Constructing Application Yield Sustainability Consistent with Resource Efficiency and FlexibilityPeace Corps PresentationUniversity of Chicago Consulting: Bain CompetitionApril 2011

Vrushank Vora, Vincent Yu & Mike Zhang

Objectives

• Focus on financial link between recruiting activities and yield creation

• Develop understanding of how to:• Create yield through recruiting activities• Develop more relevant metrics to capture

yield value of recruiting activities• Generate synergy between strategic

contacts, recruitment sites and regional recruiters

• Utilize multimedia tools to increase recruitment efficiency and flexibility

Key Findings

• Recruiting activities create yield along three areas:• First and Second Tier Growth• Return on Third Tier and No Tier Coverage• Increased clarity and consistency with strategic

contacts• Beliefs regarding correlation between regional

visits and Third Tier individual nomination yield are inconclusive

• Opportunity for alternative recruitment activities to increase coverage yield while saving resources• Multimedia communication methods• Increased usage of strategic contacts

Current Inhibitors

• Low Third-Tier-Yield-to-Cost ratio• Second-Tier Untapped Growth Potential•Unrecognized coverage potential

How effectively are we using our resources?

Inefficient usage of

resources in producing application

yield

Highly productive first-tier application yields relative to resources

spent

Relatively productive second-tier application

yield relative to resources spent

Unproductive third-tier

application yield relative to resources spent

*Schools with strategic contacts are excluded

How effective are regional visits per tier?

Suggests more effective

utilization of resources could be used while maintaining

applicant yields

After running regression, weak correlation was found between

third-tier regional visits and

application yields

Strong correlation was found between

second-tier regional visits and application yields

No statistically significant

difference between virtual visits and

actual visits

Solutions to Inefficiency

Eliminate Third-Tier, Airplane Travel

Visits

Replace with Multimedia Virtual Calls and Student

Ambassadors

Save estimated nearly $6,000 in re-investment capital while maintaining applicants’ yield

Multimedia Conferencing versus Regional Visits

Virtual Conference• $330 per session

• No trip costs• Maintains facial

consistency and familiarity

• Promotes similar nomination yield

Regional Visits• $1000 per session

• Overnight stay and airplane trip costs

• Time-to-travel hinders coverage

Student Ambassador

s in Third-Tier Schools

Integrate with nichë

community service

organizations

Market virtual information sessions on

campus

General support at the virtual information

sessions

Prepared to answer

questions about

program year-round

Compensation plan based on stipend

and number of referral-

nominations

Untapped Growth Potential

• Amongst Second Tier, strong correlation was found between frequency of visits and number of nominations

• If all recovered capital were redirected towards campaigns to Second-Tier schools• Increase yield of Second-Tier schools by

over fifteen percent• Create stronger synergy between

Second-Tier schools and recruiters

Solutions to Inefficiency

Eliminate Third-Tier, Airplane Travel Visits

Replace with Multimedia Virtual Calls and Strategic

Contacts

Save estimated nearly $6,000 in re-investment capital while maintaining applicants’ yield

Increased Campaigns to

Second-Tier Schools

15% Increase in Second-Tier Yield

Production

Coverage Potential

• If recovered capital were redirected towards expansion of third-tier schools• Increased spheres of influence in no-tier schools• Exposure to 17 more schools if video-conferencing tools were

expanded upon

Coverage Growth

Eliminate Third-Tier, Airplane Travel Visits

Replace with Multimedia Virtual Calls and Strategic

Contacts

Save estimated nearly $6,000 in re-investment capital while maintaining applicants’ yield

Increased Campaigns to

Second-Tier Schools21% Increase in

Third-Tier Coverage

Contingency Plans

• Objectives: • Increase

recruitment versatility without affecting yield or overall efficiency during low-budget times

• Maintain a Peace Corps presence with fewer Peace Corps recruiters

• Outcomes: • A model that

minimizes traveling costs and replaces third-tier high-cost schools with student ambassadors and virtual conferences• Assign virtual

schools to recruiters with less ground to cover

With 16 Recruiters

• Redistribution: • Bowling Green and Toledo moved to KAS and OH FBR team • University of Chicago/DePaul under IL and MO Team • Virtual school third-tier, high cost teams to MI and WI/ND teams

• Results: • IN/KY and IL/MO teams have relatively more physical universities

and student population to recruit.• MI and WI/ND teams would have both physical and virtual

campaigns to run

With 15 and 14 Recruiters

1 Less…• Transfer WI Team physical university responsibilities to MI

and redistribute the virtual, student-ambassador contracts

2 Less...• Combine the two IN teams physical campaigns and

redistribute their virtual campaigns evenly

Conclusion: • Contingency plans become more flexible by splitting

the physical responsibilities across FBRs and evenly distributing the virtual campaigns across the remaining recruiters