Fraternity & Sorority Greek Communication

Member Development: Pledging, Point Systems, Development Stages

2009-07-28T21:15:00.004-05:00

Although this blog discusses the importance of having a fraternity website / sorority website, there are other important aspects of sorority/fraternity communication on which greek organization’s leaders should focus. One of these issues is ensuring that brothers/sisters of your chapter are enthusiastic members and remain very active through their senior year. How is a leader to achieve this? This entry will dicuss a few techniques greek organizations have used including the pledge model, point system, and development stages.

1. Pledge Model

The pledge model designates a period of time in which a member is on training wheels. The values of the organization, its principles and its way of operations are meant to be learned by the pledge until he/she is deemed suitable for full member status. For some chapters, this is effective by motivating the pledge to aspire to have full status so desperately that they value it for their remaining years as a full member.

The problem with the pledge model is that its traditionalism has carried over hazing practices in some circumstances. Unfortunately these methods have stigmatized the word “pledge” and induced negative connotations on greek life.

2. Point System

The point system uses a methodology to quantifying the activity and engagement of brothers/sisters in their fraternity/sorority. For example, in order for a sister to attend an upcoming social event, her sorority leaders may decide that all sisters must have a minimum of 10 points. These points can be earned through attendance at meetings, philanthropy events, intramurals, etc… This incentivizes participation in the chapter.

The problem with the point system is that by nature it prioritizes certain activities over others. Using the example above, a social event is seen as a reward whereas philanthropy is deemed as the “work” necessary to go to the social. For obvious reasons, this logic is backwards and counter-productive to the ideals of a sorority/fraternity.

Another issue with point system is keeping track of members' points. It’s not uncommon for disputes to surface regarding the amount of points members have. The system becomes complicated with taking attendance, keeping track, and having sisters keeping in-the-know on how many points they have. Fortunately there are services available that aid with organizing your point system and will be discussed in a future entry.

3. Development Stages

Some chapters have revolutionized the pledge model to make member development expand over the course of several years/levels. The idea is that member development should not be expected for only a period of pledgeship, but rather, it is a lifelong quest. Ha, okay.

The problem with using development stages is that you create a ranking system within your organization. Those brothers/sisters that commit to their organization 100% will excel and rank higher than older brothers/sisters who diversify their co-curriculars. Neither one of these personal choices is better than the other but the social hierarchy that develops can become a problem.

Communicating what is Important

2009-07-21T18:39:00.002-05:00

As a leader of your fraternity/sorority, you must be selective in what information you communicate to your brothers/sisters. There is some information that you should communicate to the members of your greek organization, but there is also information that you should not tell your members.

Be Transparent

Your members have a right to know the status of your chapter. Be sure to communicate to them using a popular fraternity/sorority communication services. Keeping important information from your members will certainly upset them. Most importantly, be sure that your executive board and other important leaders in your greek organization are in the know with critical issues facing your chapter.

Avoid Too Much Information

At the same time, you have been elected to lead your fraternity/sorority because they think you are most capable of handling day-to-day issues, and you’re opinions and vindications are generally supported by your fraternity/sorority members. Holding long meetings and elaborating on mundane topics (which can be easily handled behind the scenes) will make your meetings insignificant and unimportant in the eyes of your brothers/sisters.

Above all, before you hold a meeting, be sure to select topics that are most important and pressing to your fraternity/sorority. Communicate these topics to your chapter using one of the communication services we discussed in a previous entry. As the message always is with this blog, communicating effectively is the most important component to successful fraternity/sorority leadership.

Fraternity/Sorority Relations

2009-07-12T16:29:00.003-05:00

Keys to keeping your chapter happy

Most greek organizations elect a “Chaplain” or an “Internal Relations” officer within their chapter to assess and handle inter- fraternity and inter- sorority affairs. So what should does a chapter leader in a position of this need to know?

Encourage Communication!

This is most important. Most fraternity/sorority problems can be solved with some simple communication techniques and tools. Without getting into too much detail, by simply arranging for one member to sit down with another member, and you as a mediator present, most issues will resolve themselves. Trust me on this, sit both members down, face to face. This will encourage them to discuss their issues without going through other members in your fraternity/sorority. Communication and people’s true meanings always get distorted when they’re filtered through two/three members. It’s important to have the members explain themselves in a forthright manner. Once they meet eye-to-eye, all parties involved will realize how childish their disputes really are.

