Vice Archon Recruitment Manual - Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity

THREE PILLARS OF RECRUITMENT
The next layer of the Ideal Chapter Recruitment Model is the Three Pillars, or people-centered level. While its important to
use our values and identity as the core of our efforts, the Three Pillars – people, message and venue comprise the
three components of the logistics involve with recruitment.
Message
People
People-centered recruitment means that the majority of the
time, money and effort dealing with recruitment are focused
on expanding your network and building relationships above
all else. This pillar is broken down into two segments. First
and foremost is one-on-one – the interpersonal
relationships that develop when recruiting. This means the
focus is on finding and meeting new people, establishing a
friendship, slowly introducing them into the fraternity and, if
they share our values and accept the responsibilities,
inviting them to become a part of the fraternity. Without a
doubt this recruitment cycle is the most important part of
your chapter’s recruitment effort; no cookout or rush shirt
will ever replace the ability to make real connections with
people. The second part of this pillar is large-scale – the
management of names generation and tracking of all
potential new members using an organized system. The
main components of this section deal with using your
network to actively seek referrals and tracking these
potential new members as they progress through the
recruitment cycle.
Message deals with everything that your chapter communicates about itself. How does your chapter choose to express its
values and identity? How to people outside of the chapter see you? Being strategic about your message year-round is
crucial to maintaining respect and a good reputation with your network and finding the ideal recruits your chapter seeks.
The main components of message are telling the story – being able to articulate your identity, especially how your
personal experiences help illustrate our values; branding – having consistency in both the symbols and the messages
we use to make others aware of us; the sales pitch – how you explain the tangible benefits of membership, or tailor a
conversation towards the PNM’s interests; and broadcasting – how you leverage your network and forms of media to
help tell your story for you.
Venue
Different from just events, venue is people-centered in that it is less about what is going on and much more about who it
is going on with. When we plan events, they can often be rush-style, large group events at the house or regular chapter
location involving much of the chapter. While these events can be great, they only address the later stages of the
recruitment cycle, and can be intimidating to people you are just meeting for the first time. They can often scare away
people who wouldn’t normally join fraternities out of fear of the stereotypes. The two components of venue are cycle
awareness – planning meetings, interviews or events that meet the PNM where they are on the recruitment cycle; and
venue 365 – fitting the recruitment cycle into your calendar all year by creating a schedule that is flexible and can
utilize large-scale events your chapter already does.
PI KAPPA PHI VICE ARCHON RECRUITMENT GUIDE |! 5!