Staff Recruitment Checklist
Use this when recruiting capstone staff — festival directors and other season-shaping roles with a named owner, a bounded scope, and a check-in rhythm. Any host can fork and adapt it; pair with your season’s market research and principles.
Compensation: Staff may be pro bono or compensated (stipend, contract, or payroll) — say which in the listing. The intake and placement steps below are the same either way.
Related: Principles (P3 — stakeholder sustainability) · Using market research
What “staff” means here
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Director | One go-to person per festival lane — owns the plan, coordinates helpers, reports to co-chairs |
| Member / support | Helps a director; not the primary DRI |
| Day-of volunteer | Shift-based help — recruited after directors are in place |
One name on the roster as Director; co-leads listed as Members is fine. Sponsor-funded features may still pay performers or vendors separately from staff roles.
Before you post
- Role is bounded — written “you’d own” statement, not “help with everything”
- Compensation clear — pro bono, stipend, contract, or payroll named in the listing
- Co-chair DRI assigned for recruitment replies (who answers in 48h?)
- Listing copy names the event, dates, location, free/paid admission, and one role per ask
- Preferred contact ask is in the listing — email, text, or phone; plus events already committed this season
- Filled roles removed or marked filled so applicants don’t double-apply
- Collision check — same person isn’t being recruited for overlapping capstone weekends without a conversation
Posting checklist
Post the same core message everywhere; adapt length to the channel.
- Festival email — role name in subject line; mailto link in web copy
- Prior-season list — one combined blast when multiple capstones in the same season both need directors (avoid duplicate sends)
- Idealist (or equivalent) — weekly check for new applications
- Instagram / Facebook — short caption + link to role detail; comment/DM path for interest
- Referrals — ask placed directors and coalition partners for names before cold outreach
- Public project page — link to role listings on your festival website when available
Do not publish private contact spreadsheets or internal pipeline workbooks on the public site.
When someone responds (intake)
Within 48 hours of first contact:
- Log lead — name, channel, date received, role interest
- Idealist: applicant already received auto-response on submit (if enabled in listing admin) — your reply is the personal follow-up, not the first acknowledgment
- Send a short reply — thank you, co-chair intro, next step (15-min call or async questions)
- Capture preferred contact method and preferred contact times (if phone/text)
- Ask events already committed this season — note declared conflicts; coordinate, don’t surprise
- Set status → Contacted
Triage checklist
After first conversation:
- Role target confirmed — one primary director lane (or explicit co-director plan)
- Director vs Member — no prior event/production experience → default Member path unless strong plan + co-chair support; do not place as director on receipt alone
- Scope honest — unfunded scopes explained up front; plan anyway, hold vision until funding is secured
- Compensation confirmed — pro bono vs paid terms match what was listed (or a clear change is agreed in writing)
- Experience gap named — co-chairs and prior runbooks back new directors
- Season collision resolved — other events on same weekends acknowledged
- Declined / Deferred paths clear — warm close; invite for next season if deferred
- Set status → Triage (or Placed / Declined / Deferred)
Placement checklist
When someone accepts a director role:
- Co-chairs confirmed placement after triage — not on Idealist apply alone
- Add to staff directory (or equivalent roster) — Director name, role, contact prefs, compensation type
- Introduce to vendor partners, co-directors, or committee for that lane
- Schedule first check-in — two weeks before peak workload at latest
- Hand off runbook / prior-year notes if the role existed last season
- Update public listings — mark role filled
- Set status → Placed
Outreach sequence
Respect the lead’s preferred contact method. Default order:
| Step | Channel | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | First touch — blast, Idealist follow-up, project page | |
| 2 | Text | No email reply in 3–5 business days; or lead prefers text |
| 3 | Phone | High-priority placement or lead prefers phone |
Always on first conversation: preferred contact method · preferred times · events already committed this season.
Pipeline statuses
New → Contacted → Triage → Placed |
Declined |
Deferred |
Track leads in your host’s internal intake workbook — not on public calendars or market landscape sheets.
Rolling placement (director roles)
Listings stay open until lanes fill or a published placement cutoff — review is continuous, not batch-at-listing-end.
| Practice | Detail |
|---|---|
| Acknowledge fast | 48h personal reply; Idealist auto-response on submit if configured in listing admin |
| Place when ready | Strong fit + empty critical lane → place after triage; don’t wait for more applicants |
| Compare when crowded | Multiple applicants same lane → triage each, then decide within ~2 weeks |
| Cutoffs | Publish minimum lead time (MAF 2026: Aug 1 site/finance/vendor; Aug 15 program/outreach) — after cutoff, Member or Deferred for new director applicants |
| No experience | Member path or deferred director — warm tone; not director on first apply |
Questions
Open a GitHub issue or email contact@cpalss.com about using this checklist in your region or fork.