An eNewsletter for collegians, advisors and volunteers of Phi Sigma Sigma
November 2012
In This Issue
HQ Reminders
Call for Recruitment Collegiate Advisory Board
New Recruitment Plan
Why Plan for Recruitment?
Utilize Your Resources
MM Board
Recruitment Retreat 101
Semester Recruitment Shout Outs
Friendly HQ Reminders  
 
 
Nov. 1 Deadline extended
to Nov. 15
  • Spring marketing & communications plan
  • Fall recruitment wrap-up
  • Spring recruitment plan 
  • Spring goals 
  •  

    Dec.1 Deadline
  • Insurance
  • All members enter service and philanthropy hours and leadership hours
  • Submit personal wellness event, anti-hazing program, lifelong learning program and spring calendar (created online)
  •  

     Call for Collegiate
    Recruitment Advisory Board

     

    Phi Sigma Sigma is seeking collegians who are passionate about our organization and recruitment to serve on our collegiate advisory board.
     
    If you are interested please email your name, chapter and a paragraph about why you would like to be on the advisory to: recruitment@phisigmasigma.org
    Dear ,

       

    Recruitment is one of my favorite times of the year because it allows us to build to the walls of our Pyramid. Recruitment is not just a time and place, a song, a dance, a round or a party. It is and will always be an opportunity to welcome women into our sisterhood. It brings in new sisters with a fun, new and fresh perspective. These new members are so important because they are the future of our extraordinary organization.

     

    November is a busy time of year because many chapters are conducting elections while seniors are beginning to think about graduation and life after college; however, it is important to get the chapter into the recruitment planning mindset. We have dedicated this issue of Phi Sig Savvy entirely to the planning process of recruitment. After all, proper planning ensures success!

     

    This issue highlights the top three reasons we love the recruitment template, why planning for recruitment events is important and great ways to utilize your resources!

     

    I took some time to talk with our HQ membership team and they were excited to highlight chapters who have excelled in recruitment this semester, each in a different way!

     

    Lastly, I recently had the opportunity to spend some time with a chapter nearby. During my visit I was able to sit down and chat with the membership recruitment chair about how their chapter prepares for recruitment. We discussed the importance of detailed pre-planning for recruitment. Each event needs to be planned in advance, and each sister should know her role prior to the potential new members coming into the room. Planning and training individual members can be a big task but it is important to remember that what chapter members learn prior to and during recruitment will have a major impact on their ability to network in any setting, execute a well thought-out plan, and most importantly, convey a message they are passionate about...skills for a lifetime!

     

    The MRC and I also talked about the importance of utilizing social media before, during and after recruitment. Pinterest is a great tool because it has a lot of recruitment décor and presentation ideas. Facebook can be a fantastic tool to engage and connect with potential new members prior to recruitment beginning; after all, recruitment at its core is about making new friends! The power of social media is so strong...is your chapter taking advantage of it?

     

    Enjoy the rest of your semester and, as always, Diokete Hupsala!

     

     

    Fraternally,
     
    Michelle Ardern
    Executive Director
    NEW Recruitment Plan Template
    Three reasons why we love it!

    Earlier this semester, Phi Sigma Sigma created a new recruitment template and here are the three reasons we love it:
    1. Plan looks professional
       

      The new recruitment plan looks clean, neat and professional! We took your feedback regarding the template, which is why you will now find the template is a PowerPoint versus a Word document. 
       

    2. Sharing recruitment best practices
       

      The new recruitment template shares recruitment best practices that we want all of our chapters to be using to ensure that they have a successful recruitment.
       

    3. Allows chapters to share its recruitment vision with sisters
       

      This is one of the most important pieces of any recruitment plan - sharing a vision and expectations about recruitment with each and every chapter member. Each member should know her role before, during and after the recruitment process. 

    Click here to view the recruitment template in the resource library

    Why Plan for Recruitment?

    The 5Ps of Planning for Recruitment

     

    The 5Ps are very simple - Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance. As all collegiate officers and advisors out there know, our members spend countless hours planning sisterhoods, formals, recruitment activities, initiation and much more. We all know that in order to "perform" to the best of our ability, we need to have a proper plan in place.

     

    "Our recruitment success level relies heavily on the amount of pre-planning that is done," said Membership Recruitment Chairman Jordan Kranick from the Iota Zeta chapter at the University of Minnesota - Duluth, when asked how her chapter was so successful during recruitment this semester. Planning for recruitment creates a less stressful experience for sisters during recruitment. There are those situations that you cannot control, but you can have a plan for how you will react and what actions you will take to resolve the problem.

