Camp Staff / Camping
“If you hire people just because they can do a job, they’ll work for your money. But if you hire people who believe what you believe, they’ll work for you with blood, sweat, and tears.” – Simon Sinek, author & speaker
For most camps, finding and keeping an excellent camp staff is the thing that separates the “OK” from the awesome. It can be truly difficult. What makes this challenge less challenging?
- Do Not Settle – First, determine who should NOT come back. This is a culture builder. It may seem obvious, but the goal is not to fill all the spots on the org chart. It is better to have fewer staff (even if you need to change your program), than to have mediocre or toxic staff as a drag on your team.
- Year-Round Fun – Getting your team together for holiday parties, support of council events, or to staff short-term camps is a great way to remind your team how much fun they have when they get together and to build commitment and anticipation for next summer.
- Hire Early – As one season ends, the next begins. It isn’t too early to talk about possible future roles. A holiday gathering is a great time to get that solid commitment for the next season. Better still, hire your director staff before that and send them on a recruiting palooza at your holiday gathering.
- Room to Grow – Don’t let your experienced staff get bored. Helping them get where they want to go both recognizes their service and builds their loyalty and your skill base.
- Training and Scholarships – Plan for the future by sending people to National Camping School or other quality training. If at all possible, find ways to fund education for those attending university or trade schools (think EMT, culinary, and other specialties). It may seem expensive, but is there such a thing as too many qualified people?
- New Roles and Responsibilities – Recognize excellence and leadership by promoting skilled team members to new areas. Ask for their input as you develop programming. What things on your to-do list can be done by experienced staff as off-season volunteers? And if you do not have a role at your camp, help them connect with another camp for a new adventure (Eek! Can we do that? Yes! And your short-term loss often becomes a long-term gain when they come back to you with friends or new skills).
- They Have Friends… – Your staff knows what qualities we need for our camps and can share a realistic picture of camp life. They likely affiliate with folks who have those qualities. A referral bonus is a great way to keep recruiting in front of their brain to bring in those new staff.
- Alumni – Just because a staff member cannot return, doesn’t mean they love camp less. Like your best staff members, alumni are a great source for new, quality recruits. Make sure you ask them to help.
Experienced camp staff and leaders know the obstacles and challenges of long days, conflicting schedules, FOMO, and the need to earn “real” money that our camp staff share. But making our staff part of the ongoing development of your camp and Scouting keeps them invested even after life takes them down a different path.
What did we miss? For more information about recruiting, training, and retaining your best staff, join and add your thoughts to our Teams page at: Staff Recruitment and Training. Check out the extensive resources from the American Camping Association (ACA), too. We’ve even done the search for you: https://www.acacamps.org/search?keys=staff+retention.
