By Emilio N. Williams, formerly of the National Association of Service and Conservation Corps (NASCC)

WINTER 2000 (archived information - please note the date of publication)

Recruitment is not a magical process of having people sign up, but is one of the most critical aspects of operating your program. Recruitment should be a strategic process that connects candidates who need what you have to offer and who possess the skills and aptitude to accomplish your goals and objectives. The results of your recruitment process will directly impact several areas, including morale, motivation, respect, retention, quality of service projects, relationships with service partners and community members, funding, and your ability to focus on the program rather than spend the majority of your time addressing problems.

On Motivation . . .

"I try to continue looking for ways to do the job...the more stuff I have to do, the more I get motivated. I think when people don't know what to do...this is when they get frustrated and start thinking about other things. Also, how you are treated at the agency where you are placed has a lot to do with your motivation for staying there. The [AmeriCorps] VISTA leaders on our project are available for assistance - complaining - chatting when you need it. They will recognize our achievements and help us recognize that we are doing some good."

AmeriCorps*VISTA member Mary Rice, Health Links Project

Targeted vs. "Warm Body" Recruitment
What is known as "warm body" recruitment may only produce numbers, while actually increasing the labor of reviewing applications, interviewing, screening, and working through many that may not fit requirements. This type of recruitment includes public service announcements, speaking to special groups, brochures, television, radio, ads, brochures, flyers, etc. Warm body recruitment should be used only with targeted recruitment strategies as a foundation. Targeted recruitment identifies the needs of the job, determines the skills and temperament required to fill the position, finds out who possesses these skills, and discusses matching the needs of the program with a potential member's interests and needs. Developing a pool from targeted leads will likely decrease problems, such as retention, in the future.

The following questions and ideas may be helpful to use in recruitment strategies. They serve as a starting point and are not all inclusive - there are many successful programs you can also consult.

Clarifying what you need and what you offer:

• How clear is your vision, mission, strategy, and the culture of the organization?
• What type of person is most likely to succeed as opposed to a person most likely to experience problems?
• What cultures are you trying to create and do you have the ability to manage a diversity of cultures?
• Why would someone want to serve for a term - what's in it for them?
• If selected, what will the candidate receive?
• How will I determine their interests and core values?

Developing leads:

• Use previous members to help generate leads.
• Think of who you have not asked for leads. Talk to family and friends of members, partners, and recipients of services.
• Analyze your list of graduates. Which leads have resulted in the most recruits?
• Meet with local service clubs and community groups. Establish relationships with them so that they can help as well.
• Consider placing some responsibility of recruitment on the partner organization.

Interviewing potential members:

• Conduct group interviews of 10 to 15 candidates. Include members in this process and have a plan to discuss common situations and challenges.
• Use behavioral interviewing techniques. Prepare questions that cannot be practiced by the candidate the night before. For example, "This position requires a tremendous amount of patience and effective communication skills working with diverse populations. Tell me about a situation when you were successful in communicating and how it worked out. Tell me about a time where you needed to be patient and communicate and you were not successful. What happened?"
• Use scenario interviewing. People have learned in the past how to complete applications, resumes, interview, and provide references. Scenario interviews will help you develop situations that can quickly turn into role-play situations.
• Check references very carefully.
• Trust your judgment. If you have an uncomfortable feeling about an applicant, you are probably right. What you see is what you get. Don't delude yourself into thinking that you will change them after the "marriage."
• Consider having partners and/or site supervisors sit in on the interviews.
• Connect with and/or visit a program with strong leadership and high-quality members. Find out what they think they did well and what they would do differently.
• Include a number of requirements in the selection process, using common sense. For example, candidates come for an interview, visit a morning opening session, submit an application, take a test, meet with a member's council, etc.
• Consider inviting more applicants to the orientation than you have slots. Some will not be interested.

Hiring and ongoing screening and orientation:

• Establish some type of probation period.
• Develop an adequate orientation process. This should not be rushed. Invest time to build a functioning team that communicates with one another.
• Give all members a fair dose of what a typical program year will look like so that they can make an educated choice.

Closing questions to consider:

• Will you be able to roll additional members into the program over the next 90 days? How will they be integrated into the team? How will they make up hours the other members have already completed?
• How will they receive the training the other members received? How will they catch the national service spirit and get the full picture?
• How will I help them get to where they want to go?

Don't compromise. Remember, it takes much more effort in the long run to repair the damage of simply filling the numbers than it ever will to come up with a plan. Target! Know what's in it for you and what's in it for them. Communicate that!

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