Every August, the same thing happens. The buses pull out, the staff scatters, and somewhere in a camp office there is a stack of blank staff evaluation forms that nobody filled out.
By the time return offers go out, you wish you had written everything down. Specifics about the counselors you want back, details around who is ready for more responsibility and their leadership aspirations. And stories about the staff members you may not invite back because they missed the mark. All of that lives in the staff evaluation process, or it lives nowhere.
Your end-of-season evaluations are next summer's hiring plan, and it is not too late to follow through on the process.
Camps hire 1.2 million seasonal positions every year. It is a massive effort, and an expensive one. The cheapest hire you will ever make is the one you already have.
This fall, we put together a simple one-page evaluation template and shared it with camps in our network. More than 50 have used it, so we figured we would share it more broadly so more camps can put it into practice.
Why Most Camp Evaluations Fall Flat
Most performance evaluations at camp happen once — at the worst possible time.
The end of summer is when everyone is running on fumes. If the first real feedback a counselor gets is on closing day, what was supposed to be a development conversation becomes a formality. One conversation at the end of August cannot do what ongoing feedback does when given throughout the summer.
They are vague.
You have probably seen "good with kids" show up on staff evaluation forms. While it might be true, general feedback is not all that helpful to a staff member. It does not tell them much. Good how? With which kids? In which moments? Vague praise and vague criticism are equally ineffective at driving behavior, so be specific.
They stray from what is written in the job description.
If you never defined expectations of the job, it is hard to evaluate performance against it. When done right, performance expectations are tied directly to the job description and the code of conduct your staff signed. Those set the baseline against which you can measure.
The Six Competencies Worth Evaluating
For camp counselors, these are the core areas that separate the people you bring back from the ones you might not.
- Safety and judgment. Follows protocols, makes sound decisions under pressure, knows when to escalate. This one is non-negotiable at camp.
- Camper relationships. Connects with campers — including the hard ones — and creates belonging, not just fun.
- Teamwork. Shows up for co-counselors, handles conflict directly, and makes the people around them better.
- Reliability and initiative. On time, where they are supposed to be, sees what needs doing without being told.
- Program quality. Runs activities with energy and structure, and adapts when the plan falls apart.
- Growth and coachability. Takes feedback, improves over the season, owns mistakes.
When evaluating against these competencies, each one should be rated and given a specific example of observed behaviors. The specific behaviors provide the context to back up the numerical rating.
The More Specific You Can Be, the Better
Instead of "great with kids" — write something like: "When a first-year camper refused to get in the lake all week, Jordan skipped an off-hour to sit on the dock with him. By Friday the camper was swimming, and Jordan's patience made all the difference."
Instead of "needs to work on being more responsible" — write something like: "Was late to morning flagpole four times in July. When we talked about it, Jordan understood it is an area of focus for him, and he improved over the summer."
When logging feedback, a good test is whether you could read that comment a year from now and remember the context. Specific comments also protect you if a no-rehire decision ever gets questioned.
What Makes a Good Staff Evaluation Form
If you are evaluating 80 staff members and the form takes 45 minutes each, it will never get done. These things need to be streamlined and short enough to handle the volume.
The form covers the six competencies on a four-point scale with space for a specific example under each, three open questions about strengths, areas to develop, and standout moments, and a rehire section with a recommended next-season role.
A four-point scale works better than five: there is no middle option on purpose, which forces evaluators to make a call and reduces the number of threes people default to. And "needs improvement" is not a punishment or a reason not to rehire. Plenty of standout staff members started as "developing" in year one and grew into the role over a few summers.
How to Ask Questions That Get Honest Answers
When hosting a performance evaluation conversation, you want to get the staff member talking. That requires asking pointed, reflective questions. Instead of "How was your summer?" try these:
- What is a moment from the summer you are proud of?
- Tell me about something that did not go the way you wanted. What did you do?
- Which camper did you have the hardest time reaching, and what did you try?
- What did your co-counselors need from you that was hard to give?
- What would make you come back next summer?
That last one is all about retention intelligence. It is your chance to get a read on where their head is at for next summer and what else is at play. When recorded, those insights are invaluable when putting together return offers in the fall.
The Importance of Reflection and Self-evaluation
Before the performance evaluation conversations, have staff rate themselves on the same six competencies, plus three prompts: Where did I grow the most? Where did I fall short of what I expected from myself? What do I want to be trusted with next summer?
The gap between their ratings and yours is where the conversation gets interesting. A counselor who rates themselves lower than you did needs a confidence boost. One who rates themselves higher needs more clarity on their performance. Either way, the gap tells you more than the scores do, and their perception of themselves helps inform how you shape the conversation.
Making Informed Hiring Decisions
Staff evaluations are one of the most underused tools in camp hiring. Done consistently, they turn the end of one summer into the foundation of the next — giving you real evidence to make better rehire decisions, develop your strongest people, and build the kind of staff culture that keeps people coming back. The form is a starting point. The habit is what makes it count.
This blog was written on behalf of Project Real Job whose purpose is to support camps in their efforts to recruit, hire, and retain staff.
Aaron Lyon is cofounder of CampHire, a retained executive search and seasonal staffing firm for camps and youth-serving nonprofits. He holds a SHRM-CP certification and has 15 years of HR and talent strategy experience.
Photo courtesy of Eagle's Nest Camp in Pisgah Forest, NC
The views and opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Camp Association or ACA employees.
