Posted by Fleet Captain Ray Branch (FComm, Pioneer Fleet) in Open Session - May 2023

Posted by Tony Findora in Open Session - May 2023

Posted by Steve Johnson in Open Session - May 2023
Posted by… suppressed (9) by the Post Ghost! 👻
As a reminder: this is a discussion thread for anyone and everyone to participate in. Last month’s discussion led to some interesting ideas coming up, so I’d like to do this again. In light of the most recent reports and what’s going on on your ships, what thoughts do you have for the future of STF.

-Prez

Do we have too many ships? Should we move to a ratio system with limiting the # of ships based on the membership count?

-Ray

As a tangent to this question, what is being done recruitment wise? We are currently down to one cadet on the Challenger.

Steve

Good Evening Folks,

Hope all are well,

Steve has brought up a very valid point. What is happening with recruitment? it is quite concerning that we are down to one cadet on the Challenger and from what I can see that cadet is currently inactive.

It would be evident that a big push on recruitment is required. Now I recall from my time with the club we’ve participated in the ‘Project Khitomer’ event a couple of times that I believe takes place each March. Is this an event that we could possibly participate in again? Not only do I recall it been a fantastic opportunity for existing members but an excellent opportunity for recruitment.

Would it be possible for the Personal Department to release any statistics they may have on new members we received from these events so that we can see if this would be a viable option?

Failing that perhaps some research could be conducted by the CMM so see if there are other events similar to ‘Project Khitomer’ that may prove as beneficial.

Louis

Why do people think that doing something with recruitment might result in new members joining? I don’t think an organized recruitment effort has ever significantly effected how many new members join STF. To my knowledge, the difference recruitment efforts have made has been modest. Efforts could be put into social media and that could do some good as I think it has in the past, but that sort of thing wouldn’t change how many people find STF on a search engine, which I believe is the primary way brand new members find the club.

Adam W.

Okay, then replace recruitment with advertising. When specific advertising events were done in the past, rather around events, or participating in banner exchanges, etc., we would see spikes in new member applications.

As for people finding STF via search engines, it is the number 1 way people find us, but it’s not the way a majority of people find us. Out of the last 13 months, only 43% of people self reported that they found us via a search engine. 30% didn’t say, and 15% said it was a referral.

It’s not the worst idea to try at least, I think. I think the outreach event is a good plan, because if we get the word out into people that know they like doing Star Trek roleplay, we’re more likely to attract long-term members. I’d be willing to go join the Khitomer discord to represent us in my capacity as PDir. I also think social media efforts would be good to try again. Regardless, I’d gladly release the recruitment data from whatever event(s) we choose to participate in.

Amdirgol

Good evening everyone,

After reviewing the responses in this thread, I have taken some time to consider the topic and would like to elaborate on my previous response.

In my opinion, it is important to focus on building and sustaining an external presence. While external advertising may not be the only factor in attracting new members, it can still play a valuable role. Looking back on when I first discovered STF and the research I conducted, I have several ideas on how we can achieve this.

There are various websites dedicated to promoting RPG clubs, such as RPG-Directory, Forum Roleplay, and RPG Fix. Each of these sites has its own Discord server and audience, providing multiple options to advertise your group or club. I am unsure if the CMM or other club members are already using the above method for advertising. If not, I suggest we start using it regularly to attract new members.

As previously mentioned by myself and Amdirgol, participating in outreach events like Khitomer is a great way to improve our external presence. Additionally, we should explore other similar events within the vast RP community to increase our reach.

Referring to Adam’s previous comment, it’s possible that the steps mentioned above may not have an impact on our search engine ranking. Therefore, I suggest exploring various SEO techniques that can enhance our visibility when searched.

To move forward, it would be helpful for us to understand the current advertising methods the CMM or other members are using. This will help us determine if these methods are effective and if any adjustments can be made to improve them. While I’m unsure if others share my interest, I would personally like to see relevant statistics from the Pdept to identify trends in how new members are finding us. This will allow us to strengthen those methods.

• Louis

So the PDept report has included the numbers of how they’ve found us going back 3 PDir’s now. Because I updated how we calculate the numbers just over a year ago, I was able to quickly pull together 13 months worth of data.

How They Found Us	Number	Percent
Search Engine	20	43%
Facebook	3	6%
Reddit	0	0%
Referral	7	15%
Returning Member	3	6%
Did Not Say	14	30%

If you are looking for a specific trend, we would need more data to plot against.

Steve

This is a lot of great information! I personally believe CMM should be part of the Personnel Department. Better yet, why the name Personnel Department is a bit outdated, why not rename it People Operations or Human Resources? Is there anything that specifically states that an executive assistant can’t be part of a department? This way we can align our recruitment, engagement, and retention goals/metrics under one umbrella.

-Ray

Well be our definition an Executive Assistant reports to the President, not one of the directors. So while they can work together, we’d need to redefine the CMM role if they were to report to the Personnel Director.

Otherwise there is nothing saying that the CMM couldn’t also hold a role in the PDept, they just haven’t usually done so in the past.

And Human Resources might scare more people away. Haha

Steve

I agree with Steve lol. Calling it HR would literally make it feel like a job. And if I’m not getting paid, then I have some issues. XD
-Tony the Tiger

lol fair enough! I think we should consider if we’re still stretched too thin for our current headcount, and determine if expanding the CMM role to either become an executive assistant that’s “attached” to PDept, or create metrics/goals for the current and future CMM.

-Ray

Goals and metrics are always good. The biggest issue is that CMM needs to be an active role. They are one of the few who are allowed to advertise for us out on the wider internet. They are the link to the outside world you could say. On top of that, they are supposed to keep us all entertained here as well with stuff outside of just the ships.

But then we circle back around to participation. Linds has tried many times as CMM to create new experiences here in STF. Book clubs, watch parties, writing events. They attracted some, but in the end they always fizzled out and died.

I guess the question is how do we create some excitement around here again? Or better yet, what do people want out of STF?

Steve