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Newsletter
Lead Article
The Recruiting
Team!
I don't like recruiting committees. If you select a group
of your volunteers to recruit other volunteers for the organization, it removes
that responsibility from everyone else. If people know that a committee is busy
at work finding new volunteers, then they don't feel its their job. That's the
problem, it is everyone's responsibility to continually be thinking about
finding new volunteers. But when you set out to find the key leadership
players, that's where a recruiting team makes sense.
Locating your key
players for leadership roles is difficult. One reason that people hesitate to
take on meaningful positions is that if they do an outstanding job as a black
tie dinner chair this year, it will be assumed that they will do it again this
year. This assumption that all good leaders will be willing to continue to
repeat over and over again is a key in why people say no. One rule that I
follow in recruiting leadership is that leaders are not allowed to assume the
same leadership role more than once. This allows someone to work hard at a
position without fear of becoming a chair for life. But, once you serve in a
leadership role such as the black-tie dinner chair, you are expected to help
select your replacement. Therefore, the ex-chairs become alumni of the position
and will come together to select the next black-tie dinner chair.
Finding the right person for a leadership position requires a unique
thought process. Step one involves the process of conducting a task analysis. A
task analysis involves looking at the skills and knowledge required by the
position you are seeking to fill. Lets use the position of black-tie dinner
chair. This chair position requires a person with abilities in organization and
influence. The chair needs to influence others to raise money, contact vendors
for gifts, and organize the invitation activities. People work for people and
the leader has a lot to do with you is willing to serve an all the committees
required for a successful black-tie dinner.
The people who have been
recent chairs are an excellent recruiting team because they have been there and
done it. They know exactly how much work the job entails and specially which
skills to look for in the new chair. They can also discuss those items and
procedures that caused them a concern when they were chairs. This group serves
as an advisory group both to you as director and to the incoming chair. And
with this system the incoming chair is aware that it is only a one-time
position and they realize that they will be helping to select their
replacement. This task of selecting their replacement is generally a
stress-free job and in fact becomes a social hour as these individuals have a
chance to review the fun and frustrations they had with the position. You might
suggest a lunch or dinner get-together for three of the most recent chairs as
an opportunity to discuss this search for the new chair.
I suggest
that this team follow the fundraising model of prospect, cultivate, and ask as
a tool to help them locate the best quality of person to fill this position.
Step one involves the prospecting for that person best suited to become this
years chair. They usually start with our membership or volunteer roster and
discuss each persons abilities and current positions. They might look at
current and past board members, officers and committee heads. The tasks
involved in doing this job are discussed and might even be ranked as to their
importance. This brainstorming concerning just what skills might be helpful and
what skills each past chair might have felt would have helped them is of prime
importance in the selection of the new chair.
This step of combing the
list of potential candidates might involve the volunteer director and even the
executive director of the agency. Each person has had experiences with the
potential volunteer being considered and will be able to give much needed
insight. At some point following this task analysis and gathering of input
concerning the candidates abilities, a decision will be reached to make the
final selection. Step two concerns itself with cultivating the potential
candidate and following it with asking the person to accept the position.
Cultivation means nothing more than presenting the candidate with all the
information required for them to make a decision concerning their own time
constants and interest to take on this type of assignment.
The key to
getting the selected person to accept the position is to have the best do the
ask. Its true that each of us have a person in our lives who if they asked for
a favor, you would drop the world to help. Our task is to insure that we select
the most appropriate person to conduct the ask. You can imagine in your own
life individuals who might ask you to take on a position and just the person
asking might cause you to say no thanks. The recruiting team needs to consider
individually who has the most influence over your candidate in the decision of
accepting this leadership role. Sometimes this involves discussing the position
with the candidates spouse or adult children. It might be a best friend that
could influence the candidate to consider the role.
This process might
seem to you like overkill or at least a large amount of effort simply to select
one leadership volunteer. But consider the harm that selecting the wrong person
to head up an event like the funraising black-tie dinner special event. The
wrong person might leave at mid-stream, lack enthusiasm, or simply not have the
ability to carry out the duties. In any case, you must have the best leadership
person to allow for a successful social and fundraising event.
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