Recruitment and Retention

The Membership Funnel#

Every team loses its senior class each spring, so recruitment is not optional; it is survival. Think of membership as a funnel: many people hear about the team, some try it, fewer commit, and a core become leaders. Your job is to widen the top (recruit) and reduce leaks (retain).

Recruitment Tactics#

• Demos and visibility — bring the robot to feeder middle schools, school assemblies, club fairs, and community events. Seeing a robot drive is the best recruiting tool there is.
• Clear entry points — a simple sign-up, an intro meeting, and a beginner-friendly first project so newcomers are not lost.
• Inclusive outreach — deliberately recruit across genders, backgrounds, and interests. FIRST emphasizes Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and a broad membership is both the right thing and an Impact Award factor.
• Sell every role — make clear there is a place for writers, artists, presenters, organizers, and coders, not only people who want to use a drill.

The Retention Problem#

Recruiting is loud and fun; retention is quiet and decisive. Members leave when they feel useless, unwelcome, or overwhelmed. Combat this with:

• Real responsibility early — give rookies a genuine task in their first weeks, not just "watch."
• Training pathways — structured onboarding so newcomers gain skills and confidence (see the next lesson).
• Belonging — team traditions, social events, food, and a culture where questions are welcome.
• Recognition — celebrate contributions publicly, technical and non-technical alike.

Balancing the Sub-Teams#

A classic failure mode is everyone wanting to be on build, leaving business understaffed. Counter this by presenting business as high-impact and skill-building, recruiting directly into it, and showing the wins it produces (sponsorship dollars, awards, media reach).

Year-Round Engagement#

The off-season is where retention is won or lost. Teams that go dark from April to January lose members and momentum. Keep people engaged with summer training, off-season competitions, outreach events, and social activities so the team feels like a year-round community, not a six-week sprint.

Measuring Retention#

Track year-over-year retention and recruitment numbers. These metrics are exactly what the Impact Award's executive summaries ask about (program impact on participants and sustainability), and they tell you honestly whether your culture is working. A team that grows or holds steady year after year is demonstrably sustainable.