Need some fresh ideas!
 

Hi ladies! So my chapter is having some major difficulty with recruitment this semester, and we could really use some new ideas on events we could have or new approches to recruitment all together. We have never had this much trouble so I'm not really sure what to do. We are at a relativlty small state school, and we do not have formal recruitment only COB. As of now we are putting recruitment events on pause for a week to give the sisters a break. Any advice, ideas, or info you could give me would be AMAZING! Thanks so much :)

You shouldn't be having COB events constantly - i.e. you shouldn't have to give people a "break."

Keep meeting and introducing women to the sisterhood on a casual basis and getting them interested in the sorority, but honestly, one official *event* a month is more than plenty. Make that the time that you vote on the rushees and give out bids.

[QUOTE=33girl;1896438]You shouldn't be having COB events constantly - i.e. you shouldn't have to give people a "break."

I have to disagree with this statement...For chapters that are either small or have a small greek community, it can be very difficult to even find girls to come over to the house. If you only have one event per month, there may only be 2 girls that could go to the event rather than 20 girls per month if you hold one or two events per week!

This way you have a much better chance at getting more quality girls!

Agree with 33 girl and disagree with Dancer08.

Just because you're not having "COB events" doesn't mean you're not recruiting.

What 33girl is advocating is having the sisters meet women through their classes, activities, dorms, mutual friends, etc. and befriend these women. Do "normal friend things" with them and 2-5 sisters to gradually introduce them to your chapter. Invite women to things you do normally in your chapter that would be appropriate for non-members (some sisterhood or philanthropy events, programs, speakers, etc). THEN invite them to a COB event (once per month sounds good) and offer bids as your chapter sees fit.

If you're having 1 or 2 COB events every WEEK:
-your chapter will become burned out and will drop like flies
-your members will feel like they're not doing anything other than recruit, because they aren't!
-fewer PNMs will show up to each event because they know you have them all the time, and an empty party does not look good to PNMs
-you're making an excuse to not get out and meet quality women, you're just letting anyone come to you

The answer to the numbers and quality your chapter needs is not some magically awesome theme. It's getting out there and meeting quality women on your campus.

Check out I Heart Recruitment by Coffey and Gendron from Phired Up Productions. Their book was practically written for campuses like yours.

Also, ask your HQ for a travelling consultant or seek the help of regional recruitment specialists in your region/district. They are there to help you!

I don't know about that. Sometimes they're the ones that advocate that isht to begin with. Which is why it's a really bad idea to send the consultant who's an alum of the most popular chapter at Ole Miss to help the struggling chapter in BFE, New York State. They can read all the books and go to all the workshops there are, but when it comes down to it, unless they see what goes on on campus on a daily basis, for an extended period of time, they're just not going to get it. (Kind of like I just don't get wearing a dress to a football game.)

So you're having 2 COB events (with a theme, decorations, required attendance etc) per week, EVERY week. How's that working for you? Are you at total? Do you have other women interested that want to pledge once some spaces open up? Are your sisters enjoying COB events and looking forward to the chance to meet new women? Is your sorority experience a stress-free, drama-free one? Have you had any women terminate or go inactive?

Ideally, they'd be able to send a consultant from a similar school, and maybe the chapter can specifically request that.