Recruitment vs. Sisterhood

greeklife25 · #1 10-31-2008, 02:05 PM

To start with, it obviously shouldn't have to be either "Recruitment" OR "Sisterhood". But recently its become a problem in our chapter, and I'm hoping someone can help me.

I'm a chapter officer in a small but growing chapter. Our numbers are below those of the other sororities on campus and we're working very hard to try to bring them up (and we've been very sucessful in the last few years). Since we have deferred recruitment, a lot of our fall is spent promoting our chapter and trying to recruit freshmen to go through recruitment in the spring.

Unfortunately because so much focus is put on recruitment events during the fall, we don't have as much time for sisterhood activities. There are activities held, of course, but there is a certain group of women in the chapter (who were just initiated last year) who feel that all we do is recruiting, and that there's not enough "fun stuff". On the flip side, many of these women don't participate in the fun activities or try to spend time with other sisters.

On the one hand, we've tried to explain that sorority life is what you put into it and recruitment is ALWAYS intense in the fall, but they're not buying it. They're still new in the chapter and don't really understand how things work.

This group has actively threatened to disaffiliate because they feel that we're more concerned with recruiting than with acting as sisters. We obviously don't want to lose them! We would miss them tremendously because they're really great girls, and from a recruitment perspective, we cannot afford to lose any members with recruitment in just a few months.

How can we strike a balance between recruiting (so our chapter can survive and improve!) and keeping sisters engaged? What can we do about these unhappy sisters?

Sorry this is such a long thread! I'm at my wits end.

AOII Angel · #2 10-31-2008, 02:16 PM

Be more specific in what you guys actually do for these "recruitment" events outside of formal recruitment. How are you targeting freshmen?

agzg · #3 10-31-2008, 02:20 PM

Why not have sisterhood events (going to the movies, going bowling, etc.) and invite freshmen along?

greeklife25 · #4 10-31-2008, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

Be more specific in what you guys actually do for these "recruitment" events outside of formal recruitment. How are you targeting freshmen?

A lot of the events are booths around campus with fun little activities like cookie decorating or watching a movie in a common room.

greeklife25 · #5 10-31-2008, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alphagamzetagam

Why not have sisterhood events (going to the movies, going bowling, etc.) and invite freshmen along?

We've tried this, but sisters feel like its just a recruitment event disguised as a sisterhood event - ie, the focus is on recruiting, not sisterhood. But I do think this is a good idea.

norcal aephi · #6 10-31-2008, 02:31 PM

The chapter I advise for has a Wednesday Night Dinner that is a weekly sisterhood that the women get together for, and they have certain ones where they invite a friend--dinner on the Sorority!
This has been incredibly successful way to inspire non-Greek women to consider a sorority—BECAUSE they see how great the sisterhood is—as well as a great way for the women to get together outside of chapter meetings.

ASTalumna06 · #7 10-31-2008, 03:27 PM

Do smaller activities and invite PNMs to go.

Or... invite them to things that you already do. My chapter always has lunch together in an eatery on campus on the same day, at the same time, every week. We would invite PNMs and advertise for that any way we could (on our website, in pamphlets, school newspaper articles, etc). A simple, "Come eat lunch with us every Tuesday at 12," will do. And even if just one or two girls show up and say hi, that's two more girls than you knew before.

A good idea would be to hold an informational session. Do this for an entire day. Dress up. Some sisters will obviously have class and will have to leave, but they should come back afterward. Make sure you have enough sisters to be there for each hour that you do this. Set up a room on campus that anyone can walk in and out of all day. Have information packets and visuals for people to look at. Presentation boards are always a good thing. Make a powerpoint and have 3 or 4 designated times throughout the day to make a 10-15 minute presentation to all who are interested. Advertise everywhere for this event. After the day is over, everyone should go to dinner together. You can go with just the sisters, or you can invite all the PNMs you met that day to join you.

Also, explain to these newer sisters (and to everyone) the importance of recruitment. I am a recruitment advisor for my chapter, and I know how frustrating it can be when there is little effort put forth throughout the semester. With successful recruitment you find that financial responsibilities decrease, fundraising becomes easier, there is more participation in philanthropies and social events, there is more motivation for academic excellence, more sisters are involved with sports/intramurals/extra-curriculars, etc. And in turn, all of these things lead to higher recruitment numbers. The more you recruit now, the easier it will be to recruit later.

RaggedyAnn · #8 11-01-2008, 08:16 AM

Maybe diversify what you are doing for sisterhood activities? If they are not going to the "fun stuff" outside of recruitment, maybe it is because they don't enjoy what you are doing. Have you asked them what they like to do? I'd also ask at least one of them to be on the social committee.

FSUZeta · #9 11-02-2008, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RaggedyAnn

Maybe diversify what you are doing for sisterhood activities? If they are not going to the "fun stuff" outside of recruitment, maybe it is because they don't enjoy what you are doing. Have you asked them what they like to do? I'd also ask at least one of them to be on the social committee.

yes! if they don't like what is being planned right now, they need to get involved in the planning themselves.

is your chapter doing similar things to the other chapters during the fall semester, or are you doing more? what do the other chapters typically do?

why do you have to recruit girls to go thru recruitment in the winter? why is panhellenic not doing this?

33girl · #10 11-04-2008, 12:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

why do you have to recruit girls to go thru recruitment in the winter? why is panhellenic not doing this?

That's kind of what I wondered. You shouldn't be having to "beg" freshmen to rush the next semester. The girls you should be concentrating on in the fall are upperclassmen and transfers who didn't go through or didn't receive bids during formal rush (I am assuming you take a fall pledge class).

It can be tempting to turn everything into a rush event if your numbers are low - sometimes groups go overboard with the "rush is 24/7/365" motto and don't have room to breathe. Make sure you have events like mixers or a daily soap-opera viewing at the house that are "just for us."

jmuaphi10 · #11 11-04-2008, 05:04 PM

due to regulations at my school, we are not allowed to hold events outside of formal recruitment in order to "recruit" girls and make ourselves known before we start the process, and our formal recruitment starts about 2 weeks after classes begin. so basically all of the sororities wear their letters every single day for the first 2 or 3 weeks of the fall semester, and that's what we have to rely on.