Release Figure Management
(RFM)
ST. CLOUD STATE
U N I V E R S I T Y
NPC Recruitment Task Force
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In advance of its 2003 meeting, NPC examined
literally every recruitment practice or process in
the Manual of Information including:
Marketing
Recruitment Counseling
Total
Recruitment Style and…
Release Figures!!
What are Release Figures?
National Panhellenic Conference endorses a
formula recommending the number of invitations
a sorority chapter may issue for each round to
assure recruiting success. In addition, it provides
the opportunity for a Panhellenic to pledge the
greatest number of women.
So the priorities are:
(1) Promoting parity in Chapter Size and
(2) Maximizing number of PNMs pledged
Goals of
Release Figure Methodology
• To give each chapter a statistical chance to attain Quota
• To allow each PNM to investigate realistic options and
ultimately match with a sorority for which she has a
preference
• To optimize the total number of matches, thus growing the
entire Greek community while also achieving parity
The Psychology of a PNM
• Setting expectations fairly
– Focus PNMs on appropriate chapters
– PNMs should not expect full party
complements
– The Recruitment Counselors must stress the
open doors, not the rejections
The Psychology of a Chapter
• Focus chapter time on PNMs it has best
chance of pledging
• Parity among chapters in recruitment is
critical for chapter morale – meaning you
want all chapters to match or come close to
Quota!
NPC Release Figures
The Methodology
Release Figure Management
• An RFM Specialist is assigned to each
campus by NPC
• She has a back-up Senior Specialist
• She has access to statistics from prior years
• The “RFM software” calculates invitation
figures for each chapter
• The Specialist provides these invitation
numbers and monitors results throughout
recruitment
RFM Concept
• Stronger recruiting groups are required to
release more PNMs earlier in the process,
allowing those PNMs to focus on the
chapters that are the more realistic options
for them
RFM Concept
• So this means that the chapters that are not
as strong in formal recruitment will have
more women coming back to their events –
so they have to know how to handle that
before the PNMs walk in the door!
Release Figures are Based on
Recruitment Strength
Each chapter’s individual overall strength is
determined by:
• Weighted return rates for each round over the
past three years
• Percentage of bid list used to reach Quota
• Number of PNM’s that list a chapter as their #1
choice
Partial List of 400+ Campuses
Already on RFM
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American
Butler
Cincinnati
Coastal Carolina
Colorado College
Delta State
Denver University
Dickinson
Drake
Drury
Duke
Hillsdale College
Iowa State
• Mankato State
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Marquette University
Milliken
Montana State
North Dakota State
Ripon College
University of Minnesota
University of North Dakota
University of South Dakota
U of WI – Eau Claire
U of WI - Oshkosh
These schools have either 3
or 4 chapters
Recruitment Overview
St. Cloud State
Panhellenic Association
St. Cloud State Statistics
Fall 2011
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Minimally Structured Recruitment
30 attended first round
30 attended second round
20, 29 attended Preference
18 bids extended by one NPC chapter
27 bids extended by one NPC chapter
30 bids extended by local chapter
33 total number pledged
Spring 2012 chapter sizes – 31, 27 and 18
Interest Group looking at NPC affiliation 35
RFM, Quota and Total
• Partially Structure Recruitment and RFM will assist
chapters in reaching parity in recruitment
• Chapters who do not match to Quota may immediately
COB up to Quota
• Following recruitment, CPH will determine optimum
number for Panhellenic Total; may be average chapter size,
median chapter size or size of the largest chapter
• Chapters not at Total may COB to Total
HOW WILL RFM IMPACT
OUR CHAPTERS?
Implications for
Stronger Recruiting Chapters
The Tough News First:
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You must be prepared to release more PNMs earlier in
the process.
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You will be inviting fewer PNMs to all events, which
may leave you with excess members on the recruitment
floor.
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In many cases, you will be recruiting against only the
other stronger groups for the PNMs you want.
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Your lists will be shorter, so there may be an initial
fear that you won’t reach Quota, or a perception that
you’ve “gone to the bottom of your bid list.”
Implications for
Stronger Recruiting Chapters
The Good News!!!
• You don’t have to worry about PNMs you’re not going
to pledge.
• You can focus more on the PNMs you really want.
• The RFM Experience shows that you will still make
Quota with the PNMs you want.
• The RFM Experience indicates that your return rates
will actually increase.
Implications for
Weaker Recruiting Chapters
The Good News IS the Tough News:
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All the women stronger chapters are releasing are
looking at YOU now!!
You will have more PNMs attending your events.
You may need to double or triple recruit.
You will not be competing against the stronger chapters
for as many rounds.
You will be entertaining women who have never
seriously considered your chapter before – BE READY
to sell your experience!!
How will my chapter know how
many PNM’s to release?
Each chapter will be given the exact number of
PNM’s they can invite to the next round, which
will be based on their weighted recruitment
strength and the PNMs priorities and the chapter’s
performance as evidenced by those priorities.
This number will be delivered after each invitation
ranking by the PNMs.
Invite or Carry Figures
• No chapter may exceed the invite number
• Over inviting is not permitted in RFM
• Inviting fewer PNMs than the carry figure or “under
inviting” is strongly discouraged
• Greatly jeopardizes a chapter’s chances of matching Quota
• Causes PNMs to be unnecessarily released from the system
• Permission in advance so RFM Specialist can compensate
• National representative may be notified if amount is
significant
Invite or Carry Figures – cont.
• Multiple chapters under inviting = lower quota
• Chapters are not forced to invite PNMs they know they do
not wish to pledge
• It is within the rights of each chapter to determine its own criteria
for membership – no chapter can be forced to affiliate women
• As soon as a chapter knows that a PNM would not be offered a
bid, chapter should discontinue inviting her to events. Grades
would be an example
Preference and RFM
Why Preference is the Most Important Round with RFM
• The RFM process will normally get the right
number of PNMs to your preference round.
