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by Stephen Maguire
By this point in the year, you've processed your staff evaluations,
and you've been thinking about those difficult decisions: "Should
I hire her back?" or "This person just didn't cut
it; is it time for him to move on?" So, how do you begin to prepare
to form your staff for 2010? Here are some simple
yet effective tips some simple, yet effective tips
you can "Do
Now!" that will
help retain, recruit, and rev up your best possible
staff.
A Quick Two-Step Process to Get Started
Step 1: Take a white board or a large piece of
paper and divide it into four sections. For each
of these sections write down the staff member's
name and what exactly his/ her role was at camp.
Title each of the four sections with:
- "No Brainers" — These
are staff that you definitely want to bring back.
- "On the Fence" — These
are staff who show potential. They may have had
a few bumps in the road this summer, but overall,
they are people that can get the job done.
- "Out" — Staff
from 2009 you are not asking back.
- "Needs" — Here
is where you list your "needs" for
next year's positions. I always love doing this
because it gives me a tangible look at where
I need to go.
Start
with your "on
the fence" list. I truly believe you need to pick
up the phone and talk to those on this list. Get a feel for
where they are. Be honest with them about your
reservations and why. Ask them why you should hire
them back and if they want to come back. Ask them
what they intend to do differently to improve their performance at camp.
At the very least, give them an opportunity to explain themselves. Once
you get a read on them, get off the fence and make a decision one way
or the other.
Step 2: Get out your communication. However you communicate to your
staff (letter, e-mails, phone calls), get on it!
You are communicating two types of messages:
- We want you back!
- We're moving in another direction.
Retain
Get Commitments
Get your
commitments from staff for next summer's season
by February 1, 2010 (at the latest). Now that you have a clearer
picture and know that there are staff you definitely
want back stop reading this definitely want back,
stop reading this article and communicate with them! It's
simple, "Present
neglect makes future regret." If you're not communicating
to them, someone else might be. One of the great
joys of camp directing is to be surrounded by awesome
staff — a
group of colleagues who can complete each other's sentences — who
know what you expect from them and what to expect
from you. These are clearly "100
percenters" — those who work sixteen hours and will work
longer if you need them to. Some call them "keepers"; they
are your best of the best. Doing the following
will help you retain these staff.
- Don't wait, communicate.
After your correspondence has gone out, don't wait long to follow
up with these staff members. Immediate follow-up
is so important. Treat them as blue-chip college
recruits. Phone calls, text messages, Facebook messages, tweets . .
. . Get in touch with them. Let them know how great they were and how
much you want them back. Send them a gift card with a note, send them
some cool pictures from camp, and get on it. You may be thinking, "That
seems like a bit much." Really? Well if a crisis happens next
summer and you need someone around you who knows
you, your campers, and your camp, you will be grateful
you made the extra effort.
- Send them a contract
and give them a raise. Get these people committed as fast as possible.
Even if the raise is minimal, raise their salary. I am reminded of the
Dicken's play
a Christmas Carol — the
last scene in which Scrooge is talking with Bob
Cratchet, after Scrooge has had his transformation.
Scrooge says: "And
another thing Bob Cratchet… I'm going to RAISE your salary!" Cratchet
passes out. Hopefully, your staff will just be
very happy with the raise.
- Get their input about
camp. Once these staff have committed, get them
rolling as soon as possible. One of the best ways to win over people
is to ask for their advice. As you are wooing these staff members, ask
them for their feedback about camp. Phrase it simply: "As someone
who was such a key player in last summer's success, I'd
really like your thoughts about camp. What do you
think went well and where do we need to improve?" Start early
soliciting their thoughts and ideas and including
them in the process. Anytime we ask for staff's
help, they feel they are making more of an investment
in their jobs.
- Increase their responsibility
and role at camp. Make them a campfire director,
have them become an assistant, evening program coordinator — perhaps
they can be on the rainy day program committee.
By giving outstanding staff more responsibility,
you boost their confidence in their work and instill
more pride in camp.
- Sell them on your team. As soon as your next
summer's team
starts to commit, let others know. You can post
it on your Web site when staff returns their contracts. Start a summer
of 2010 staff Facebook group. You may know this already, but as soon
as your "we want
you back correspondence" goes
out, all of those staff members are talking to
each other. The biggest question among them is "Are you going
back?" When they start
to see others commit, they will want to do the
same. You want these staff to be working together,
so keep them up to date about who is coming back!
