Current thinking is that we should shift the focus of the induction away from educating the inductee about Rotary, to a more personal induction. One that helps to educate the club about who is being inducted. Where are they from? What kind of family do they have? Do they have children? What age(s)? Where do they attend school? What does the spouse do? What are their professional skills and abilities? What are their personal interests and hobbies? When these questions are answered in an induction ceremony, some magic begins to happen.
People sitting in the audience find things in common with the new member. They are more likely to strike up a conversation afterwards. The new member feels more valued, and their family understands that they can be as much a part of Rotary as they want. Basically, the personal induction begins the process of developing the glue that retains members and binds them to their clubs. That glue is friendship, the number one reason why people choose to stay in Rotary!If your club would like to update its induction ceremony, there is good news! There is a "personalized Induction" template that is now posted on our District 5190 website (rotarydistrict5190.org), in the Membership Development section. For a short cut, just click HERE to access this great tool for improving your new member retention by getting off to a great start.
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