     

    During the planning process for recruitment, it is important not to forget about bid day. You can involve the sister development chair in this process for additional ideas to make it a day that the new member will never forget!

     

    This semester the Delta Iota Chapter at Central Michigan University created a fall bid day video. This video highlights the importance of making bid day memorable for new members, and Delta Iota created an experience for their new members that will never forget. They will also be able to use this video as a recruitment tool in the future. Below are the top ten reasons that the Delta Iota chapter did an amazing job planning for recruitment. We trust that once you watch the video, you too will agree with our reasons!

     

    Ten reasons we believe this video is an amazing recruitment tool

     

    As you are looking forward to the spring semester and completing your 2013 recruitment plans, remember the 5Ps - Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance. Phi Sigma Sigma believes that its most successful recruiting chapters are the ones who plan ahead. Aim High!

    Great Resources Available

    Utilize your resources

     

    Phi Sigma Sigma's chapters have the potential for greatness. We believe they will be successful during recruitment if they utilize the resources available to them.

     

    Above we provided an example of a fantastic recruitment video, this is a great way to show others what membership in Phi Sigma Sigma could provide to them. Afterall, a picture (or video) is worth a thousand words!

     

    In addition to a video, chapters should be utilizing social media. For example, creating a Facebook page is an easy way to promote recruitment events on your campus. Also, Twitter is an easy way to tweet short messages to potential new members about events they can participate in with the chapter.

     

    Another great social media tool is Pinterest. Pinterest provides users with awesome ideas for themes, tshirts, table centerpieces, decorations and much more. Pinterest now has secret boards, so you can tag planning ideas for recruitment and only share them with your recruitment team - a great sharing tool! We definitely recommend our chapters check out Pinterest when creating their Look Books and Recruitment Template for HQ.

     

      

     

    MM Board

    A reminder from your HQ membership managers

     

    We have received several questions about the discussion forums available to our members on the Phi Sigma Sigma website.

     

    Once a member log ins in to the website, she can see under the "Discussions" tab the recent posts to the forums they subscribe to. Click here for a comprehensive step-by-step how to use discussion forum guide.

     

      

    Recruitment Retreat 101

    Tips for a successful recruitment retreat

     

    Getting your sisters involved and engaged from the get-go is key to a successful retreat! At the beginning of the retreat, sit sisters with others in their bumping group, with members of your recruitment committee as the bumping group leaders. This gives sisters a chance to catch up after a long summer and it will make bonding easier as they go through the day's activities. After starting off the retreat with some fun icebreakers, here are some other components that you will want to include in your retreat itinerary:

    • Recruitment Look Book
    • Recruitment dos and don'ts
    • Qualities we are looking for in a new sister
    • Voting procedures
    • Phi Sigma Sigma history/chapter facts
    • Conversation practice
    • Song workshop
    • Bumping/rotation practice
    • Dress check
    • Day-by-day details (times, locations, expectations, etc.)

    Semester Recruitment Shout Outs

    Chapters who set a great example this semester

     

    For many collegians, fall recruitment has been completed with great success! Our chapters are reaching quota and achieving or striving for total. We are excited to help celebrate each time a chapter maximizes its membership recruitment potential (MRP) and offers an exceptional member experience to the total number of women allowed for their campus!

     

    Iota Zeta Chapter at University of Minnesota - Duluth

        - Reached chapter goal of 100 members

    Theta Iota Chapter at University of Michigan - Flint

        - In 2009, the chapter had four member, and three years

          later is now the largest chapter on campus

    Theta Omega Chapter at Niagara University

        - Started the semester with 18 members and took 13

          new members

    Theta Xi Chapter at Nova Southeastern University

        - Doubled in chapter size by taking 31 new members

    Zeta Eta Chapter at Carleton University

        - Began the semester with 22 members and took a new

          member class of 19

    Zeta Gamma Chapter at West Chester University

        - Doubled in chapter size
     
    Additionally, 36 of our chapters hit MRP this semester!

     

    "I think the most important thing for sisters to think about is that recruitment is a year-round process. Just because we have a 'formal recruitment period' does not mean that we should not be constantly meeting new women around campus," said Zeta Eta Chapter Archon at Carleton Univeristy Azra Kassam.

     
    In addition, 36 chapters have reached MRP this semester!