations, giving final approval for marketing related to the message, creating the recruitment schedule and setting<br />
a budget that can support it all. Being able to manage requires that you can lead the group, but also make the tough<br />
decisions required while holding yourself accountable. This level likely takes several hours a week depending on how<br />
organized your planning can be.<br />
Plan<br />
The planning level is focused on the logistical execution of the recruitment plan. The tangible things like updating the<br />
names list, maintaining social media, scheduling rooms for events. This level takes the guidance of a manager and helps<br />
make sure things can get done. This level takes more time than managing, but is split by more people.<br />
Do<br />
This level is the execution stage of responsibilities. This means being present, knowing how to further the recruitment<br />
cycle by building relationships with potential new members and knowing what to say. This level is aware of the big<br />
picture, but for the most part takes direction from the top two levels and recruits individuals as opposed to leading the<br />
strategy. List level is about interacting with every single PNM, meaning that it takes quite a bit of time but is shared with<br />
all or most of the chapter.<br />
Fluid Responsibilities<br />
If you look at the official roles in this model, you’ll notice that they are fluid, meaning that they do not stick to one level,<br />
but have varying impact on the whole process. For example while the <strong>Vice</strong> <strong>Archon</strong> should focus mainly on the big picture,<br />
he of course will be meeting with PNMs and attending events. At the same time, regular chapter members will be the<br />
main ones building relationships, but at the same time, they should have a voice in the overall vision of the process.<br />
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Doing Your Part<br />
Below, we’ve broken down the Chapter-Shared level of the Ideal Chapter <strong>Recruitment</strong> Model to give you an idea of where<br />
some important responsibilities fall. Keep in mind that this is meant to give you an idea of what to do, but may look<br />
different in your chapter.<br />
Who’s On Your Team?<br />
Now that you’ve seen the level of responsibility<br />
involved in a full recruitment process, you can<br />
hopefully understand the need to have a good<br />
committee supporting the <strong>Vice</strong> <strong>Archon</strong>. Having a<br />
skilled team in place can make the difference<br />
between any number of men that your<br />
chapter could potentially recruit. When<br />
creating a recruitment committee, it is<br />
the <strong>Vice</strong> <strong>Archon</strong>’s job to be clear about<br />
what to expect of himself and of each<br />
member including duties of each<br />
role, how often the team will meet<br />
etc. The <strong>Vice</strong> <strong>Archon</strong> can<br />
structure the committee<br />
however he sees fit; the<br />
sample below is one that<br />
fits the ICRM. Keep in<br />
mind that you can<br />
customize as needed.<br />
For example, you may<br />
add a Formal<br />
<strong>Recruitment</strong> chair<br />
base on how<br />
important it<br />
may be on<br />
your<br />
campus.<br />
Strategic Planning – Who’s On Your Team?<br />
Position People Chair Message Chair Venue Chair<br />
Possible Chair Positions<br />
(Already in your chapter) Secretary, member education,<br />
PR, Sorority Relations, Media<br />
or Technology<br />
Possible Majors Business, Communications PR, Communications<br />
Skills<br />
People in my chapter that May<br />
be a good fit:<br />
Organization, good<br />
communicator.<br />
Good communicator, artistic,<br />
sense of visual design<br />
Brotherhood, Intramural,<br />
Scholarship, Social<br />
Event Planning, Hospitality<br />
Services<br />
Organized, good strategic<br />
thinking<br />
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Motivating the Chapter – Empowered, Informed, Appreciated<br />
One of the most difficult parts of the recruitment process can be getting enough of the chapter involved. When<br />
recruitment efforts lack the support of the general chapter, it puts far too much responsibility on the <strong>Vice</strong> <strong>Archon</strong> and his<br />
team, limiting the end result of your efforts. Rather than seeing the chapter’s involvement as how they must contribute,<br />
the <strong>Vice</strong> <strong>Archon</strong> needs to focus on how to get them to want to contribute. There are some key actions that can make a<br />
difference in your chapter’s willingness volunteer their time to be good recruiters.<br />
Empower Them<br />
While the <strong>Vice</strong> <strong>Archon</strong> will have the final say over what the recruitment process looks like, it was the chapter that voted<br />
