Management theory still due to come out soon.
The next entry is from the head of recruitment in Toronto. He is new to the position but has been recruiting, training and hiring canvassers for the past few years as one of the top performing Door to Door supervisors.
Here is Rahim’s take on what makes a great recruit!
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What Makes A Great Recruit?
At the present time of writing this, we’re over 50% when it comes to recruits passing their evaluation since I took over the department in March of 2010. I believe there are a series of factors as to why this is happening, and a lot of credit has to go to our trainers and supervisors for continuing upon the work that I do in bringing the right kinds of recruits in (I’d say a majority of credit goes to the actual canvassers and the rest of our staff - our recruits who are clearly passionate about the work they are doing, and the willingness of our supervisors to help them pass evaluation) If I am the spark and the catalyst at the beginning of the process, they are the explosions, and it’s their work on all side that resonates far beyond the process of the initial job call.
A recruit’s body language is what speaks to me the most - even in those who are quiet, there is a spark in the eye, and an open posture in the body. They are able to communicate on all levels, and I know I have someone of potential magic on my hands when it’s not an interview, but a dialogue.
In the initial effort, I’ve noticed that those who don’t say a word when it comes to emailing me their resume, and just send it out randomly as they would to any other job, it always ends in failure.
It is those who put in that little extra effort as to who they are, and why they want this job in particular (even if someone is using a template and just plugging in words, I can tell the difference between the two) that I will focus upon.
A recruit has to be able to deal with the improvisation of the moment. I’m unpredictable in my nature as to what I will talk about, but so is the work that we do in our face-to-face interactions, so if they are able to adapt within the process, be it in a job call or an interview, then I know I have someone of potential.
Passion doesn’t mean you have to be loud. It’s like an old-school wrestling promo. The best talkers would always be able to talk in quiet, measured tones, rather than just yell and flex their muscles. I’ve seen a few recruits come through who have all the charisma in the world, but it’s on shaky ground, because who they are is on shaky ground.
It’s those who have self-awareness, and that bit of self-assurance mixed with it, who pass evaluation. It’s those who love to speak with people, and possess that passion for the causes and the charities that we represent who pass evaluation. As our department grows stronger, and as our success rate continues to go up when it comes to our pass/fail ratio, it’s like momentum in my process is created, and we just bring in the right people.
The job call process is so thorough at this point, you pretty well see just about everyone who comes in, make it through to the next level, and the screening process has so many filters, we’re at a point right now where everyone who comes through our front door is someone who has a good shot of getting through evaluation.
A great recruit is someone who cares for something beyond themselves, or their immediate. It sounds like they mean what they say when they talk to someone, because they genuinely do.
A great recruit is focused passion, clarity of expression, and a charming smile.
It’s a pleasure to see in the here and now, so many of those with a fascinatingly beautiful character, comes through those doors. I envy our supervisors in a sense, because I’ve talked with these people so much before they start their evaluation, I realize they are the kinds of people I would have wanted to work with every single day out on turf, so clearly something in our department is going quite well (and I know it will continue to be so)
A great recruit has a strong heart, a great voice (in tone and character) It’s quite transparent (at least to me) in the process, of seeing that within others.
I would speak of that which a great recruit is not, but you could just flip every single kind of description around, and you’d have it.
If you know of someone who fits the description, and is looking for a job, I think you should tell them to come find me, because we’ve only started to grow, and the summer ahead looks absolutely wild.
Rahim
Erin is currently one of our most successful phone canvassers and has also managed mall programs and worked as a street canvasser.
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Street canvassing vs telefundraising.
It’s been five years since I walked through the doors of the fundraising consulting company for which I currently work, hoping to ace the interview and start what would most likely be an illustrious career in fundraising for charities…and I’ve been extremely lucky in those five years to have experienced a variety of different forms of canvassing: street, indoor locations and now find myself in my current home, the telefundraising department.
I know that the phoning department here at my company is unique. We don’t cold call. The phoners in my department are responsible for calling those potential donors who were unable to “lock down” their donation with our front line mediums (street, door, malls) Reasons for a phone follow-up range from wanting to confer with a partner, needing time to budget for a monthly donation, or simply forgetting their banking info at home.
This arrangement makes for an interesting opportunity as a telefundraiser, but it also presents some unique challenges. As a former street canvasser, I’ve been a part of both worlds, and these are what I see as the key differences between the two.
Let the canvassing smackdown begin:
Oh hey there, I’m a real person, please don’t hang up on me!
