Senior motivation and retention

Started by AndyA60, June 25, 2019, 05:09:24 PM

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Does your squadron invest more time in Cadets than in Adult Recruitment?

About the same, they promote it to the whole public
7 (36.8%)
Less Adults/Seniors more focused on Cadet recruitment
1 (5.3%)
Less Kids/Cadets, more focused on Adult recruitment
0 (0%)
There is no active Adult Recruitment what so ever
6 (31.6%)
Our Squadron is not a composite squadron
5 (26.3%)

Total Members Voted: 19

Voting closed: September 27, 2019, 09:48:11 PM

AndyA60

What do you do to hold the attention of seniors that may not have an investment of a child in CAP? (Seems allot of the time is invested in the youth) How do you get a new senior excited about serving? When a new prospective senior walks in the door, how do you get them interested in serving? What is your selling point? I guess this segway/segue right into retention?

Eclipse

#1
Run an active program that meets the needs of the seniors from an ES and PD perspective.

Don't waste people's time.

There should be a full evolving calendar each year of training that gets the members where they want
or need to be.

Have meetings every week.  Units that fall into the "twice a month trap" can wind up with members they don't see for
months because of timing.

Don't wait for someone to ask for something.  Commanders should know what their people need PD-Wise, and what they
want ES-wise (FYI, is a senior isn't involved in the CP, then the only thing left is ES, few join to balance a checkbook
or track equipment as their sole role).  AE portends to be a separate thing, but it basically supports ES and CP.

If a Commander doesn't know the above, that's where you start.

You can accomplish a ton in a couple hours a week with good planning and motivated people.

"That Others May Zoom"

arajca

Ask them what they're interested in. Some folks may want to learn about inventory management and serving as a logistics officer can be a resume enhancer, even if it is volunteer work. Ditto for Finance.

Be honest about what your unit can offer. Know what neighboring units can offer - they might be a better fit than your unit.

BJD

If you haven't already done so, check out the Recruiting and Retention webinars posted in the Learning Management System in the Online Learning section of eServices.  There is some good stuff in those.

NIN

Darin Ninness, Col, CAP
I have no responsibilities whatsoever
I like to have Difficult Adult Conversations™
The contents of this post are Copyright © 2007-2024 by NIN. All rights are reserved. Specific permission is given to quote this post here on CAP-Talk only.

MacGruff

Yeah, ask them what they want to do, but also show them all the other jobs that Civil Air Patrol has. Some of the names do not necessarily translate into jobs that people are familiar with. Nor do the tasks necessarily translate into the names well. I ask the seniors to look at the Pamphlets for all the Specialty Tracks. The first page or two gives a pretty good description of what that Track is all about.

People will surprise you.

I had a Finance Officer who was a retired banker in real life. Never wanted to do anything more than that in a thriving squadron. Only the accounting and the books. Then she attended SLS and decided that becoming an accomplished public speaker was something that she should strive for. She entered the Professional Development track and got to teach a few lessons at the next SLS and TLC classes offered over the next couple of years and has thrived. You never know so do not make assumptions.


etodd

Quote from: MacGruff on June 25, 2019, 08:41:38 PM

Yeah, ask them what they want to do, but also show them all the other jobs that Civil Air Patrol has. ..... People will surprise you.


For sure.  Have a guy who joined recently because of an interest in the sUAS Program, but then he started looking at other opportunities as well, and his eyes widened when he saw "Historian".

You just never know. Like MacGruff said, expose them to everything.
"Don't try to explain it, just bow your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on ..."

AndyA60

And when do you show them everything? I.E. Rooms, equipment? Is this typically when you hold an open house or after they have joined?

Fester

Quote from: etodd on June 25, 2019, 09:09:41 PM
Quote from: MacGruff on June 25, 2019, 08:41:38 PM

Yeah, ask them what they want to do, but also show them all the other jobs that Civil Air Patrol has. ..... People will surprise you.


For sure.  Have a guy who joined recently because of an interest in the sUAS Program, but then he started looking at other opportunities as well, and his eyes widened when he saw "Historian".

You just never know. Like MacGruff said, expose them to everything.

You're like a broken record.  You must truly be excited about the future sUAS program.  :D
1stLt, CAP
Squadron CC
Group CPO
Eaker - 1996

NIN

Quote from: AndyA60 on June 26, 2019, 12:49:01 AM
And when do you show them everything? I.E. Rooms, equipment? Is this typically when you hold an open house or after they have joined?

Nobody joins because of rooms & equipment.  Nobody sees the room we share with the Sea Cadets until after they join.

"And we have a projector, and two laptops, and a nice Brother all-in-one printer, and a Bluetooth barcode scanner, and some file cabinets and...."

More on point to OP:

QuoteWhat do you do to hold the attention of seniors that may not have an investment of a child in CAP?

How about "don't recruit people who's motivations don't align with the organizations?" or "If someone isn't sure, and you're not sure, what interests them about CAP, how about don't sign on the dotted line?"

Too often, commanders will take anybody who can fog a mirror and write a check, no matter their interest level, potential skill set, needs of the unit, needs of the organization, etc.

Its like recruiting pilots for a unit with no plane and no plane for 150 miles:  What are they really going to do week to week? Not much.



QuoteHow do you get a new senior excited about serving? When a new prospective senior walks in the door, how do you get them interested in serving? What is your selling point? I guess this segway/segue right into retention?