However, RFM cannot persuade the PNMs to
choose your chapter. It is up to your chapter to
close the sale.
• Target bid list lengths for preference are based on
historical performance. If your chapter does
poorly in preference compared to previous years,
you risk not making Quota.
Bid Lists
• All women attending a chapter’s preference
MUST appear on that chapter’s bid list
• Thus, a chapter must be willing to accept
any PNM invited to Preference
• Prior to bid matching, CPH Advisor and
RFM Specialist will verify that no releases
were made by chapters after Preference
PRIORITY RECRUITMENT
Advantages
Priority –
How it Works
• Format 11-8-5-2
• After Round of 11:
Paula PNM
(405) 555-1234
000
00
– PNM clusters her top 8
– PNM ranks #9, #10, #11
• After Round of 8:
– PNM indicates where she
did not visit DNV
– PNM clusters her top 5
– PNM ranks #2, #3, #4
Paula Pnm
Hall 000
Priority – How it Works
• PNMs should only rank chapters where they
have attended events
• For ICS, use Option D “select and rank”
• Do not use “rank all”
Priority Benefits
• Campuses using Priority Recruitment have higher
retention
• The PNMs will only see the chapters that appear
on their final schedules
• The PNMs do not have time to consider
withdrawing after seeing their schedules
• Chapters have ample time for membership
selection sessions (fewer late lists)
Sample Priority Timeline
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Events from 5-10pm
10-11:30pm PNMs submit priorities
10pm-8am Chapter Membership Selection
8am Chapter lists due online
8-9am RFM Specialist and Advisor match PNM
preferences with chapter invitations
• 10am Chapter lists available online
• 1pm PNMs receive their schedule of events
• 1:30pm Events begin for next round
Flex Lists
Go hand-in-hand with Priority
Why Flex Lists are Important
• Flex Lists enable the RFM Specialist to:
– Adjust for unexpected changes in chapter
performance compared to past years.
– Increases the chance of a chapter meeting
Quota
– Optimizes invitations issued by all chapters
– Increases retention of PNMs
Plus and Minus Flex Lists
• Plus List
These lists are used to help the chapter if
the returns are less than they have been
in the past.
• Minus List
These lists are used when the chapter is over
performing and they do not need the
additional women.
What are Flex Lists?
Base
invitation
list – in
rank order
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2
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5
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Minus list
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Plus list
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How Flex Lists are Used
• Minus list is MANDATORY
• Plus List is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
but cannot be mandatory because
Panhellenic cannot mandate a minimum
number of invitations.
• Chapters should be careful about including
legacies on flex lists.
What is a Good Format?
• There should be an even difference between
consecutive rounds of recruitment
– 12-9-6-3
– 6-4-2
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• If the difference cannot be even, the first drop
should be smaller
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– 5-4-2 vs 5-3-2
– 9-7-5-2 vs 9-6-4-2
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• “Unnecessary” rounds are discouraged
– 4-4-3-2
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St. Cloud State Format
• RFM Recommended Format
–3–3–2
– Stronger recruiting chapters will release some
women after first or Open House round
Why Does Format Matter?
• Uneven format…
– makes achieving parity difficult
– lowers retention by causing large releases in certain
rounds
– increases UNintentional single preferences which can
result in large number of Quota Additions
• Unnecessary rounds…
– Extend the recruitment process, reducing retention
– Have all PNMs visit strongest chapters twice
– Sets unfair expectations with PNMs
Quota Range
Quota Additions
Quota Range
• Your RFM Specialist will provide Quota Range to
chapters for planning purposes.
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• Quota will be set after Preference after all bid lists
have been submitted and bid matching is run.
• Quota will be set by RFM Specialist in concert
with the Fraternity & Sorority Advisor.
How Quota Range Works
Chapter A
Chapter B
Chapter C
Chapter D
Chapter E
Chapter F
Chapter G
Chapter H
Chapter I
Chapter J
Chapter K
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Unmatched PNMs
Intentional single
preferences
Maximizing PNMs
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Quota Additions
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Quota Addition Process
• PNMs are eligible for Quota Additions when they
maximize their options during recruitment
• PNM must list every chapter on her MRABA where she
attended preference
• Important not to force PNMs to list all chapters
• The RFM Specialist and Advisor will place any Quota
Additions
• Consideration is given to chapters with smaller total
membership, the PNMs first choice, position of PNM on
chapter’s bid list, and even distribution of new members
MRABA
Membership Recruitment Acceptance Binding Agreement
• A PNM must sign this agreement to be eligible for a
formal bid
• MRABA and accompanying script are carefully worded to
explain to PNMs their options and their potential
consequences
• Use the NPC Script
• Electronic Signature is binding
• Print out MRABA and have each PNM sign
Reports
• National Headquarters of groups on that
specific campus and FSA receive “All
Chapter Report”
• National Headquarters receives chapter
specific report
• FSA and Area Advisor receive a Total
report immediately following recruitment
Chapter specific report – top section
Chapter specific report – middle section
Chapter specific report – bottom section
Summary and Outcomes of RFM Program
• Potentially more New Members
• Higher percentage of chapters pledging Quota
• PNMs focusing on groups where they have a real
opportunity to pledge
• Chapters able to focus on PNMs they are interested in
pledging
• PNMs are not unfairly encouraged, will stay in recruitment
• PNMs who “play by the rules” will be matched to a group
• Parity being achieved on college campuses
• A stronger St. Cloud State Sorority Community!!
QUESTIONS ?
Carol Warren
Senior RFM Specialist
rjwarren@aol.com