Outreach & Recruitment Strategies

1. Outreach & Recruitment Strategies March 10th, 2014 1:00 – 2:30PM (EST)

2. # Enter your Grant name and location in the Chat window – lower left of screen Where are you?

3. Submitting Questions:Open Chat Drop-Down Menu • To submit a question, type the question in the text field and press your Enter/Return key. • Please enter the name to whom the question is directed. • To send questions only to the presenters, select Presenters from the drop-down menu before pressing your Enter/Return key. • Change Text Size and Chat Color… Text Field

4. “Raise Your Hand” to be called on!

5. Panelists & Subject Matter Experts • Arnie Richter,Moderator, WIF Program Technical Assistance Team, Maher & Maher • Denise Kennedy,Moderator, WIF Program Technical Assistance Team, Anthology Communications • Karin Martinson, Subject Matter Expert, WIF National Evaluation Coordinator, Abt Associates • YOU, WIF Grantees

6. Arnie Richter,Moderator, WIF Program Technical Assistance Team, Maher & Maher

7. Denise Kennedy,Moderator, WIF Program Technical Assistance Team, Anthology Communications

8. Karin Martinson, Subject Matter Expert, WIF National Evaluation Coordinator, AbtAssociates Inc.

9. Recruitment Objective Attract a sufficient number of people who meet program eligibility requirements AND for whom the projected program benefits are attractive. Your recruits are therefore likely to: • Be enrolled, whatever that consists of; • Stick with the program at least long enough to see if it delivers what is promised and can solve the individual's problem; and • Have a reasonable chance of being successful.

10. There Is NO SINGLE Answer… All successful recruitment is situational. Begin with the End in Mind: • WHATyou do • WHEN you do it • HOWyou do it It all depends on WHO you want, and WHEN and WHY you want them!

12. More to the Funnel

13. 5-Step Recruiting Process RECRUIT ANALYZE PLAN MESSAGE OUTREACH & MARKETING • PLANNING for RecruitmentLeads to SUCCESSFULRecruitment • 5 key steps to a successful recruitment process • It’s not too late to reevaluate or look at different recruiting options! EVALUATE

14. STEP 1: ANALYSIS Match Program & Benefits to Audience ANALYSIS Supports provided by you / partners MATCH: Your benefits can make their lives Better Services & Benefits Offered Appropriateness Characteristics Eligibility Characteristics AUDIENCE • What are the characteristics of your applicant pool? • Use data to ID eligibles • Within the eligible group, what characteristics can you match to your benefits? • How can you solve their problem? What’s the WIFM? • Create a profile of your targets PROGRAM/BENEFITS • What is the range of accessible services? • What benefits are obtainable ? • Who are your partners, and what supports can they provide? • Does your program connect to other supports that help ensure retention?

15. Audience Example: Analysis To give us an example of what needs to happen in this Analysis step… • What has come up in YOUR thinking about these issues that presents a challenge? • What are you being challenged by now? • How did you decide the kind of person you want to recruit?

16. What do you want targeted to do? STEP 2: PLANNINGMatching Numbers to Your Process PLANNING • Identify Audience Supports provided by you, partners • # Needed for study • # Needed to enroll • #Needed to participate • Think of your “funnel” • What is your assessment process – from eligibility through enrollment? • When do the steps occur? • At what point are individuals “enrolled”? • At what level of the funnel do you want to focus the recruitment message?

17. Total Projected Eligible Audience Example: Planning # Actually Eligible # Assessed as Appropriate # Come to Office # Interested # Assigned to study group # Enrolled for services

18. STEP 3: MESSAGINGRight Strategy = Right Message MESSAGING • Prioritize information • Anticipate audience needs, reservations, & concerns • Use language that resonates • Test w/ target audiences Simplify your Call to Action Ask yourself: • What motivates my audience? • How can I solve their problem? • What do I want them to do? • What’s in it for them? Avoid: • Jargon • Telling them too much about who you are, or your grant • Bogging them down in details (partners, how program is funded, etc.) • Having too many layers in your call to action

19. Your Experience with Messaging • Using the Chat feature, tell us what your messaging challenges have been. Possible challenges include: • How to Avoid Jargon? • Explaining why program or service is valuable? • Streamlining a call to action? • Others?

20. Sample Audience Tools

21. Sample Messaging Tools

22. Sample Messaging Tools

23. Audience Example: Messaging What have been your biggest messaging challenges? • Is there a thought or theme that is hard to convey? • Have you had a problem developing your message map? If so, can you describe? • Anyone make any message adjustments that they have found effective?

24. STEP 4: OUTREACH & MARKETING Many Choices, Little Time/Money/Resources OUTREACH & MARKETING • Disseminate Information • Map strategies to audiences • Identify your Goals • Develop Content • Focus on what works (evaluate) What do you see as your biggest marketing challenge? • Prioritize goals & audiences • Streamline review and clearance process Map needs to communications vehicles • Media, social media, in-person events, partners • Don’t focus on social media if it’s not germane to audience • Integrated communications (media, partner, digital)

25. Communications Planning Matrix

26. Poll Question: What outreach and communications channels have you had the most success with? • Social Media • Media Relations • Partner (using partner to disseminate information) • E-newsletters • Email • Advertising • Other

27. Poll Question: What outreach and communications channels have been the most challenging? • Social Media • Media Relations • Partner (using partner to disseminate information) • E-newsletters • Email • Advertising • Other

28. STEP 4: OUTREACH & MARKETING (cont.) Many Choices, Little Time/Money/Resources OUTREACH & MARKETING • Disseminate Information • Map strategies to audiences • Identify your Goals • Develop Content • Focus on what works (evaluate) Dissemination: • Consider a different role for “partners” • Iron-out the how you do it organizationally Turn messages into content before marketing activities Evaluation • Landing pages for different calls to action • Asking during intake • Web and social metrics

29. Audience Example: Outreach & Marketing What major questions do you have regarding your marketing mix? • Any channels giving you problems with recruiting? Is there something in your marketing strategy that has worked well with recruitment? • Good uses of media, social media, etc.? • Anything that’s not working specific to outreach and marketing?

30. Poll Question: What channels of social media are you most interested in? • Facebook • Twitter • YouTube • Instagram • Pinterest • Other

31. Poll Question: What are your biggest social media concerns? • How to get more followers? • Developing content for different channels? • How to choose the right channel for my audience? • Other?

32. STEP 5: EVALUATIONEvaluation Loop EVALUATION Measure the quantitative results of your recruitment efforts • Track numbers as you analyze UP the funnel • Where are numerical deficiencies/disconnects/overages? Assess the Qualitative results • Are the people proceeding through the funnel the ones you expected? Examine your overall plan and implementation • Are your recruits achieving what you expected? • Is your assessment process going as planned and resulting in keeping your pipeline active?

33. Questions

34. Continue the Outreach & Recruitment Strategies Discussion • Workforce Innovators LinkedIn Discussion Group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=4760511&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr • Workforce Innovation Fund Grantee Hub: http://innovation.workforce3one.org/grantees

35. Workforce Innovation Fund Hub

36. Workforce Innovators Linkedin Group