new PHC VP of Recruitment seeking ideas

[DDlegacy]

Okay, so I a have been elected to be the Assistant VP of Recruitment for Panhellenic... I don't know how it works at other schools, but I am mostly in charge of the Rho Chi's and party groups, and then help out with PR and other administrative stuff.
I am looking for ideas!!! Everything from tshirt slogans to brochures to activities to do at my rho chi training meetings... I know I am starting early, but I am studying abroad next semester so I need to get as much done before I leave.
We have used black and hot pink as our colors for the last three years, and our motto is "Great Women Go Greek."
We are a state school, a commujter campus where Greeks are only 3%. Our pledge classes are usually around 34-45, so we aren't floundering, but we are looking towards expansion in the next few years.

Does anyone have any cute ideas or suggestions for raising our numbers?

Thanks all!!!

Fraternally,
DDlegacy

[PhiLove83]

Hi! I was the Panhellenic RVP last year for Jacksonville University, and I am the newly elected President. Our school is a little smaller, we usually have pledge classes of about 15, but our Greek population is about 15 percent. Hopefully some of this will be helpful. And starting early is the best idea!! Prepare to be overwhelmed when you arrive back to campus. I do not know how your recruitment works, ours is about 1 to 2 weeks after school has started, which raises the stress. I started early in the semester by making sure that the rules were set and all of the sororitities had been notified of them (we held a large all Greek women meeting to discuss them). Make sure that you have strong Rho Chis, they will be your lifeline in Recruitment. If possible have an application process where you have a say in which girls are chosen instead of the chapters just giving them to you. Train them about the other sororities, mottos, founding etc. It will be obvious what chapter they belong to if they can only answer questions about one organization. We had a short one day training, and we are looking to improve that and actually purchased Recruitment Counselor handbooks from NPC which may help. Last year our t-shirt slogan was "When it is all you can think about" and the year before it was "W may stand out but we never stand alone" I do not know any that would go with your motto though We had a lot of girls sign up this year but not a very good retention through our preference round. Mostly due to discouraged girls who had been cut from the organization that they thought they really wanted. Try and encourage the girls as much as possible to stick with it and remind them that the system works if you let it, just because you have your heart set on one chapter does not mean that it is the right place for you... I felt like a mom all through recruitment. To help the girls we made an "info book" that we pass out on the first night with information about Panhellenic and what it does and also information about each chapter including open motto, founding, and even dues. In the back it had a small one page dictionary of words they may hear that they are not familiar with, PNM, new member, initiation etc. you have to keep in mind that most know nothing of Greek Life. And then the last two pages had things to keep in mind during recruitment / encouragement and then a blank page for notes. If you can have the Rho Chis spend time with their girls outside of recruitment, this is something new we are trying to help the girls feel more connected to Panhellenic and to Greek women in general to try an improve numbers. We are doing an informal recruitment this spring and trying some new things too!

Sorry this is so long! But I hope it helps some. There are going to be times of high stress, just remember that while you do have a commitment to the chapters, you also have a stronger commitment to the PNM's to make sure that they have the best experience possible. Have fun abroad and let me know if I can babble about anything else! Haha

Bri

[EtaEpsilove]

Hmmm... as someone who was Formal Recruitment Chair and then Recruitment Vice President at my chapter, I had a lot of interaction with our Panhellenic Vice President of Recruitment. I'll pass along some things we did, however, I went to Miami University (Ohio), and I get the feeling that our campus was very unique.

1. Creative Marketing Theme - I know you mentioned marketing would be the best way to help get the word out. Some themes we've had, "Greek Letters Today, Great Leaders Tomorrow", which I personally really like. When I went through our shirts said something about all the chapters being stars (they were white t-shirts with blue stars that had the chapter names in it). I think it's really really important to have a creative and COHESIVE marketing theme that you use on EVERYTHING. Even if it's not the most original slogan (b/c honestly, I don't think the slogan makes people tune it), use a cohesive design and color. When I was in charge of Recruitment for ADPi, we did a marketing campaign that didn't have a slogan, but we always used black and pink (I know, not our colors) and polka dots on everything we used. If we made sheet signs, we used black sheets with pink and white and polka dots. Our t-shirts matched; everything matched, so PNMs would associate all those colors with our house.

2. Increase PNM Interest
I'm not sure if this would work for your campus, because we have deferred recruitment, but have as many opportunities as possible for PNMs to find out about going greek. Since we don't recruit until January, first semester Panhellenic sponsored five info fairs for PNMs. Each sorority would have a booth and a few actives to talk to PNMs about their experiences. Now, I thought five was a tad excessive, but maybe do two or three to spark interest. Go talk to freshmen residence halls, and put flyers in freshmen residence halls. Go to dinning halls freshmen frequent to give out information. Panhellenic also sponsored a coffee shop first semester where PNMs could come and meet actives and learn about sorority life.

Now, here's something that our campus does, and I have no idea what your campus recruitment rules are. However, we have something called "informal recruitment" fall semester. This isn't CORing/COBing - this just means we're allowed to talk to PNMs and get them to know about our chapters. Each chapter has one "sprite date" where we meet PNMs in an informal setting. ADPi does a tailgate before a football game where we order panera and drinks and hang out with the PNMs before a game. I know DG does Donuts with DG, Kappa does Kappa Kappacino (a coffee house type deal). These are just ways for the PNMs to get to know the chapters a little more informally ... In my opinion, it's debatable if these work, and if you have strict silence rules, it won't work any way. However, it's an option.