Recruit
To Be the
Best, You Have to Get the Best!
Now, you're
looking at your lists. You've obtained as many commitments as
possible. You've filled in your "No Brainers," "On
the Fence," and "Out" sections. Now it's time
to fill in the "Needs" section. Once that is done, use these
five tips to recruit.
- www.getoutthereonthewebandfindsomegreatstaffmembers.com (no that's not
real Web site!). There are so many staff recruiting Web sites — sign
up for them. Check resumes. Post your needs. The power of technology
has made staff recruiting so much more accessible.
However, the personal touch makes a huge difference, as well. For example,
whenever I receive an e-mail from someone who wants me to do staff training
at their camp, I always follow it up with a phone call. I want my first
contact with someone be my voice and not written words. This makes a
difference when you are recruiting staff that other camps may be recruiting,
too. The personal touch will help sell you, so let your first contact
be a phone call instead of an e-mail.
- Get educated. If you have a
local college nearby, use it as a staffing resource — but be sure
to have a plan. As a teacher, I think that "teachers-to-be" make
great camp staff. Recruiting at a college is an
excellent idea, but you need to reach the right
people. Contact the chairperson of the education
department, and ask to set up a table in the education building. Even
if the college offers a career day, try to make arrangements for a day
and place on campus where there is no competition. Offer an exchange — if
you can have an exclusive day on campus, the college
can send a representative from its admissions department
during the summer to talk to your senior campers
and younger staff who are considering college.
- Get recommendations.
Ask your 100 percenters if they have friends who may want to work at
camp. Great people usually spend time with great people. It's
that simple.
- Get local. At the high school where
I teach, every year, our hometown recreation department
announced the opportunity to work at camp for the
summer. Why not do this at your local high schools? If you hire high
school age staff, arrange to visit with local schools during lunches
to give out some information about your camp and staff opportunities.
Or, ask to present at a faculty meeting at area elementary, junior,
and high schools. Local school teachers make excellent staff. Sometimes
great resources are right under your nose.
- Look inward. Some camps
only hire staff if they have been a C.I.T. in their program. The reasoning
is "We
know how they have been trained; they know camp,
and we now know them." It's
obviously working for these camps.
Rev Up
Your
lists are complete. You're
feeling pretty confident about the team you're starting to put
together. An excitement is growing about next summer.
Now, it is important to maximize the value of staff
through preparation and training. Take advantage of that momentum with
the following tips:
- Conference season visit www.acacamps.org/conference/. Staff retreat
Some camps gather their key staff together and have a staff retreat weekend.
They host it on their camp's
property or a local hotel. These retreats are "all-about-camp" weekends
with no distractions and the full commitment of
everyone. A retreat is a good idea to get your
new staff on board, even if it's only
for a day.
- Book report. That's right. Although these words may
send shivers down some spines, give your new staff
some homework to do. Pick a book that you believe
is a great staff training/motivating camp book,
and send it to them. Send them the hard copy, the e-copy, the Kindle
copy . . . whatever you want. Have them read it and put together a quick
report to share what was meaningful about it for them and how it relates
to camp. This will give them some good insight into your philosophy,
and they'll
have a better understanding about your leadership
style and what your expectations are.
- Online training. Take advantage
of this generation's
technology. Have them look into online training
modules that are available to help them prepare for the summer ahead
(e.g., the American Camp Association's
e-Institute offers online staff train ing resources
at www.ACAcamps.org/einstitute).
- Camp Tours. A camp tour can be part of your staff
retreat weekend or independent of that. Get your
staff together and co-ordinate with a few other
camps in the area to take tours of the different properties. Tour the
facility. Have your staff meet their staff or director. Have the other
camp take you through a typical day and traditions. Cover broad-spectrum
ideas such as "How
do you set up your staff week?" to
finite details of "How do you set up your day-off schedule?" If
you take away one useable idea, it's worth it. Another plus is
that this activity enlightens your staff to the
fact that there are other camps besides yours!
In essence, this is all about an investment in
people. The formula is quite simple. The time, effort, and energy you
invest in creating amazing people on your staff equals a staff who will
invest time, effort, and energy in your campers. When all is said and
done, is there anything more important than those positive and healthy
relationships?
Originally published in the 2009 November/December
issue of Camping Magazine.
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