NACA Student Blog

Recruitment : 4 Step Overview and A Look At Our Organization.

brandonc966 — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:19:00 GMT

Overthe past few weeks I have discussed four steps that need to be taken tosuccessfully recruit new members into your club/organization. If you followthese four simple steps and tweak them accordingly then success willhappen. The four simple steps that I have talked about are:

Step1: Identifying why people join your club/organization.

Step 2: Whatare your recruitment goals?

Step 3:Talk to everyone.

Step 4:Welcome!!

Remember.... follow the four steps in recruiting and see your club/organization go. On our campus (ICC), our Campus Activities Board has a few problems in trying to recruit new members. One of the problems that the Campus Activities Board had is that we don't identify why people join the club/organization. One thing that the Campus Activities Board did was that they recruited prospective members but not looking for anyone specific. They weren't looking for someone with any special qualities, skills, leadership roles or anything. They were looking for the average joe (nothing wrong with that). They needed to look for members to fill certain roles in the club/organization. They should of looked for people that offered the club special skills, etc.. When they were recruiting new members people were asked what they were looking for and they would tell them *you*. They would make them feel special at first and then when they started to get involved they would right away except them to do things on their own, sit at an event, learn things quickly or they wouldn't call those new members back unless they really needed them, which isn't right at all.

Another thing that the Campus Activities Board had problems with was setting recruitment goals. They never set any goals for the group. The main goal for them was to get as many people involved and in the group as much as possible. But there is much more to it than that. We need to make the club/organization bigger, teach the members new things, improve on their skills, etc.. It's all about goals. When you are in a club/organization it's important to look back at the year and see what all has changed for the better or worse. That is what makes a person better. They can then see the mistakes that they have made or the successes that they can either improve on doing or keep doing. The Campus Activities Board has never taken time to sit back with the group and see where things have went right or wrong. Set goals!!!

Third is that the Campus Activities Board doesn't really talk to everyone. Sure they share with their friends... but where does that really get them? Nowhere. They have to make sure that they are heard and noticed Monday-Friday. Not Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Tuesday and Thursday. It needs to be every single day. When I say every single day I don't mean it for the entire semester or year. Give it a time frame and make sure it's done everyday during that time. Stop at student hot spots and introduce yourself (club). Tell the students what you are all about what you have to offer them. Walk down the halls and handout handbills and stop and talk to people in the hallways. There are hundreds of ways to market your club and to get yourselves heard. The Campus Activities Board here at ICC has a Student Activities Fair twice a year. That is the only time where they have ever tried to recruit new members. They hardly walk the halls, meet new people, greet people, talk about CAB to others, etc..

Probably one of the biggest problems that the Campus Activities Board has is welcoming new members and keeping them interested in what we have to offer them. They can recruit 2-4 members every semester but for some reason they never stick with the club/organization. It's because they don't really make them feel wanted or special. It's almost like they are there to make their jobs easier for them. When really they should be there to offer something better to help their club/organization. The new members will help out with a couple events, get a few emails, and then sooner or later won't get anything about any meetings, events, or conferences to keep them involved. I feel that is probably one of the hardest things for clubs/organizations to do... and that is to make EVERYONE feel like they are special in their very own unique way.

The Campus Activities Board is a great group at ICC and have done a lot of wonderful things. I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression. These are just a few common mistakes that a lot of college clubs/organizations make. But with these steps they can improve their recruiting 100% from where it's at now.

I hope that everyone takes a look at this and really understands how simple and not very difficult it is to recruit.

Hope you all enjoy :)

-b

NACA Board of Directors: Student Representative

HOFFMANL — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:20:00 GMT

Hello!

My name is Laura Hoffman and I am a student representative for the NACA Board of Directors; along with Adam Frank. I am a graduate student at St. Cloud State University working towards my masters in Higher Education Administration. I want to take a minute to share my experience volunteering for NACA and my time on the Board of Directors.

I began by volunteering on a regional level for the Northern Plains conference. I started as a student assistant for our graphics competition. This was the perfect way for me to "dip my toe in the water" so to speak. It was great to be able to contribute the the conference. I had such an great time doing this that the following year, I was a student representative for Northern Plains. I wanted to becoming more involved and this was the best way for me to do this. I worked closely with another student representative to coordinate conference orientation, student socials and fundraising for the foundation. My work as a regional student representative led me to apply for the Board of Directors. The application process alone is a great learning experience. Since accepted to the Board of Directors, I have learned so much about NACA's staff, volunteers, members, associates, strategic plan and history. There are so many benefits to the association's constituents and I feel really lucky to be a member!

