Recruiting New PartnersRecruiting New PartnersRecruiting New PartnersRecruiting New Partners

The ABC’s of recruitmentThe ABC’s of recruitment

Needs AssessmentBefore you can

recruit partners, you need to know what you need

Needs AssessmentFormal Needs Assessment

is the process of discovering what teachers and other staff need from outside sources that will help propel your school toward meeting school goals

Pre-needs AssessmentPrior to conducting a

Needs Assessment, you and your team must insure that school personnel have an understanding of how partnerships can support their efforts

Pre-needs AssessmentHelp teachers understand the wide range

of options for business partnerships• Some teachers may only think of incentives when asked what

they need from partners• Others may only ask for classroom assistance such as that

gotten from VAST volunteers• Explore the opportunities for using partners in “project learning”

activities–Distribute Partner Teacher Grant Application–See PowerPoint on Partnership Activities

Needs AssessmentAfter preparing staff, conduct a school-

wide Needs Assessment in cooperation with Staff Liaison for Volunteers

• Community Involvement Needs Assessment is available in the web site at www.browardpartners.com

• Make sure everyone understands that you will make every attempt to fulfill needs, but that you are making no promises

Prioritize Needs

Work in a team to prioritize needs • Different groups at school may have different

priorities • Make sure team represents all groups• Use SIP objectives to prioritize• Be prepared to justify the priorities

Prioritize!

I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.

– Bill Cosby (1937 - )

Matching Needs to Resources

Look at existing resources first to fulfill identified needs

• Existing Partners and Volunteers– May wish to take on new roles

– May be able to help with recruitment

• Talk to current Mentor and Not-for-profit Organizations– Don’t silo resources - we should all be working together

• Teachers/staff– Teachers and other staff may mentor and tutor

Recruiting for PrioritiesGo after the most pressing needs first• The most pressing need may be hardest to

find • If you do choose to go after easier to get

resources first, such as incentives, don’t loose site of your priorities

Preparing for RecruitmentSeek help with recruitment efforts• Ask administrators, teachers, parents and volunteers

for assistance• Others in your school may enjoy and/or have experience

selling• Recruiting partners is SALES

• Have a positive attitude• Believe in what your selling

• Keep in mind that it’s OK when someone says NO. They are not rejecting YOU

Needs Acquisition

When you reach for the stars, you may not quite get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either

– Leo Burnett

Targeted RecruitmentTarget businesses or organizations that you think are

most appropriate for program development and the fulfillment of identified needs

• To get volunteers and mentors, target business with employees who are not involved with customers– tellers,sales people, grocery store clerks, restaurant

personnel, etc. generally do not get work-release time

• To get incentives, target restaurants and places that your students frequent– Look in your geographic area, it is generally their sales area

Targeted Recruitment• To get curriculum support, target a business

that connects to the curriculum that you want supported. For example– Banks and math classes or Life Skills– Law offices with Debate Club– Technology with systems classes– General business with interviewing skills, writing,

team work, planning, time management

Preparing for RecruitmentResearch the targeted business or

organization prior to recruiting

• Check the internet• Do you think they have the resources and capabilities

that you are seeking?– How many employees do they have?– What types of jobs do these employees have?– Is their Community Involvement philosophy or policy listed?

• Ask yourself, if I were the business owner, WIIFM?– why would I want to partner with the school?

Recruitment• Recruit only for jobs/activities that you actually

have– Have job descriptions for volunteer opportunities

• Be timely– If the job/activity doesn’t start until after FCAT, don’t

recruit in August and make them wait

Recruitment• Network with existing partners, parents,

volunteers and school staff– You never know who knows whom until you ask

• Identify a starting and ending date

– Your partners may stay with you forever but may want to know there is an end date when they first sign on

RecruitmentBe prepared to answer questions• How will their involvement benefit students?• What do they get out of the partnership?• What are your school demographics?• What do other similar businesses do with other

schools?– You may contact Partners In Education for this information

RecruitmentRead body language and be prepared

to shift gears• You may be there to ask for help with

math tutoring, but body language is telling you that you’re not connecting

Recruitment

• Why do you need business partners? We didn’t have them when I was in school.

• What’s that FCAT all about?• What’s happening with the class size amendment?• Don’t you get Lottery money? • Why do you people need more money? Don’t you get enough of my tax

dollars?• Why do students need incentives to read more? Shouldn’t they just learn

because the have too?

These are just a sample of questions asked at actual recruitment meetings.

Sometimes, the questions you get from the recruitee are in left field. Be prepared for everything…..

