International Education Marketing and Recruiting. Client: International Volunteer Organization*

Transcription

1 International Education Marketing and Recruiting Recruiting Plan: Promotion Strategy Client: International Volunteer Organization* Aileen Evans, Allie Collopy, Ashley Machado, Jaimee De Pompeo, Veronica Soto November 26, 2014 *The client s identity has been made anonymous for proprietary reasons.

2 Introduction Based on the SWOT analysis and the SMART goals outlined for the client, the following strategies have been identified as methods for recruiting qualified field staff. The different segmented markets for the client s Field Staff necessitate two distinct promotion strategies. The domestic promotion strategy explains efforts to recruit local staff members. The international promotion strategy encompasses undertakings needed to hire international staff. Each promotion strategy includes its implementation steps, the timeline for the project, and budgetary and staff hour estimates. Listed budgetary items are estimations based on most current available information via the Internet. Pricing may vary depending on region. Domestic Promotion Strategy Latin culture puts a premium on interpersonal relationships and many jobs are obtained through friends, family members, and community members. In order to capitalize on the role word of mouth plays within Costa Rica, it is recommended that the client focus on increasing visibility and integration within the local community, as well as developing a relationship with EARTH University using the following strategies: Advertising: Creating materials to make open positions and National Scholarship Program opportunities widely accessible to community members Publicity: Increasing the client s presence in Costa Rica through media publications, attending municipal meetings, and hosting events Personal selling: In-person meetings with local institutions to promote the client s offerings and strengthen name recognition 1. Advertising 1.1. Production of Marketing Materials for the National Scholarship Program (NSP) As identified in the opportunities for growth, the expansion of the National Scholarship program is a vital step to increasing the recruitment of local candidates as field staff. The production of marketing materials is a strategy for reaching a wide audience and promoting the benefits of the NSP for the identified segmented target markets. Implementation Steps: As a means to bring awareness and disseminate information regarding the NSP, the client will need to produce flyers and pamphlets to be used throughout recruitment trips. o Collect Information pertaining to requirements and qualifications of applications as well as goals of the NSP 2

3 o Distill information to be included on flyers and pamphlets based on the identified segmented target market o Create at least one version of the flyer or pamphlet in Spanish o Have a native Spanish speaker staff member proofread and copyedit materials written in Spanish o Design flyers and/or pamphlets with a program such as InDesign or Lucid Press o Print materials Timeline: Quarter one; prior to visiting local universities Budget: $130 based on an estimated cost for copies at $.75 per sheet Staff hours: 35 hours. This estimate is based on the lack of pre-existing materials, therefore the staff member will be creating and formatting these documents for the first time Classified Advertisement for Field Staff position (in Spanish) for local newspaper Newspapers continue to be one of the leading means of distributing information to residents in Costa Rica. By positing a job advertisement in the classified section of a local newspaper the client will increase their reach to the local community. Moreover, it is likely that some readers will meet the criteria of our segmented markets by possessing a high level of education and an interest in community development. Implementation Steps: o Create a classified advertisement (in Spanish) See Appendix 1 o Request that a native Spanish speaker from the staff proofread the advertisement before submission o Identify and contact newspaper(s) in which to post the advertisement Suggestions include: La Nación, Diario Extra, Al Día, Tico Times o Determine the length of time the advertisement will run; most newspapers offer packages of three days up to one month Timeline: Quarter one and Quarter three. The job listing should be advertised at the start of each recruitment cycle Budget: Contingent on the amount of days the advertisement in published. Each package offered by respective newspapers varies in price. Estimates include: o Three day package: $ 40 o Fifteen day package: $70 o One month package: $100 Staff hours: 3-6 hours (including development of ad, researching newspapers and inquiring about pricing) 3

4 2. Publicity 2.1. Invite Media to EARTH/Quepos By interfacing with local new sources, the client will increase their visibility domestically. Specifically publicizing a partnership with EARTH University will also aid in the branding of the client as an organization committed to environmental conservation and sustainability projects, thus attracting local candidates interested in this line of work. Implementation Steps: o Create a list of viable new sources (newspapers and television) to cover partnership with EARTH University and/or other newsworthy ventures at The client Possible outlets include: : La Nación, Diario Extra, Al Día, and Tico Times. As well as local news stations. o Decide which upcoming event and/or project the media should be invited to attend o Create and or press release to be set to local media highlighting the partnership and The client projects in the community See Appendix 2 o Send follow-up s Timeline: Quarter one. When the first group of EARTH students arrive at the client site. Budget: $0 Staff hours: 5 hours 2.2. Visibility Initiative With many jobs spreading through word of mouth in Latin countries, efforts to increase the client s visibility within Costa Rica will improve community members understanding of what the client s projects are, and how they may contribute. Small investments in visibility will result in long-term recognition of the client as a brand and accelerate the client s integration into the social fabric of Costa Rica. Efforts to improve visibility will also benefit the sustainability of projects and the likelihood that local schools, businesses, or organizations will reach out to the client if they have a project with which they would like support. Implementation Steps: Before beginning to increase visibility, it is recommended to conduct an on-the-ground competitor analysis to ascertain in what ways competitors have established themselves in the community. What practices appear to be effective at showing which organizations are present, what work they are doing, and who in the community in participating? o Ensure that all project sites have signs visible with a short message describing the project, participating community members, and its start date o Ensure that all vehicles used by staff and volunteers have the client s logo 4