This is an absolute seque into retention. If you get someone to join CAP and a) they're not excited about what they're doing; b) they don't have a clear understanding of why they're there; and c) the unit doesn't have place for them, in 12 months they're going to bail.

"I sat around and didn't do anything."

The selling point is: "Don't sell what you don't got."  If you're a cadet squadron in a state with no ground mission, don't sell ground team like its gallivanting around the woods plucking people off mountain tops.  If you're a unit without access to a plane or a long way from your wing's locus of training, it might not be a good idea to recruit people with the premise that they're gonna be aircrew because their training pipeline is going to require travel and its going to be difficult.

OTOH, if you're like my unit 15-16 years ago and you wanted to get a plane, but the two nearest airplanes were 25+ miles in opposite directions, you recruited pilots with the message "We don't have a plane here yet. We're trying to get one. We need x qualified and checked out pilots to do so, and it will require our pilots to travel to either of those two planes to get checked out and to fly the planes to remain CAP-current. If you're willing to be one of those pilots, great. I can't tell you when a plane would come, but with 5 pilots it will eventually happen."

We did get that plane, and we've kept it, and the unit has a great flying mission and sometimes we have TWO planes at our airport.  But it took being straight up with the pilots and finding the 5 guys who were willing to make it happen for us. (and we turned away more than a few who weren't willing to work that hard. and thats fine)
Darin Ninness, Col, CAP
I have no responsibilities whatsoever
I like to have Difficult Adult Conversations™
The contents of this post are Copyright © 2007-2024 by NIN. All rights are reserved. Specific permission is given to quote this post here on CAP-Talk only.

etodd

Quote from: Fester on June 26, 2019, 05:12:47 AM
Quote from: etodd on June 25, 2019, 09:09:41 PM
Quote from: MacGruff on June 25, 2019, 08:41:38 PM

Yeah, ask them what they want to do, but also show them all the other jobs that Civil Air Patrol has. ..... People will surprise you.


For sure.  Have a guy who joined recently because of an interest in the sUAS Program, but then he started looking at other opportunities as well, and his eyes widened when he saw "Historian".

You just never know. Like MacGruff said, expose them to everything.

You're like a broken record.  You must truly be excited about the future sUAS program.  :D

No.. You obviously missed the post where I discussed how, when the flurry of initial training is complete, these drones will just sit in the closet for months like all the other gear.

What I was excited about was the new member seeing the "Historian Track" and being happy about getting into it. Everyone needs multiple interests. That will certainly help retention. :)
"Don't try to explain it, just bow your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on ..."

etodd

Quote from: NIN on June 26, 2019, 11:40:42 AM


We did get that plane, and we've kept it, and the unit has a great flying mission ....


Fantastic success story. Time and determination wins!  :)

Now for balance, we need the story of the Squadron that lost their plane so you could get it. "Gotta keep those hours up boys!"
"Don't try to explain it, just bow your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on ..."

Holding Pattern

Quote from: Eclipse on June 25, 2019, 05:13:20 PM
Don't waste people's time.

I really want to translate this into latin and make it our squadron logo.

baronet68

Quote from: Holding Pattern on June 26, 2019, 08:54:50 PM
Quote from: Eclipse on June 25, 2019, 05:13:20 PM
Don't waste people's time.

I really want to translate this into latin and make it our squadron logo.

Non dissipabit populus simul


;D
Michael Moore, Lt Col, CAP
National Recruiting & Retention Manager

SarDragon

My favorite Latin(?) motto is - Illegitimi non Carborundum.
Dave Bowles
Maj, CAP
AT1, USN Retired
50 Year Member
Mitchell Award (unnumbered)
C/WO, CAP, Ret

TheSkyHornet

As a senior who doesn't have a cadet in the program...I'm not interested in ES.
I have another senior on staff who never had a cadet in the program.
Neither of us are former cadets.

It's not just about keeping it interesting and busy. The things you do need to make you feel like you have a sense of purpose and belonging...that what you do accounts for something.

Talk to yours seniors and ask them "Why did you join? Why are you still here? What do you think would continue to keep you here?"

This type of topic tends to tell me that those individuals 'back home' were never asked this, and we're trying to fix a problem without going to the source.

PHall

Quote from: SarDragon on June 26, 2019, 11:21:19 PM
My favorite Latin(?) motto is - Illegitimi non Carborundum.

I like the one we had for our Expeditionary Airlift Unit which was comprised of entirely Air Guard and Air Force Reserve members - Carpe' per Diem.

Brit_in_CAP


Shuman 14

#18
Quote from: SarDragon on June 26, 2019, 11:21:19 PM
My favorite Latin(?) motto is - Illegitimi non Carborundum.

As a former Roman Catholic Altar Boy my Latin is still terrible, but shouldn't there be an "est" at the end of that motto?
Joseph J. Clune
Lieutenant Colonel, Military Police

USMCR: 1990 - 1992                           USAR: 1993 - 1998, 2000 - 2003, 2005 - Present     CAP: 2013 - 2014, 2021 - Present
INARNG: 1992 - 1993, 1998 - 2000      Active Army: 2003 - 2005                                       USCGAux: 2004 - Present

NIN

Darin Ninness, Col, CAP
I have no responsibilities whatsoever
I like to have Difficult Adult Conversations™
The contents of this post are Copyright © 2007-2024 by NIN. All rights are reserved. Specific permission is given to quote this post here on CAP-Talk only.