We return to Tri Delta’s popular 3 for You series with Dawson Pressel, Oklahoma, Theta Gamma collegiate chapter president, who shares her three tips for hosting a successful virtual recruitment. Read more below, watch the full video, or listen to the interview on our Let’s Talk Tri Delta Podcast.
It’s been an unpredictable year for everyone, but especially Tri Delta’s collegiate chapters. This fall, many of our chapters—including our Theta Gamma Chapter at the University of Oklahoma—switched to a fully virtual recruitment experience. Dawson Pressel shares how her chapter embraced going virtual and her three best tips for how other chapters can make their virtual recruitment a success.
Tip #1 Incorporate a tech team
Having a tech team is vital to the success of any virtual event, especially recruitment. Chapters should have a designated group of members as a “tech team” to manage the virtual platform, like Zoom, and figure out how to make the recruitment process as efficient as possible for the chapter and for the PNMs.
The tech team should be there to only think about technology—they don’t need to focus on conversation, recruiting or talking with PNMs. They’re behind the scenes, working to make sure PNMs get in and out of break-out rooms easily, and to troubleshoot any issues. The chapter can rely on the tech team to make sure recruitment goes smoothly.
Tip #2 Host end-of-day wrap up
Having an end-of-day wrap-up meeting at the end of each day will give the chapter a chance to review the day, review what their goals are, and bring recruitment back to the “why.” A wrap-up meeting is also a great opportunity to share positivity with one another and recognize anyone who has worked especially hard that day. Bringing everyone together can help ensure everyone is on the same page before going into the next day. It gives chapter leaders a chance to hear any concerns from the members or address any questions that come up.
Tip #3 Prepare for efficient virtual conversations
While during an in-person recruitment, members may only talk with a PNM for a couple of minutes, in the virtual setting members have to be able to hold a conversation for longer. Preparation is key! Members can prepare for these conversations by thinking through why they wanted to join Tri Delta and what they love about their Tri Delta experience. Reflecting on your experience helps you come from a genuine place. It’s also important to practice rotating in and out of virtual conversations with the tech team to make the experience as calm and as smooth for the PNM as possible.
The result of preparing to have these longer, virtual conversations is members are able to have more authentic and deeper conversations with PNMs, and recruitment becomes a more genuine experience. At the same time, members also gain a lot of trust in one another through the process, bringing them back to their “why.”