The Recruiting and Retention Challenge 13 Nov 2010

1. Maryland Wing Civil Air Patrol The Recruiting and Retention Challenge13 Nov 2010 Major Doug Barth, CAP Group II PAO/RRO Fort McHenry Squadron RRO

2. Welcome • Agenda • Objective • Some background numbers • The R&R life cycle • Challenges • Best practices • Wrap up

3. Objective • To discuss the challenges in Recruiting and Retention Program • To identify what is working and what is not • To share best practices

4. Recruiting and Retention • A strong R&R program is a direct reflection of the overall quality of an organization • People want to join a successful organization • People stay when the feel they are contributing to that success • R&R is a 24/7 effort • R&R spans and engages all aspects of an organization

5. Who is R&R Everybody! • Command Staff • Professional Development • PAO • Trainers • AEO • Operations • Every unit member • And the RRO

6. Recruiting and Retention • R&R is not just about numbers But…. • That is the major metric by which it is measured • Unit strength • New members • Losses

7. Some numbers • MDWG Group I, II, III strength • Sept 2009 – 1289(1) • Sept 2010 – 1379(2) • FY2010 New members – 461(2) • Net Growth - 90 • Which means – Groups“lost” 371members in FY2010 • Transfer out of MDWG • Transfer to Wing Staff • Non-renewal  • Sept 2009 Wing Balanced Scorecard • E-services membership reports

8. Challenges • To increase strength, need to recruit more new members than you lose.. • 1:1 recruiting is “maintenance” mode • To increase strength is two fold • Increase number of new members • Increase retention rate • Identify best practices from recruiting thru retention to meet these two objectives • And that is why we are here today

9. R&R Lifecycle Access Retain Recruit Engage

10. R&R Lifecycle R&R can be viewed as a 4 phase program • Access • identify and understand potential sources of new members • Recruit • “sell” the program – features and benefits • Engage • Integrating the member into to the organization • Becomes a successful member of the organization • Retain • Member sees value in their efforts and personnel growth/satisfaction

11. R&R Lifecycle Assessment Access Retain Recruit Engage Assessment

12. Best Practices • What works? • What does not work?

13. NSC 2007 – Retention Study • Retention is significantly impacted due to ineffective leadership. • Poor membership retention is a symptom of an ineffective program. • Many cadets do not renew due to lack of meaningful activities and a lack of strong local leadership. • Lack of leadership is due to a shortage of trained and experienced leaders available at the squadron level. • Wings should be the primary equipping agency for training squadron leaders. • Many members do not “see themselves” within the organization – they do not establish a sense of personal belonging within CAP. • Existing negatives may be overcome by generating a positive experience through enhanced leadership and curriculum. • Meaningful criteria for appointment of senior leaders, accountability for maintaining high standards of conduct and performance, and an active, mission-oriented, professional development program should be established. • A formal mentoring system should be required. • An interactive e-Learning service should be created to help standardize training.

14. Wrap up • R&R is a 24/7 effort • Reflection of the strength and quality of the organization • While numbers are the metric..it is the person who is important • Bottom line is developing our members and meeting our mission goals

15. Resources • Unit Commanders Course • http://www.capmembers.com/media/cms/Recruiting_and_Retention_SG_3DCDBF4C28276.pdf • Demographics for Cadets – TCL S2 • http://www.capmembers.com/media/cms/S2_Electronic_Almanac__Slides_PPT3_9577B19AE9A7A.ppt • How to Increase Cadet Retention • http://www.capmembers.com/media/cms/Retention__Policy_484A051B3469F.pdf