5 o Have volunteers wear the client s shirts every day they go to their project sites, if feasible, or once per week Timeline: Beginning in Quarter 1 with the competitor analysis and with continual implementation and refinement of visibility strategies Budget: $200 for durable signs, shirt screen-printing, and car decals Staff hours: 17 hours o 10 hours to conduct the competitor analysis o 5 hours to draft and install signs o 1 hour to design and order volunteer/staff shirts o 1 hour to design and order car decals 2.3. Attend Community Events Attending local events is a free way to promote the organization and strengthen partnerships that requires small initial preparation and minimal staff time to establish continued relationships with key community leaders. Implementation Steps: In conducting the aforementioned competitor analysis, it is recommended that the client ask community members and contracted Spanish teachers about municipal meetings, a schedule of community gatherings, and organizing bodies in Costa Rica. o Draft a comprehensive list of events relevant to locals for staff members to attend o Sit in on weekly or monthly community meetings to demonstrate collaboration and solidarity with local leaders and improve understanding of community issues Timeline: Beginning Quarter 1 with continuous implementation Budget: $0 Staff hours: 2 hours per week 2.4. Host a Community Event Hosting informal communal events will establish improved visibility within the community and give volunteers the opportunity to make connections with Costa Rican locals. Implementation Steps: Throw an asado, happy hour, or some other event for community members to participate and build connections with staff and volunteers o Decide on the date and location of the event o Design and post signs in the community to advertise the date and purpose of the event o Contract local vendors to provide and prepare food, possibly at a lower cost in exchange for advertising o Have staff and volunteers serve food at the event o Offer low-cost games for children (pin the tail on the donkey, piñata, water balloon fights) 5

6 Timeline: Bi-quarterly Staff hours: 10 hours o 3 hours event planning and publicity o 2 hours set-up o 3 hours at the event o 2 hour cleanup 3. Personal Selling 3.1. Visits and Contact with EARTH University A central piece of the strategy to recruit domestic staff is personal selling at EARTH University, an international university where the client has already laid the groundwork for a lucrative relationship. The students at EARTH are well-educated and globally-minded, as well as bilingual in Spanish and English for the most part, making them excellent fits for a position with the client. It is recommended that the client use a combination of both oneon-one meetings and class presentations at EARTH in order to build rapport and reach the most students on an individual level as possible. Given the more interpersonal nature of Latin communication, personal selling will be the most effective form of recruiting for domestic staff. Implementation Steps: o Before the visit: Initial contact with counterpart at EARTH (see appendices) with and introduction and explanation of the partnership the client hopes to establish. An exchange of s will follow this to determine the best time for the client to visit EARTH, who the best audience would be for the presentation, and if any other forums for the client exist on EARTH s campus (career fairs, etc). Follow up contact to confirm the visit about a week before going Distribution of marketing materials about The client and the National Scholarship Program o During the visit: Emphasize the professional development opportunity of the client Explain in detail the benefits of the NSP Focus on having as many personal, one-on-one conversations as possible Collect contact information De-brief with EARTH contact to see their impression of the visit and to schedule a future visit o After the visit: Follow up with EARTH contact thanking them and confirming any future visit plans made during the trip 6

7 Send thank you s to the students with additional information about the job openings and NSP information. Using the contact information gathered, invite students to like the Facebook page and follow the client on Instagram and Twitter Timeline: Quarter 4 (targeting students who will graduate in December) Budget: $120 Staff hours: 35 hours 3.2. Contact with other English/Education Institutions In addition to EARTH University, reaching out to other Universities and English Language centers would be a fast and efficient ways to tap into the client s target market for Field Staff. Since English Language skills are essential to the field staff position, targeting places where English language is an interest that already exists will eliminate the guess work and will help in distilling the applicant pool to truly qualified applicants. Ideally, planning a visit to speak in person at these institutions would be the most effective strategy for recruitment; however, due to budget concerns and the fledgling nature of this strategy, for the time being money would be better spent visiting EARTH. However, if this initial contact with the subsequent institutions seems promising, a visit should be scheduled to that institution in order to capitalize on this opportunity. Implementation Steps: o Identify the short list of local Costa Rican Universities with strong English Language Programs and external English Language centers that serve college-aged students. o Compile contact information o Make initial contact with each institution with an introduction and explanation of the partnership THE CLIENThopes to establish. o Development/adaptation of materials about the client programs and the National Scholarship Program o Send the literature on both the client and NSP to these institutions to advertise to their students. Timeline: Quarter 2 Budget: $0 Staff hours: 3-5 hours 7