This is an experience that I have learned so much from, and had a really fun time doing it! Adam and I will be ending our time on the Board this year (we will both be graduating!!) so there will be student representative positions available. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the association and to help move NACA forward.

If you have read this entire blog, you will probably not be surprised by my next statement. If you volunteer for NACA you will not be sorry! Volunteering for NACA at any level has countless benefits! You meet new people, learn new things, apply your skills and more!

Adam and I plan to blog about many different topics and issues that students involved in student affairs are facing today. Please feel free to comment or give suggestions on what you would like to read about! Or if you have any questions about volunteering please don't hesitate to e-mail me at hola0301@stcloudstate.edu

Recruitment - Step 4 (Welcome!!)

brandonc966 — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:16:00 GMT

Now that you have successfully recruited prospective members into your club/organization, the next step is to make them all feel welcome. One of the very first things that you should do is to host some kind of new member meeting. Make it some form of initiation process with the entire group involved to make them feel appreciated, needed and wanted. By doing so it will create a memorable bond between the old and new members in the organization. The new member meeting needs to be all about the new members. You need to capture their attention still and keep with wanting to get involved.

Don't get to know your members just to get them involved with your club/organization to do work for you. Spend time with them to get to know them and let them do the same to you. Don't turn your backs on the old members either because they were the members that kept the group going. You should know their skills, interests, and any other previous experiences. Once all of this information is out in the open then it should be very easy getting the new members involved. Once the new members are comfortable and have had time to get involved, have them participate in setting new goals and objectives as well as asking them for feedback and suggestions.

One mistake that a lot of clubs/organizations do all the time that I notice and something that happens a lot in our Campus Activities Board is getting the new members thrown immediately into group projects(BAD!! - Slap on the hand!). You first must get the new members oriented into your groups goals, objectives, structure, rules, etc.. It makes everything more clear and the group isn't a mystery anymore, helping the members feel more comfortable with the group and it's processes. By doing this it creates more commitment and less frustration.

Last but not least....

HAVE FUN TOGETHER!

Make time to socialize and celebrate everyone's achievements. Remember member's don't always join just to volunteer, they want to meet new people, have fun, etc..

In four simple steps you can successfully recruit new members into your club/organization. It's all about identifying why people join, what they are looking to get out of it, how to draw them in and then welcoming them with open arms.

** next week I am going to be talking about summing up recruiting new members and where our own organization on campus has messed up and what needs to be addressed**

-b

(extensive research has been done looking at other college recruitment ideas and some of my suggestions mixed in)

Recruitment - Step 3 (TALK TO EVERYONE!!)

brandonc966 — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:58:00 GMT

This week is a BIG one but stick with me.

This is probably one of the most important steps to remember when recruiting new members for your organization. It is "your" job, it's your organizations job to talk to everyone. You can start by having your current members identify people that they know personally that may want to get involved. Have them personally invite them to attend an organizational meeting. One of the best ways to get your organization out there that everyone knows is, word-of-mouth. It's probably the best way and least expensive way type of publicity that can be used. Let people know how the organization can offer them. What can that organization do for them that they can use now or in the long run? One thing that you need to remember is not to ramble on about yourself or the organization to the point where you are dominating the conversation, that will instantly turn off that perspective new member. Ask them about themselves, work, other organizations that may be involved in and REALLY LISTEN.

Let them know that they are important in their own special way and tell them how they can help out the organization in the future. People want to hear these things because they don't want to be used for just their time and be called only when they are needed. They want to know that they are needed and have a special skill, talent, etc.. that the organization can use effectively. Another way to get the organization noticed and word out is by using flyers and posters. If there are any members involved with the organization that may have any "artistic talents" ask them to work on designing flyers, posters, handbills, banners, etc. YOU MUST BE CREATIVE!! The publicity is only effective if the work is noticed. If you have a list of people that you are trying to recruit then a way to go about that would be by invitation, so then that person would feel special and very privileged that they were thought about and personally invited to join that organization or attend a meeting.