I found a great link for more information on communication techniques.

Facilitate Communication!

You need to know how to interpret brothers’ moods and emotions and how they work within the positive interests of your fraternity/sorority. But knowing how to read a person is easier said than done in a greek organization. So many factors will influence you: your friendships within your chapter, financial situations of brothers, hearsay and gossip, etc… For this reason, it’s very important to be objective with your brothers/sisters. I would suggest that you review information on the different types of communication (specifically nonverbal communication).

Philanthropy Successes/Failures? Depends on Communication

2009-07-12T15:58:00.002-05:00

A key part of a successful greek organization is being active in their community. It is important that all your fraternity brothers or sorority sisters take part in at least one philanthropy event per semester. Having said that, it is not that easy to facilitate a successful philanthropy event for your fraternity/sorority. Your members are busy and the idea of waking up early on a Saturday sounds better in theory then it feels in reality when your alarm clock is ringing at 8:30 AM. What is a fraternity/sorority leader to do? Don't worry, that's what this blog is for, helping leaders of greek organizations communicate with their chapter better.

So, from my leadership experience the first key to a successful philanthropy event is finding a cause your brothers/sisters can relate to and are eager to rally around. My greek organization has done a lot of philanthropy work rebuilding the community and we have had many fundraiser to raise money and awareness to fight cancer. As leaders of your fraternity/sorority, you should be able to find a cause that your brothers/sisters will rally around and support. Over at GreekChat forums, fraternity/sorority brothers and sisters have a lively discussion of Great Places to do Community Service.

Next, make sure the organization your fraternity/sorority does philanthropy work for gives you meaningful work to do. Once my chapter went to a work site and the organization we worked for really had nothing to do so they just had us moving bricks around for no apparent reason. You can imagine how long it took for the members of my chapter to completely lose interest at the task at hand.

Lastly, and probably most important, communication is key. My fraternity used a communication service, ChapterSpot.com which makes life much easier. When I plan an event I put it on the online calendar that all my members see every time they log into their ChapterSpot accounts. Because of this, there is no way that every member does not know the details of the event. The best part is that when I enter the event in the online calendar I can automatically set a text message reminder that will be sent to all my members before the event. This is a very useful tool that I really recommend.

Let me know if you all have any comments, questions, or suggestions.

20 Points for Analyzing your Executive Board’s Structure

2009-07-09T19:29:00.006-05:00

As a leader of your fraternity/sorority, it’s important to be using the latest, most cutting-edge technology that can give you the communication tools (and organization tools) necessary to streamline chapter operations. But there is problem here…

One basis for evaluating a leader is experience –meaning a lot of leaders get elected just because they have more experience. But, good leaders are perceptive enough to know that experience should make them more analytical of the communication systems in place, not stubborn and conservatively-focused on staying the course. You see, experienced leaders may find themselves sticking to “how things used to be.” I know you have heard that phrase before from one or more of your fraternity’s/sorority’s leaders.

Thus, as a leader of your fraternity/sorority/greek organization, you must re-evaluate your chapter’s communication system on a recurring basis, I suggest quarterly. I also suggest that you do it on my basis of 20 Points.

So, what should I look for in the communication and organization tools for my fraternity/sorority? What makes for a good system of communication and organization? I’ll give you a checklist of 20 Points for better fraternity/sorority communication and organization:

20 Points for Fraternity/Sorority Communication and Organization

Category A. Do you have a system/agency to collect member’s dues through credit cards, checks, e-checks?

Point 1: Is it effective, are you collecting dues proficiently? (See how you can collect dues better)

Point 2: What percentage of your dues are they charging, is it really worth it? (Compare rates for dues collections)

Point 3: Does your collection agency charge you on payments they don’t process? (Where you deposit the money without their help)

Point 4: Do members always know their balances? (Or are they asking you?)

Point 5: Do members have an easy way to see their balance? (Can they see it often enough?)

Point 6: Is it easy for your members to pay their balances?

Point 7: Is it easy for your members to pay their balances WITHOUT having to call you first

Point 8: Does your collection agency feel bureaucratic? (Are they like the DMV?)

B. What Member-to-Member Communication tools do you use?

Point 9: Do fraternity brothers/sorority sisters have an easy, accessible way to contact each other online?