8 International Promotion Strategy The international strategy outlines ways in which the client can interact and recruit field staff internationally. In order to staff the Costa Rican office as the client transitions into a locally operated organization, it is recommended that the client continue to actively recruit international hires using the following strategies: Publicity: Increase awareness of the client staff openings through mass distribution of materials at universities and international job boards, and streamlining social media pages to increase traffic to the client Advertising: Posting field staff openings on websites outside of the client s career page Personal selling: Capitalizing on alumni contacts to announce open positions 1. Publicity 1.1. Post Field Staff position on Free Job Boards Currently, the client only posts current job openings on the main website. If potential candidates who are part of the target market have never heard of the client, they will not know to look at the website for job opportunities. The client should begin to post job announcements on popular job boards to increase their visibility and receive more applications from potentially qualified applicants. Implementation Steps: o Post the Field Staff job description on free job boards such as: Indeed.com Monster.com Idealist.com Craigslist.org ESLCafe.com (Dave s ESL Cafe) Timeline: End of Quarter 2, or as needed Budget: $0 Staff hours: 3 hours 1.2. Outreach via Social Media Social media is a free tool that the client can utilize to increase positive publicity and visibility in the communities where they work and abroad. Currently, the client has two separate Facebook and Twitter accounts. Individuals who are part of the target market might be missing information that they would otherwise be interested in if they are not following both accounts. Therefore, it is suggested that the client consolidate to one account per site in order to create a more effective and comprehensive social media presence. Maintaining several social media accounts can be a daunting and time-consuming task. By consolidating to one account on each major site (Facebook, Twitter, and 8

9 Instagram), the client s friends and followers can rely on one inclusive page to get all the current events and job openings at each location in Costa Rica. Implementation Steps: o Close one Facebook account, either Manuel Campos or Quepos o Login to the remaining Facebook account and rename it to The client o Close one Twitter account, either Manuel Campos or Quepos o Login to the remaining Twitter account and rename it The client o Login into Instagram and make sure there is only one account called The client o Be sure to post to each account at least three to four times per week o Consider having a volunteer help with posting or choosing what to post Timeline: Three to four times a week per site. Five to six times a week when announcing job vacancies at the beginning of each hiring cycle Budget: $0, if utilizing free sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Staff hours: 2 hours per week, 0 if done by volunteers s and flyers to International Universities ing flyers and informational literature about the client and current job openings to the Spanish Departments and Careers Services of American, UK, and Australian higher education institutions will increase exposure to target market candidates. By contacting Spanish departments, the client will ensure that any potential candidates that apply from this source will have a professional working knowledge of the host language. Some of these applicants may also have teaching experience or hold TOEFL certifications. By contacting Career Services to publicize their job openings, the client will guarantee that candidates coming from this source are college-educated. These applicants might also have backgrounds in environmental science, childhood development, or English as a foreign language teaching. By increasing the client s visibility on university campuses worldwide, a larger section of the target market will be reached and informed of staffing opportunities with the client. Implementation Steps: o Draft s to Spanish departments and Career Services See Appendix 3 See Appendix 4 o Create a flyer which includes information about the job description o Send s and flyers to respective institutions o Respond to inquiries as they come in Timeline: End of Quarter 2 Budget: $0 Staff hours: 2 hours 9

10 2. Advertising 2.1. Posting on Paid Job Search Engines The client must increase the online presence of their field staff position since many people search for jobs online. In using advertising strategies to promote the field staff position, the client is more likely to reach their target audience once they accurately determine which sites best match their goals. Paid job boards are more specialized and have a higher chance of reaching qualified field staff candidates. Implementation Steps: As stated in the second SMART goal on job postings, The client will have posted their field staff position on two paid job search engines. o Post the job description on free job search engines (as outlined in Section 1.1) o Analyze the effect of posting on multiple free job boards within the first six months of 2015 o As candidates apply for the field staff position from January-June 2015, track where candidates find this job posting o Use this data to determine what paying job boards would be would be appropriate to post the job description to reach their target market for field staff. These job boards include those focused on teaching, environmental work, or Spanish speaking jobs. o Contact the host sites and inquire about payment options Timeline: Quarter 3 Budget: $100 Staff hours: 5 hours (including tracking applications, researching best host sites, and contacting host sites) 3. Personal Selling 3.1. Establishing Alumni Connections Alumni are a great resource to the client because they understand the goals of the organization and what the field staff position entails. Reaching out through personal s will grab the attention of alumni and can be a catalyst for the development of an ongoing relationship. The client s alumni who are on the job hunt, or have friends in a similar position, are likely to respond or pass along the announcement. Implementation Steps: The client should reach out to its alumni that previously participated in volunteer programs. These individuals know the organization well and have in-country knowledge. To do this, the client should send out personal s to talk about field staff openings. o Collect all alumni volunteer contact information, specifically addresses o Format a mail merge to these contacts every time a field staff position opens 10

