by Kelly Byrnes
I’ll never forget these words spoken by Jack Weiner, former American
Camp Association, Wisconsin executive. Building a great staff is a lot
like building a good home. You must start with a strong foundation. Staff
retention begins with solid staff recruitment. If you don’t hire
excellent staff to begin with, you won’t even want them to return
the following summer.
Learn from Past Mistakes
Begin by recalling the worst hires you’ve ever made. Learn from past
mistakes. Here are some examples of hiring mistakes we should all avoid.
Good on Paper
This person has all the right certifications and credentials. They might
be a lifeguard or sailing instructor or archery certified . . . all
of those skills you’re so desperately looking for. But, when you interview
them, you’re not really comfortable with them or they just don’t
connect with you. They might be good on paper, but their personality is
wrong for your camp.
Legacy/Loyalty Hire
This person or their family has been around camp perhaps longer than
you have. You or your camp board figures you owe it to them to give
them a shot at being a staff member. If you interviewed them off the
street, you wouldn’t hire them. They’ve done nothing to show that they’ve
got the skills and attitude necessary to be a successful camp counselor.
Or, they’re just so-so — nothing terrible about them but nothing
great either.
Mismatch
Expectations aren’t met — either their expectations of camp
don’t match or your expectations of them don’t match. We didn’t
do a good job in the interview process of explaining the realities of camp
life.
Breathers
Let’s face it, when the first day of camp is drawing near, there
can be a tendency to hire anyone with a clean record that seems reasonable.
The trick here is to avoid this situation altogether by overestimating
your needs in January and February and recruiting and interviewing as many
candidates as possible early in the process.
Recruiting
Now that we know what we’re trying to avoid, let’s concentrate
on recruiting and hiring the best candidates. There are several ways to
recruit good candidates.
Job Fairs
Job fairs are an excellent venue for recruiting. Job fairs
at colleges and universities offer camps a great opportunity
to find people who are seeking summer employment and potentially
have an interest in summer camp. Directors need to be aggressively
recruiting. Use successful sales tactics — know
what you’re selling (what’s special about your camp); how to
overcome obstacles/objections; and get the candidate to commit to future
action (bring back a completed application, sit down for a mini-interview,
leave contact information, etc.). Remember, the job fair is an overwhelming
experience for the candidates. They need your guidance. You cannot wait
for them to approach you and ask the right questions. Most candidates don’t
know very much about being a camp counselor, and this is your first opportunity
to set expectations for your staff.
Print Advertising
Running an ad in a local paper or trade publication is
a good and viable way to recruit staff. This is particularly
successful when recruiting support staff — kitchen, maintenance, and health care. Nursing publications,
newspapers, and church bulletins reach a large audience and can bring many
applications. The advertisement itself should again feature realistic expectations — job
duties, education, certifications, hours, duration of employment, location,
benefits, living arrangements, etc. You will save yourself time and money
by limiting the field to those applicants who can first meet those expectations.
Similar Fields
Advertise and recruit in places that have similar interests
and experiences. These places can include day care centers,
after-school programs, athletic clubs, hospitals, sporting
goods stores, and clubs (sailing, rock climbing, tripping).
Simply ask the owner or manager if you can post a flyer or
make an announcement to their membership. Some of my best staff
are people whose work I’ve admired when I’ve met them at places such as these.
Find Talent in Unusual Places
Think that the waitress at your favorite restaurant has a terrific
people pleasing personality? Perhaps in her spare time, she
volunteers with Big Brothers/Big Sisters. You won’t know until you suggest that she take
a look at working at your camp. I have recruited excellent staff members
at restaurants, athletic clubs, and even traveling on an airplane! Look
for people who exude the kind of personality you are seeking.
Interviewing
Interviews are as much for the interviewee to gather
information as the interviewer. During the interview,
the interviewer should spend quite a bit of time detailing
the expectations of the job. Describe what a day at camp
is like. Answer the usual questions. How much time off
is there and how often might they travel home during
the summer? What training is offered? What will the position
pay? If you can interview with a current or former staff
member who has performed that position, he or she can
give a first-hand account of what the challenges and
rewards really are.
The interview should accomplish the following goals:
- Explain the requirements and expectations of the position.
- Eliminate candidates that don’t fit — either there are
obstacles (time commitments, training, etc.) or personalities that
are not a match and should be eliminated from the process.
- Give candidates an opportunity to demonstrate
that they are the right person for the job.
- Give candidates an opportunity to ask questions.
To accomplish all of these goals, one must devote a significant amount
of time to the interview process. Most of the interviews
I conduct last minimally one hour. The longest has taken five
hours and eventually included dinner.
It is the third goal that is the most difficult to accomplish.
Here are some interview questions that can help give the candidate
an opportunity to demonstrate their personality, attitude, and
skills:
- In the past five years, what accomplishment are you most proud
of?
- If you could be anyone (other than a family member), who would you
be? (A different kind of question
than who is your role model?)
- What’s the best decision you ever made?
- Tell me about your family . . . .
- Have you ever been homesick? How did you deal with that?
- What is your favorite sport to play or hobby?
- What skill do you think you’ve mastered?
- Tell me about any leadership experience you’ve had . . . .
- What would make you a great staff member?
I like to ask candidates to sing a bit of something for me in their interview.