3. Make Sure Your Rho Chis are KNOWLEDGEABLE
The biggest problem for us is the Rho Chis at Miami give the PNMs incorrect information. It's hard because we have about 1100 women go through recruitment and we have 17 chapters that go through formal recruitment. Obviously, it's hard to make sure that the Rho Chis give the right information. But, it is IMPERATIVE that the Rho Chis know what the heck they're talking about. Make sure they can tell PNMs how ranking (on the PNM end) works. If suiciding hurts the PNMs, TELL them! Make sure the PNMs know what dirty rushing is, and make sure they know what to do if it happens. At our campus, the GPA to rush is a 2.3; however, only ONE CHAPTER has a minimum GPA of a 2.3 The second lowest is a 2.6. If PNMs are going through recruitment with a 2.4, they should be aware that there is a VERY good chance they may only get invited back to one chapter. I just think it's really important that Rho Chis are informed, know the information and are as unbiased as possible.

Ok, I know that was a ton, but recruitment was very near and dear to my heart for several years. I can also give you some idea of what I think you should NOT do. If you have any more questions, PM me. I hope that helps!!!! Good luck - you are in for a great experience, and a tough one! Have fun!

[couggirl]

Originally Posted by EtaEpsilove

1. Creative Marketing Theme - I know you mentioned marketing would be the best way to help get the word out. Some themes we've had, "Greek Letters Today, Great Leaders Tomorrow", which I personally really like. When I went through our shirts said something about all the chapters being stars (they were white t-shirts with blue stars that had the chapter names in it). I think it's really really important to have a creative and COHESIVE marketing theme that you use on EVERYTHING. Even if it's not the most original slogan (b/c honestly, I don't think the slogan makes people tune it), use a cohesive design and color. When I was in charge of Recruitment for ADPi, we did a marketing campaign that didn't have a slogan, but we always used black and pink (I know, not our colors) and polka dots on everything we used. If we made sheet signs, we used black sheets with pink and white and polka dots. Our t-shirts matched; everything matched, so PNMs would associate all those colors with our house.

I have read research that was done on children and by the age of (I think) 2 most children (even if they could not read, or read well) could recognize things like McDonals, Disney, and a whole bunch of other brand names based on some symbols. The kids would see a picture of the Golden arches and scream "McDonals", then they would show the D in disney and the kids would scream "Disney" or "mickey Mouse." I am not expert at recuritment, but I have to say that this is the best advise because people learn to recognize "brands" without even knowing what the poduct is, saw a similar study with adults, it was kinda of scary. Seems like this could be used pyschologically to be more recognizable to people.

[JennaLaurenS]

I completely agree with having a cohesive and creative marketing plan.

I was the PHC VP of Recruitment for Drexel University this past year. My ideas for recruitment theme were pretty standard in the beginning, but then later last year i wanted to do something broad that could really make a different impression for Panhellenic. I decided on Coca-Cola, and used a lot of different aspects of it in our marketing and promotion. I used the font called "Loki-Cola" which you can find online to make t-shirts, business cards, flyers, etc. We also used some of the vintage Coke posters, slogans, and AD's and changed them for flyers. It turned out REALLY CUTE, and was a great way to tie Panhellenic together without using a theme that cold possibly be biased towards a chapter.

Another cool thing that we did is have each sorority buy the same t-shirt, in the recruitment theme. We had all of our orgs wearing the same Coca-Cola inspired t-shirts on the same days - which really helped highlight our UNITY during such a stressful time....

good luck

- Jenna

[catiebug]

Not to be a party pooper, but...

Coke defends its trademarks like no one's business. Did you have to get permission to use their stuff (old posters, slogans and such), or did you just go ahead and use it on your own?

Originally Posted by JennaLaurenS

I completely agree with having a cohesive and creative marketing plan.

I was the PHC VP of Recruitment for Drexel University this past year. My ideas for recruitment theme were pretty standard in the beginning, but then later last year i wanted to do something broad that could really make a different impression for Panhellenic. I decided on Coca-Cola, and used a lot of different aspects of it in our marketing and promotion. I used the font called "Loki-Cola" which you can find online to make t-shirts, business cards, flyers, etc. We also used some of the vintage Coke posters, slogans, and AD's and changed them for flyers. It turned out REALLY CUTE, and was a great way to tie Panhellenic together without using a theme that cold possibly be biased towards a chapter.

Another cool thing that we did is have each sorority buy the same t-shirt, in the recruitment theme. We had all of our orgs wearing the same Coca-Cola inspired t-shirts on the same days - which really helped highlight our UNITY during such a stressful time....

good luck

- Jenna

[blondi1288]

I'm not sure if you are still looking at themes, but I am new to this site and I this past semester our Panhellenic used "Get Sweet on Sisterhood" it was really cute each house was a different type of candy for a theme night... but I'm needing ideas for next fall because now I am the new Panhellenic Recruitment Director. Any ideas for themes for Formal Panhellenic Recruitment??? HELP!!!

[AXOrushadvisor]

Just a quick thought about Rho Chi's. I would educate them heavily on how to keep the PNM's engaged in recruitment through dissapointment. The one user is right Rho Chi's will be your lifeline. I would have all the Rho Chi's meet with their PNM's before recruitment even started to talk about keeping an open mind. I think a lot of PNM's get hurt because they start recruitment thinking "I only want to be..." Also, every thing they hear is not true. I strongly believe that there is a place for every one during recruitment, but I don't think sorority life is for every one either. It is important you convey this message to your PNM's. With the way the severe cuts are being done after round 1 it is now a first impression game. The girls who do well during recruitment light up the room when they walk in the door. They are dressed nice and are cute. I would make sure your Rho Chi's are letting these girls know what the expectations are. Hope this helps.