Point 10: Do members communicate through a list serve? (They shouldn’t be, see the alternatives)

Point 11: Is there an alumni email list/mailing list?

Point 12: Is there a parent email list/mailing list?

Point 13: Can you mass text message your members, for free?

C. Are you communicating externally?

Point 14: Do you have a custom website for your fraternity/sorority to access?

Point 15: Does your custom website cost more than $100-$200 every year? (It BETTER not be, see examples of free custom greek websites coming soon)

Point 16: Can alumni use your website?

Point 17: Do parents feel connected to the organization through your website?

Point 18: Can members easily update their information on the website?

Point 19: Can you accept donations through your website?

Point 20: Do you have a connection to a t-shirt manufacturer? (You should, some options coming soon)

Evaluate your fraternity/sorority on these principles and do it fairly. It will pay off generously.

Rushing Effectively - Tips for Fraternity and Sorority Recruitment

2009-06-30T14:46:00.004-05:00

As we all know, recruitment is arguably the MOST important step for any fraternity and sorority. The quality of your members determines the quality of your chapter.

So, here are some general pointers my chapter has used when for our recruitment process. Any fraternity or sorority can use these tips for their rush season.

1. Don’t “over-rush”

This is one of the worst mistakes you can make during the recruitment process. Appearing desperate or phone calling a prospective member too often can turn away a prospective member –faster than you may think. Remember, it’s important to have the prospective WANT to be in your organization and you will not achieve that by coming off as desperate.

If a prospective member tells you that they are no longer interested in joining your chapter, than let that be and that’s that. Occasionally certain brothers or sisters will become too offended by this and will overreact. The consequences of such an overreaction could be devastating to your recruitment campaign and may jeopardize your reputation on campus. If word spreads that a certain brother or sister couldn’t “let go” of a prospective member, the new incoming class will surely hear about it and their impressions of your chapter will be tarnished.

Don’t be desperate (and plus, no one’s that cool).

2. Don’t bash other fraternities or sororities

This should go without saying but every once in a while its difficult to resist the urge. We know.
More often than not a prospective member will inquire about your opinions of another fraternity or sorority. This could, quite possibly, be an indication of their interest in that fraternity or sorority. Do not, I repeat, do not take this as a window of opportunity to bash the rival organization.

Why not? There are several reasons. For one, it makes you look desperate (see rule 1) and secondly it shows a lot of weakness and insecurity on your part. It may show that the other chapter poses a serious threat to your own reputation or perhaps it shows that you’re envious of the rival chapter. Again, this makes your chapter look desperate.

Instead, if a prospective member asks you about another fraternity or sorority just take deflect the conversation back onto your own organization. For example…

Rushee asks you: “So, what do you think of Alphas?

A BAD RESPONSE: Rusher: “OMG, such b*tchez those Alphas. They think they’re so hawt."

A GOOD RESPONSE:Rusher: “They’re a nice group of girls and I have some friends in Alpha, but you know what I think our strongest aspect is…”

3. Be Proud, not arrogant

Giving off the right vibe is crucial but be cautious of being too arrogant. In other words, you should know that you’re the best… but don’t tell your rushee you think that way. This is a good rule to live by both in and out of the recruitment season.

4. Know your chapter and what you look for

Often times fraternities and sororities fight over the same incoming freshmen… yet almost all fraternities and sororities think of themselves as having their own identity and personality. Keep your identity and personality in mind when rushing –try to find new members that fit in your organization, not members that are wanted by rival organizations.

5. Be yourself

If you catch yourself putting on a fake persona to make some new prospective member like you… well most likely they’ll see right through it and your chapter will have a reputation for being fake… that or they’ll see that you’re really desperate. Both are bad.

Find members that will like you as you are –a good goal is to find one new member that will replace you when you leave the organization.

6. Don’t bash your fraternity brothers or sorority sisters!

This is a fatal mistake. The last thing you want any prospective member to realize is that your organization doesn’t have a strong brotherhood or sisterhood. Yes, every organization has members that do not get along with each other. If you have a rift with a member in your chapter, or if you know of two members who dislike each other, it is your responsibility to make sure that it never surfaces in front of rushee. For fraternity boys, don’t fight in front of a prospective member, for sorority girls, don’t gossip behind each others back. It does no one any good. That’s final.