These are some quick ideas and suggestions to keep your organization going and help with recruiting. Recruiting is probably the hardest for an organization to do. You have to understand what target audience you are going after, how to effectively get their attention, how to reel them in, and then the most important is making them feel wanted.

But recruiting for a college club/organization is a different idea. That takes a little more research and time. Every club/organization has some type of problem recruiting new members and it's not something that can be turned around in a few days. It's something that you have to continuously look at and try to succeed in. For example, let's look at a CAB, SPB, SAB, OSA group. What are reasons for students to join that group?

Well....

1. meeting new people,

2. volunteering their time,

3. leadership development,

4. effectively plan and coordinate an event,

5. hold a leadership role,

6. education in advertising/marketing, event coordinating, etc..,

7. and having fun!

There are many reasons why someone may join a club/organization on a college campus. So how can you effectively choose a "target" audience? Well, what are you needing most? Are you needing a leader? Are you looking for someone that can run and coordinate an event on their own? Do you want someone that only wants to volunteer their time to help out with events? I don't know. You can either identify it that way or you can go at it a different way. Maybe you are wanting enthusiastic people that has good leadership and can help in planning and coordinating an event? There is so many different ways to look at this. It's all about researching and taking a good look at what your organization needs the most and how the organization can benefit. Let me say again that it's very important to talk to an individual about what that club/organization is looking for. Tell them how the organization can benefit from them. Don't forget to ask them about themselves!! - that will give you the perfect chance to get a feel of the person and what they may be looking for inside the organization.

Be on the lookout for step four when we talk about what to do next after you have successfully recruited new members and how to make them feel welcome.

"b"

Recruitment - Step 2 (What are your recruitment goals?)

brandonc966 — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:30:00 GMT

Once you have discovered why people join organizations and you have explored the reasons why they might, the next step is recruitment. How many members is your organization looking for? What is the right number of members? When do you draw the line? Before you start recruiting you need to think about how many members your organization is looking for and when do you draw the line... make sense? An organization can have 20 members with all of the members being very active and then another organization can have 40-60 and their members will not be as active. You need to think of how active would you like your members? How much responsibility would you like for them to have? My opinion is if you want to have members stick with your organization and be excited at the same time, then you need to have them take on more responsibility and not have all the tasks spread out between 40-60 members. But then again it all depends on the size of the college, student schedules, type of event, etc..

Then you need to think about a process of how people can join your organization. Can they join at any time? Can they only join during a recruitment period? Is the membership by invitation only? If you are looking for a few new members for your organization, then I would go ahead and only allow people to join during a recruitment period. Then again you might only be looking for people to volunteer their time to help out with events/programs. So then you might want to have recruitment throughout the year, depending on if any help is needed. Is there a certain target audience that you are looking for? If so figure out where those prospective members most likely frequent. What will attract their attention? Maybe think back to when you first became involved - what attracted you? How were you recruited? Start asking yourself questions..

Why have I stayed involved? How did I hear about the club/organization? Did something catchy attract me to that club? It's always a good idea to look back at yourself and answer those questions. The answers will help you attract the prospective members that you are looking for your organization.

Stay tuned for next week!!

"b" carpenter

Recruitment - Step 1 (identifying why people join organizations.)

brandonc966 — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:05:00 GMT

Let's start off my asking yourself one question. Why did you join Student Activities Board, Campus Activities Board, Student Programming Board, etc..? Answering this question should help you partly identify why students may want to join an organization. There were a couple of reasons why I joined the Campus Activities Board at Illinois Central College. I joined Campus Activities Board to simply make new friends and have fun. I was fairly new on campus and wanted to see what all ICC had to offer. There are hundreds of reasons why people join an organization. But knowing just a few of them are essential to have a successful recruitment plan.

People join organizations for reasons such as:

- they want to simply get involved on campus,

- make new friends,

- expore their interests,

- develop skills,

- and have fun!

Once you have identified a few ideas of why students may want to join an organization you are ready to start on a recruitment plan. Over the next few blogs I am going to be talking about the following: How far would you like your organization to go?, Who do you want to recruit?, getting everyone involved, using flyers, posters, etc.., new members meetings, interviewing new members, and having new members setting goals for themselves.

Please chek back over the next few weeks and learn how to successfully recruit new members.

"b" carpenter

NACA's New Student Blog!

chrisn — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 16:54:00 GMT

Check out NACA's latest blog on students in the campus activities planning field. Coming Soon!