11 See Appendix 5 o Respond to inquiries as they come in Timeline: Quarter one and quarter three, or every time there is a new staff opening Budget: $0 Staff hours: 1 hour 11

12 Appendices 1. Classified advertisement in Spanish- as identified in Domestic Promotion Strategy Section 1.2 Oferta de empleo! Coordinador de voluntarios en proyectos de educación y conservación La organización THE CLIENTdesea contratar los servicios de un profesional para el cargo de Coordinador de voluntarios en la región de Quepos. Instructor o experiencia en gestión de proyectos de educación y desarrollo sostenible De preferencia con licenciatura en educación o ciencias naturales Amplio conocimiento de la realidad local Conocimiento a nivel medio o superior del idioma inglés Disponibilidad inmediata para trabajar a tiempo completo en la región de Quepos Enviar hoja de vida con carta de presentación indicando el cargo COORDINADOR DE VOLUNTARIOS, y 3 referencias profesionales a la siguiente dirección electrónica. Recepción de documentos hasta. Solo se contactará con los postulantes seleccionados. 12

13 2. Press release- as identified in in Domestic Promotion Strategy Section 2.1 Para su inmediata difusión Contacto: Nombre Tel. Fecha Comunicado de prensa The client lanza una nueva sociedad con la Escuela de Agricultura de la Región Tropical Húmeda (EARTH) para aumentar sus proyectos de conservación y sostenibilidad en la region de Quepos, CR. El objetivo principal es aportar al desarrollo de la comunidad por medio de traer estudiantes altamente cualificados de servir como voluntarios. Además, la beca National Scholarship Program ofrecido por Charitable Trust, ayudará a los estudiantes costarricense obtener entrenamiento en los asuntos de educación y el medio ambiente. A los receptores de la beca, les dará una oportunidad de trabajar por la organización THE CLIENTy empezar su carrera al terminar su papel como voluntario. Por este motivo, invitamos a la prensa a asistir el primer día de esta nueva sociedad para diseminar la información, tanto a los medios como al público en general. 13

14 3. to Spanish Departments at International Universities- as identified in International Promotion Strategy Section 1.3 Dear Friends at [University s name], Hello from Costa Rica! I am a representative of and I have a wonderful job opportunity available for your students. The client is part of the family and we work on community development projects in Manuel Antonio and Quepos. We facilitate English language classes for children and adults as well as work to preserve local habitats. With our focus on language teaching and environmental conservation in Costa Rica, we feel that the language skills and interests of your students would be perfect for our paid Field Staff positions. Please forward this to the students in your department, as this is a great opportunity to gain an international experience, develop professionally, and practice their language skills. Please check out our website at Thank you for your time and assistance. We hope to see you soon! Sincerely, [The client representative s name] The client 14

15 4. to Career Services at International Universities- as identified in International Promotion Strategy Section 1.3 Dear Friends at [University s name], Hello from Costa Rica! I am a representative of and I have a wonderful job opportunity available for your students. is part of the family and we work on community development projects in Manuel Antonio and Quepos. We facilitate English language classes for children and adults as well as work to preserve local habitats. With our focus on language teaching and environmental conservation in Costa Rica, we feel that the skills and interests of your students would be perfect for our paid Field Staff positions. This position could also serve to fulfill an internship requirement for a program in TESOL, environmental science, international education, or marine biology. Please forward this to the students in your department, as this is a great opportunity to acquire international experience, develop professionally, and gain practical skills in their field. Please check out our website at Thank you for your time and assistance. We hope to see you soon! Sincerely, [The client representative s name] The client 15

16 5. to The client Alumni Volunteers- as identified in International Promotion Strategy Section 3.1 Dear [name of alumni volunteer], Greetings from Costa Rica! As our volunteers are central to the sustainability and development of our programs in Costa Rica, we wanted you to be the first to know about an opportunity to continue to work with! As you may remember, we have dedicated field staff who are in charge or our volunteers in our day to day operations. How would you like the chance to guide volunteers through our various community development projects? We are now hiring for the field staff position and we think that our alumni volunteers are well-suited to take on this job. Please see the attached job description here and feel free to reach out with any questions. [attach job description] Keep in touch! The client 16