People often have many questions and since they may not have a specific child in mind, their questions may be varied. Inquiries might be from families who are interested in infant adoption or who have limited knowledge about what adopting a child from foster care entails. Also, many of these callers are at the beginning of the adoption process and may not have a home study. Each inquiry is an investment of time and energy, but each inquiry is also an opportunity. A key piece of recruitment is retention, and retention is simply good customer service.
Retention can t be overlooked, otherwise even the best recruiting efforts won t be effective.
The first contact potential adopters have with your agency will set the tone for subsequent interactions. Most people prefer to speak with a live person when calling an organization for the first time. If voice mail is unavoidable, the message should give brief information about your agency and state when a person can expect a response. Another aspect to consider is if the voice on the message, or if the person from your agency whom a caller comes in contact with initially, is positive and encouraging about the adoption process. A positive and encouraging message or person is more likely to retain a caller.