Onboarding new members should be the final stage in the recruitment process. This is your first chance to deliver on the promises you shared during the initial recruitment conversations with your newest members. In fact, the number one reason people quit the fraternity is misaligned expectations. Meaning, someone joined our organization with a certain understanding of what their experience would entail, and then that experience was not fulfilled.
Nationally, 90% of men who agree to join Delta Sigma Phi initiate into the Fraternity. If your chapter is far below that mark, it is worth reevaluating missed steps in your recruitment and new member process. Here are the two steps we believe every chapter should consider during the onboarding process:
"Celebrate" doesn’t necessarily mean a party or social event to recognize new members. In fact, personal recognition goes much further. By celebrate, we mean to recognize a new members decision to join by delivering meaningful touchpoints. A few examples include:
Go out for dinner with a few members from the chapter, in addition to your new members. A good target ratio is two chapter members for each new member, if possible. Bonus points for restaurants with big tables for the entire group to sit together. Flexible meal/menu options are a plus, too.
Ask initiated members to send a congratulatory text to your newest members. "Hi, Steve! We haven’t met yet, but my name is Jeremy and I’m a member of Delta Sigma Phi. I just heard the news that you have decided to join – congratulations! I’m excited to get to know you and look forward to hanging out soon."
Occasionally, chapters won't engage with new members until the new member education program officially begins. Not engaging with someone who has accepted a bid will likely insert some doubt into that person’s decision to join. Be sure to stay in contact and continue building your relationship with your newest members outside of scheduled new member program activities.
Post a photo of your newest member on Instagram with a fun shoutout celebrating his joining the chapter. If the new member has a close relationship with his parents or other friends, see if there is a way to make him look like a rock star in front of those people. For example, ask if he would like a few people in the chapter to FaceTime with his parents to introduce themselves and say how excited they are that he is joining the chapter.
Delta Sigma Phi’s New Member Education Program (NMEP) serves as an introduction and an overview to our fraternity experience. It is designed to teach and reinforce five core competencies: Conflict negotiation, diversity, group development, organizational behavior and responsibility for personal behavior. The result of a successful NMEP is an individual who has obtained basic skills that will help him become a better version of himself, and a chapter that has involved members who are committed to enacting positive change within their community.
This lesson begins with the Pinning Ceremony, and introduces New Members to Delta Sigma Phi, including local and Fraternity history, our anti-hazing policy and other expectations for membership. It helps set the stage for New Members understanding organizational behavior and the responsibility they have for their personal behavior.
This lesson will address the Fraternity’s three core values, personal values, the role of service and philanthropy in chapter life, and Delta Sig’s academic expectations for all members. Diversity, group development and organizational behavior are key competencies in this lesson.
By completing this lesson, New Members will have the opportunity to learn about their chapter’s structure and goals. New Members will also learn about areas of involvement for their future participation in their chapter. They will also participate in a final review and reflection on their New Member Education Program experience prior to Initiation. Group development and organizational behavior are competencies learned in this lesson.
In Week 4, New Members will participate in informal and formal initiation ceremonies, learning the esoteric symbols and secrets of the organization, and becoming active members. They will also reflect on their New Member Education Program experience and goals for active membership.
In Week 5, all members will participate in a Ritual Review, both as a personal reminder and refresher of the Ritual and as a bonding opportunity.