The biggest, and probably the most challenging difference between face to face fundraising and telefundraising is exactly that. THE FACE. It may not seem so important, but there is a distinct challenge in trying to convey your passion for a charity when you can’t look at the donor straight in the face and let them see your hopes and dreams for a better future in your big, round, idealistic eyes. When someone simply appears as a faceless voice over the phone…it’s hard to feel connected with a cause…and you become, in worse case scenarios, simply another voice to hang up on.
I’ve found the best way to connect with a potential donor over the phone, is to reconnect them with WHY THEY WANTED us to call them back in the first place. I do this simply by asking them what the frontline canvasser said that inspired them to pursue the thought of monthly giving. It’s amazing the amount of times I’ve heard surprise in a potential donor’s voice when I ask that question. It’s as if they’re thinking “Whoa…wait a second…a telemarketer wants to hear what I think…not just talk over me when I say No, I’m not interested in a low-interest credit card?” What results is an instant connection between two people, looking to find the best way to make their donorship possible, and we are no longer just some voice over the phone that wants something.
Stay tuned for the next installment of Canvassing Smackdown, including the entries:
Part 2: I realize there are a lot of scams out there Captain Skeptical, but I assure you, I won’t steal your identity.
Part 3: Although your answering machine message is clever, I would really love to talk to YOU.
By Erin
What a lovely cold day in Toronto it is…
If you need some reading material at work and are inquisitive about how social media can potentially help your office or with tapping into new and exciting streams of business practice that can help your NON PROFIT organization…then check this out
http://mashable.com/2009/06/02/social-media-policy-musts/
This article will break everything down for you and explain what, how and why you need to investigate social media…twitter, tumblr, facebook and wordpress etc are not the next ICQ…social media is here to stay and will undoubtedly continue to improve and be a great tool to expand your business and reach massive audiences you never knew how to reach before…think of what myspace did for music and think of what is avaiolable now and what it could do for you
Peace,
Ry
With Jon’s impending 3 part series on management theory coming shortly I thought it would be nice if i tossed out a few of strategies I have been toying with to keep my phoners interested…and as far as I know it definitley has not ben done in my company yet…and if it has no one toots their own horn like I will on this bad boy….
I have recently been on a huge social media kick trying to actually figure out how to use it as a vessel to expand my knowledge in the Non Pofit sector, have my voice and ideas be heard and finally as a tool to pass along to my employees and keep them informed, entertained and engaged.
Step 1: Create a tumblr account and get my people blogging about something specifically tailored to what keeps them working on behalf of charities or what makes them successful at their job. Each person was given a different topic suited to what they are interested in and where their strengths as a cnavasser lie….the results were good, they were stimulated and discussing their topics the rest of the day with other co-workers….victory….
plus it validates their existence in a for profit job where their triumphs are often dwarfed by several factors….
Step 2: Create a twitter account and follow all of the clients that you canvass for….this is a double edged sword…on one hand it seems like something fun but also possibly a time waster…i run a phone room..why do I want them to have a twitter account? Because It exists at all points of the day even when they arent at work and most people (like myself) are always connected whether its computer or cell phone and become addicted to articles, pictures and words of those you follow….
Twitter is a great way for them to garner experience in a growing field and say ‘yes I am fmailiar with social media here is what I use and know’ It also saves me time time from using google news or going to each clients website looking for news updates to pass along to them before shifts or weekly (and it saves paper waste)…this way they can periodically go on their twitter account or before their shift starts see what the clients have posted and do a little reading….then We have a pre-shift meeting, discuss what we learned and form there….it also has the potential to be something where each caller gets a couple clients each week to follow and must pull news and update everyone else in the phone room! Thats where the magic happens….exchanging ideas, news, rap practice and whats working and not working with donors!
Step 3: Whiteboards / Incentives: Place a whiteboard up to track the performance of the callers throughout the shift…This practice can go either way. This is both a blessing and a curse…it often times distracts or psyches out a caller, because they are pre-occupied with their results instead of the matter at hand: The Donor on The Phone and their cheque book.
This is where the manager must manage expectations and keep his callers focused on the goal: raising money and reaching goal. Being confident, supportive, reassuring but also firm with the goals that need to be met. One way to do all this is focus on the whiteboard as the getway to rewards….reach goals I set and you will recieve incentives…this completely changes the way everyone will look at the whiteboard….the one I currently have set up has a schedule of calling on it as well as something else I included “a swear jar tally” I notcied a lot of poeple, including myself would curse at times in the phone room…since instilling the swear jar and a quarter penalty each time you curse, the cussing has gone down dramatically and its also a fun little game to bust other people at…all of the fund are then used to splurge on coffee, drinks, lunch etc…..it all goes back to the people who paid.
I assure you, try new things…some will succeed most will fail. Do not be afraid to innovative.
Peace and Love,
Ry