for him to be in that position. Its important to make them feel like they have a spot in the drivers seat on bigger items.<br />
Allowing the people to have input is proven to be a more powerful motivator than external rewards. When people feel as<br />
though they’ve contributed to something, they are naturally more supportive. As <strong>Vice</strong> <strong>Archon</strong>, you can choose a number of<br />
options that fit and let the chapter decide which of these they like best. For instance:<br />
• The <strong>Vice</strong> <strong>Archon</strong> can find multiple options on items related to the message, like the tagline used for marketing,<br />
but let the chapter vote on the final decision, allowing you to control the quality while giving the chapter a voice.<br />
• The <strong>Vice</strong> <strong>Archon</strong> seeks the advise of other chapter leaders; have the Push America, intramural, scholarship or<br />
other chairmen select events from their schedule that would work for recruitment. This way when you present<br />
the calendar, these other leaders are in support of it as well.<br />
Set Expectations<br />
Just as some of the items in this manual may be new to you, they are likely new to your members as well. You cannot<br />
assume that everyone knows what is needed to be done or how to do it. At the beginning of each semester, it is your job<br />
to make it clear to the chapter what they can expect from you as well as what they are expected to do. This tells members<br />
that you respect them and that you are accountable. Allow them to have some say in what this relationship looks like, but<br />
spell it out for them. For Instance:<br />
• Break down the responsibilities of who does what – <strong>Vice</strong> <strong>Archon</strong>, committee members or the chapter – in a<br />
duties list that everyone agree upon that is available for anyone to access.<br />
• Work with other officers to reinforce expectations. One example would be setting standards for minimum<br />
involvement with recruitment for those who wish to be big brothers of those being recruited.<br />
Inform Them<br />
Once they know what they are expected to do, make sure they know how to do it. For instance:<br />
• Host a recruitment workshop at the beginning of each semester.<br />
• Do an activity with them on the basics of meeting new people and having a good conversation.<br />
• During the <strong>Vice</strong> <strong>Archon</strong>’s report, give a 15-minute rundown on how to use the names list.<br />
• Have them come up describe their personal experiences similar to the questions from page 3 and explain how<br />
they can tie these back to the identity of the chapter and share with others.<br />
Its important to keep training fun, light and active. Keep it simple: teach them only what they need to learn and give more<br />
to those who want to know about it, like future <strong>Vice</strong> <strong>Archon</strong> candidates. The other component to informing the chapter is<br />
making sure they know how far they are to their goals. Each week, breakdown how many people are on each stage of the<br />
recruitment cycle and how close they are to the chapter goal. Give them a benchmark to hit the following week.<br />
Get Them Involved Early<br />
When a chapter lacks enthusiasm or a sense of duty to recruit, it can be an issue with the culture of the chapter. In this<br />
kind of situation, its especially important to involve the new members as soon as possible. Chances are, these men are<br />
looking for ways to be involved with the chapter and therefore more willing to help. And by setting the expectation of<br />
involvement from the beginning, these new members will have more of an on-going sense of obligation. Work with your<br />
Warden to include one or two training sessions in new member education.<br />
Use Competition<br />
One of the greatest motivators of men is competition. It taps into many key facets of masculinity and therefore can have<br />
big results with small effort. For example break the chapter into teams and keep score based on number of people they<br />
help find, recruit and see through to a bid. At the end of the semester, provide a good reward for the winning team.<br />
Encourage Them<br />
Rewards are a powerful tool in motivation. Use a good portion of your budget to provide rewards to those who help recruit<br />
for the chapter. You can use anything from $5 gift cards to a home cooked meal to a free round of golf. It does not have<br />
to be incredibly structured or spelled out, it just has to be something that excites the chapter and shows them that you<br />
appreciate what they are doing to help out. Make sure to allow the chapter to decide what these rewards might be.<br />
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