Recruiting Best Practices in Prospecting: Developing the Skills Necessary to Recruit an All-Volunteer Army—A Delphi Study.

Purpose. It was the purpose of this Delphi study to discover what the best practices are for implementing telephone, virtual, face-to-face, and referral prospecting, as reported by an expert panel of Army Recruiters when targeting 17-24 year olds. Methodology. This Policy Delphi study was accomplished in three sequential rounds, with 19 homogeneous expert participants whose mode of operation is remote, anonymous, and computerized. The rounds explored a complex recruiting process through the lens of expert Army Recruiters. The process of discovery, consensus, and implementation identified: (a) planning practices, (b) lead sources, (c) establishing rapport, (d) identify goals/needs/interests, (e) overcome assumptions, (f) engendering a commitment, and (g) overcoming barriers best practices. Findings. No single dominant prospecting best practice method was identified all seven areas of prospecting. The most cumulative consensus best practice coded responses involved telephone and face-to-face prospecting methods. Many coded best practice responses crossed into multiple methods. The discovery, consensus, and implementation process identified homogenous themes as constant best practices such as active listening, asking open-ended, fact-finding purposeful questions, identifying solutions to a need, and product knowledge. Conclusions. The Delphi best practice research of real experience, historical successes and literature support that the recruiters who have social awareness and are able to manage relationships by sharing a common experience with the prospect, ask open-ended fact finding questions, empathetic listening, restate answers, communicate the Army benefits that can help the prospect achieve their goals, and provide information about the modern Army are using best practices for engendering a commitment in prospecting will be more efficient in making recruiting mission. Recommendations. Further research is advised to add to the scientific rigor of best practice theory. Conduct a quantitative study to obtain macro results and a qualitative study for micro results and compare best practice results. Investigate the outlying best practice response results to reduce the risk of a flawed consensus. Replicate best practice research methodology to identify and describe other critical recruiting areas of emphasis (i.e., interviewing, processing, and leading future soldiers) in the Army and in other branches of service, allied services, industry and in education