It gives me an idea of how self-conscious
the person is and how willing they are to act a bit goofy. In our camp,
goofiness is a prerequisite!
To conclude the interview, give the candidate an opportunity to
ask questions. Then, tell the candidate what will
happen next. Will they hear from you either way? What is your time
frame? How will you proceed with their application?
Retention
Retaining a quality staff is key to having a great camp.
There is a synergy built upon returning staff — they are experienced, capable, and already
committed to the mission of the camp. However, it is important to only
rehire the cream of the crop!
Rehiring
During the summer, there should
be several opportunities for performance
evaluations. I recommend an evaluation
after the first week, mid-summer, and
post summer. Evaluations are opportunities
to sit down with staff and discuss
how they think the job is going, what
they’re having difficulties
with, and what their goals are. Not only does this give you an excellent
opportunity to coach and mentor your staff, but it also makes it easier
if you choose not to rehire a staff member. You can point to goals that
were set and their results. Saying no to a staff member is difficult but
essential to building a successful team.
The following elements are
the keys to successful staff
retention:
- Camaraderie is the sense of working with a supportive team. Staff
members feel that there is a sense of shared effort. Take time during staff
training to have counselors help out in the kitchen or work with the maintenance
staff. Have kitchen or maintenance staff participate in the discipline
portion of staff training so that they understand that the counselor’s
job is not all fun and games — that they have difficult issues to
face. This will also give kitchen and maintenance staff some discipline “tools” of
their own — should they need them. If everyone understands each other’s
roles, there is a deeper
appreciation for the
total team.
- Caring encompasses all the “little” things. Buy staff
members a box of their favorite cookies. Fold someone’s
laundry. Remember birthdays,
not only during the
summer, but during
the off-season as well.
Share daily hugs and
occasional tears.
- Empowerment shows trust. Camps with great staff retention have a “go
for it” attitude! They give staff members the tools to make good
decisions and try new things. I give my staff the guideline, “Ask
yourself what’s in the best interest of this child? Follow that with
what’s in the best interest of the camp and the other children?” I
then tell them that if they make their decision with the answers to those
questions in mind, I can’t
be upset with them.
I may suggest another
way to handle it in
the future, but I will
support the decision
they made.
-
Value your staff members. Show them your appreciation. Staff members
are an investment.
Invest your time and money in furthering their education and skills. Challenge
them to continue to grow in their camp education. During staff training, ask
staff members to make a list of their goals, not just for the summer, but for
their lives. Then ask staff members to share one of their goals, and find the
way that working at camp helps them to meet those life goals. It is important
for staff members to see camp as more than just a summer job. It is an important
part of their journey toward their life goals.
- Ownership gives staff a sense of “I created this!” Be
open to new ideas and
ways of doing things. Let them reorganize the kitchen or workshop to suit their
needs. Build something together as a staff that will become a permanent part
of camp.
- Perks are a way of rewarding your staff. One of my favorite perks
is extra time off. Teach a lesson or help out in the kitchen or health
office for an hour. Not only will it bring you, the director, closer to
your campers and other staff, but it gives that person a very direct sense
that you care about his or her well-being. Give staff a peaceful space — comfortable,
clean, staff lounge
with some amenities
such as a TV, VCR,
DVD player, Internet
access, current magazines,
newspapers, and big
couches are a well-deserved
refuge. Small gifts
such as books, cards,
edible treats, or toys
show that you know
what the staff member
is interested in. Monetary
rewards or gift cards
are always appreciated.
When you compare the
financial cost to recruiting
a new staff member,
retaining a great staff
member is always the
better financial decision.
- Growth is crucial to retaining staff members over a long period
of time. Begin by taking a hard look at your LIT/CIT program. Are you truly
preparing them to become staff members, or is it just a “senior camper” program?
Your program should include every part of staff training. Promote from
within. Groom current staff members to fill more advanced positions. Create “pockets
of responsibility” to
allow staff members
to take on more of
a leadership role and
assume higher levels
of responsibility.
For example, designate
a sports coordinator
to coach and mentor
other instructors.
Give someone the responsibility
for coordinating an
all-camp activity.
- Safety is critical for staff members to be truly happy. They must
feel safe — emotionally,
physically, and socially.
Love replaces fear.
Safety provides the
freedom for staff to
stretch out of their
box.
- Family is last because it is perhaps the most important element
necessary for high staff retention. Family doesn’t last just one
summer — family is forever. There is an expectation that “of
course, you’ll return.” Connections need to be maintained year-round.
Planning for the next summer begins the day after camp ends. Stay in touch
with e-mails, visits, and get-togethers. I have staff members that live
nearby that I have lunch with once a week. Our home is open to staff at
all times — and
at least once a month,
several staff members
will come to spend
a night or weekend.
There are all-staff
trips to a theme park.
There is a winter reunion
in January. Above all,
there is unconditional
love. Mistakes will
be made. Feelings might
be hurt. But above
it all, there is unconditional
love.
High staff retention is a combination of finding and hiring the best,
waiting for candidates that make you say “WOW,” letting go of staff
who are not performing at top levels, and finally, making sure that staff
feel cared for and cared about. Take good care of your staff, and they
will take good care of your campers.
Originally published in the 2004 November/December
issue of Camping Magazine.
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