This question was submitted by one of our readers. If you have a question you want me to answer go here to submit it: Fraternity Advice.
Question:
What is your opinion on having two recruitment classes in a semester? Do you have any advice?
Answer:
A fraternity faces many difficult challenges. I think having two recruitment classes in one semester is a great idea for solving three of them…
One challenge is fraternity recruitment. We all know it is extremely difficult to recruit and grow the brotherhood. By having two recruitment periods, you will theoretically be able to increase the number of guys you recruit a semester. And in theory, this should have a snowball effect because if you initiate more guys one semester, then you will have more guys recruiting the next. This means your fraternity should grow.
Another challenge is differentiating from other fraternities on campus. Everyone does about the same thing, which makes standing out harder. If you have a rush period in the middle of the semester, you will be recruiting with little competition. Also, you will be able to scoop up those guys who were missed by a few short weeks during the first go-around. Seems like a no-brainer to me.
The final reason is to improve our new member programs. Fraternity new member programs are often too long and result in losing new members. Your fraternity loses a ton of potential if you pin 10 guys, but lose 3 because they get sick of the new member program. If you can shorten the new member program, while still teaching the new members everything they need to know to become productive brothers, then everyone wins.
My advice – try it! Nothing says that you have to do it forever. This could be the type of idea which takes your fraternity to the next level by increasing the men you initiate during the year by 25 to 50%. That is huge for any chapter.
Realize that there will be sacrifices though. You will have to make sure the brothers are motivated to recruit. If they aren’t motivated, then no change will improve your recruitment. You will also have to shorten your new member program to make room for the second one. Like I stated earlier though, this is probably a good thing.
Again, I think this is a great idea and if you do it I’d really like to hear the results.
This question was submitted by one of our readers. If you have a question you want me to answer go here to submit it: Fraternity Advice.
To learn more, check out our most in-depth article on fraternity recruitment: The Complete Guide to Fraternity Recruitment.