Overview
Have you ever heard of the “80/20” rule? It basically states that 80% of our results will come from 20% of our overall efforts. No where is this more true than recruiting cadets onto your drill teams!
When it comes to bringing in more cadets, there are many creative ways to accomplish this task. But all recruiting activities ultimately fall into two categories. Knowing and understanding the differences could be the key to the success of your efforts!
What is Passive Recruiting?
Passive recruiting is the traditional way we think about recruiting. It casts a wide net and asks potential recruits to “opt in” to joining the team, usually be taking some additional step.
Examples of passive recruiting include:
- Making a presentation at your feeder middle school and asking students to sign up for JROTC on their elective sheets
- Setting up a table during an electives recruiting event and taking down names of interested students
- Giving a presentation about the drill team to each JROTC class period and informing them of benefits and practice times
- Making posters or flyers and placing them around the JROTC area advertising the start of your drill season
Passive recruiting is absolutely essential to your efforts but it may not be as effective as you think. “Why not?” you might be asking.
It’s very simple: passive recruiting is biased towards those individuals who are either outgoing enough OR motivated enough by the information/demonstration provided that they will pursue additional action. However, for those who might be unsure, on the fence, or just not terribly social, this method of recruiting may pass them by.
Your best drill team cadets and future leaders may never, ever volunteer themselves to be part of the team!
What is Active Recruiting?
Enter active recruiting. Active recruiting, as the name suggests, places more of the process in the hands of the one(s) doing the recruiting and seeks to find those who passive recruiting may have passed by (pun completely intended!)
Examples of active recruiting include:
- Making a presentation at your feeder middle school then inviting students to learn a basic exhibition movement directly from the current drill team members
- Looking around your classes for individuals who might be great at drill and asking them personally to give it a shot
- Having each team member bring a friend to a special practice designed to be fun and introductory in nature
Active recruiting lowers the barrier for entry for a potential recruit by going to them directly and positioning their participation as a valuable asset to the team!
Moreover, it allows you to target specific traits. Are you looking for more organized individuals? Approach those who have great organization skills! Looking for more athletic prowess on the team? Approach those who seem physically inclined! Looking for good attitudes? Approach those who always have something nice and helpful to say to others!
By engaging in both passive AND active recruiting, we can drastically improve our recruiting efforts by both casting a wide net AND targeting specific individuals with traits that would add to the team as a whole!