Recruitment

Every recruitment meeting is an opportunity to educate someone on the value of public education in general and your school in particular

RecruitmentEven if you don’t

get a new partner, you may just make public education a new friend

What’s in it for me?Know the Benefits of

partnerships for– Community– Partner– School– Student

PartnershipsPartnerships require a culture that reinforces community involvement

•Both school and partner should recognize that a well-run community involvement initiative is a win/win program for schools, for businesses and for the community

Benefits to the Community

•Improve the economic environment and the ability to draw new businesses•Provide for economic growth•Lower dropout rates, which are associated with lower crime rates, less unemployment and fewer welfare recipients

Partnerships

Benefits to the Business

•Enhance the business’s community image•Provide a better prepared workforce•Improve employee morale and training

–BellSouth would send entry level managers to speak at middle school on the theory that if they can speak to a classroom of middle school students, they can present to anyone

•Aid in customer and employee recruitment and retention

Partnerships

Benefit to the School

•Provide teachers with ideas for innovative approaches to learning •Provide added human and financial resources to schools•Reinforce school message that education is important for life•Improve employee morale knowing that the community values what they do

Partnerships

Benefit to Students

•Relate school to “real life” by utilizing the business as a focus to delivering academics•Deliver a unified message that the community cares about students’ academic success•Provide opportunities for greater career awareness•Increases student self-esteem•Enhance learning opportunities in non-traditional settings

Partnerships

Motivating Factors for Corporate Citizenship

Company CEOs agreed that good corporate citizenship is good business•82% state that good corporate citizenship helps the bottom line•74% believe that the public has a right to expect companies to act as good citizens

2004 survey of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Types of RecruitmentDirect• In person, face to face

• Telephone Indirect• Letter• Poster• Brochure• Newspaper Article• Public Service Announcement• Displays at local stores and malls

RecruitmentRecruiting new

partners in never easy. But finding the right resources to help your students in always rewarding.

Direct Recruitment• Is person-to-person contact• Is the most effective form• Emphasizes communication between the

recruiter and the prospective recruitee• Provides for two-way communication• The best Direct Recruitment is face-to-

face rather than by telephone

Direct Recruitment• Cold calling is arriving at the business’s

door without an appointment– Very difficult to meet with the “right” person

in a cold call– The “right” person may be busy or

preoccupied during your visit

Direct RecruitmentInstead of cold calling• Start with a telephone call to get an

appointment• The person on the telephone may help

you identify the right person with whom you should meet

Direct RecruitmentThe “right” person to meet with is the

one able to make decisions on behalf of the company

Always send someone who can answer specific questions and has the authority to commit to the partnership on behalf of the school

Direct RecruitmentThe recruiter should be very

knowledgeable about the school and the potential partnership placements and programs

• the requirements for specific placements such as mentoring

• number of people being requested• times of available volunteer jobs

Direct Recruitment• knowledge of available training and

orientation• school and district policies• budget, transportation issues• class scheduling• other issues that may come up in

conversation

Direct Recruitment• The recruiter should follow each meeting

with a letter of thanks • Summarize what was agreed to and next

steps if appropriate

Direct RecruitmentTelephone Recruitment• You may try to recruit by telephone

– May be more difficult to conduct a meaningful discussion on partnerships by phone

• However, a telephone call is a great way to introduce the idea and schedule a face-to-face meeting– No real partnership plans can be made without meeting the

person you are attempting to recruit

Keep your eye on the objective

The strength of the United States is not the gold at Fort Knox or the weapons of mass destruction that we have, but the sum total of the education and the character of our people.

– Claiborne Pell (1918 - )

The CloseThe hardest part of any recruitment is the

close • You must leave with a plan for further

action • The plan may be to start developing activities

– Hold that next meeting at school– It will help you gauge the partner’s willingness to visit in the

future– It will give you the opportunity to introduce the potential new

partner to others

The CloseThe Plan you leave with may be to meet

with someone else• You may not have meet with the real decision maker

– Some companies may ask someone to “prescreen” your request and only bring to management if they like what they hear

• Some companies have employee councils that decide on their community outreach. Once the management person likes your presentation, you could be asked to bring it to the employees

Making the SaleA strong positive

mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug.

– Patricia Neal

Indirect Recruitment• Indirect recruitment may be a letter or any

other written method of communication• Is less effective because it requires the

recruitee to take action to contact you• Indirect recruitment serves as a good public

awareness activity – It gives the person or persons you are trying to recruit prior

knowledge of who you are and what partnerships are about

Indirect Recruitment• Don’t count on indirect recruitment to bring in

new partners• On average, less then 5% of brochures mailed

result in any return– 1,000 mailed brochures may not bring in one new partner

• Think of indirect recruitment activities as public relations

RecruitmentThe process of

recruiting new partners may give you skills you never dreamed of attaining.

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.

• John F. Kennedy (1917 - 1963)

Follow-upOnce you have successfully

recruited a partner and you have agreed to planned activities, it is essential that YOU follow through and schedule them to start.

Follow-upPartners are yours to

harvest

You can let them die on the vine or you can nurture them and insure a rewarding experience for all

Post Test• What was the last company you successfully

recruited?• Did you actively recruit this specific business and

why?• What does that company do with your school?• Do these activities meet an identified need?• How did the steps you took to recruit compare and

contrast to the steps outlined in this presentation?

Questions?Call or email Partners In Education to go over

the presentation and discuss any questions you may have.

Nrandall on CAB or Nrandall@browardschools.com

Telephone: 754-321-1974