What does the DE do all day?

[dsteele]

I've seen numerous references to the DE. I'm curious as to what he/she does all day. What do you think?

 

I happen to believe that they're working very hard, but I'm not sure what they do all day.

 

Thoughts?

 

Unc.

[nldscout]

I always thought a big part of a DE's day was hiding out from volunteers looking for information. Most De's have answering Machine, email, cell phones and a fax and you still can't find them when your in a pinch.

[Overtrained]

It can very by what type of council the DE is in and the type of support there is, but here is a small list:

 

1. Working with school principals for access, boy talks, statistics.

2. Working with community clubs: Kiwanis, Optimist Etc as a member and for financial requests.

3. Working with church leaders to start units and solidy existing ones

4. Securing distribution sites for popcorn

5. Maintaining camp property

6. Meeting with district leaders

7. Meeting with Golf outing committee and related tasks

8. Meeting with various council committee chairs for planning.

9. Training on upcoming national initiatives

10. Starting that home schooling unit

11. recruiting/hiring summer camp staff

 

This is just a few. Again it can very depending on size of the council and the support staff available. Not to mention all the evening meetings they have with their units and district and council responisbilities. When I was a DE I had 120 nightly meetings I could go to ( and had to at least once a year) and 10 evening meetings to attend monthly. Add in district and council weekend events, area/region/national events and running summer camp for 9 weeks.

 

 

[BadenP]

Well stated Overtrained. I too was a DE for some years. Besides what has been stated there are also council responsibilities such as Staff Advisor to the OA, JLT, Camping Committee, Training, etc.

 

Another big part is meeting with and dealing with units having serious issues with leadership, abuse issues, legal issues, etc. that is beyond a Commisioners responsibility. There are always inner city youth programs to organize. And there was always my favorite, a den of cub scouts coming to the office for a tour, pep talk, and to learn more about scouting, answer questions, and giving the poor frazzled den leader some time just to relax.

 

A great experience and profession, but I do not miss those 80 hour plus workweeks.

[Eamonn]

Being a small Council we only have four DE's. Two work from the Service Center and two from a home office. Our District is served by one that works from home.

As for what they do all day? This is dependent on what time of the year it is. Our guys and soon to be only one female do not work at camp or for the camp by maintaining property or equipment. Each and every month brings a new set of things that have to be done, things that have to be planned and people that have to be met.

I don't like too many meetings. My feeling is that we lose volunteers by asking them to attend too many meetings where little or nothing is accomplished. This does create more work for the DE. At the District Meeting I ask the Committee Chairs to set 30 day goals. Things that they will do or get done within the next 30 days. These people are accountable to me. I expect them to meet the goal. We meet monthly, the DE is to contact the Chairs and see how they are coming along and report back to me. If need be working as a key3 we will do what we can to help the person meet the goal. We meet as a key3 weekly at times that are convenient to all of us. We used to have breakfast meetings but both the DE and myself are not morning people and we found that a restaurant setting wasn't good for us.

In a "Normal month" If there is such a thing? We have a district meeting, a commissioners meeting, a Roundtable meeting. Extra meetings can be held which require the DE to be in attendance or some meetings might just require a visit. I do not see the need for our DE to attend and stay at Camporees, I do expect a visit.

Our last Field Director was an idiot. When he wasn't requesting reports from us that he had already received and lost. He was requesting information that was readily available in the Service Center,this meant that there was a lot of time spent preparing reports prepared by the DE, that with the push of a few buttons he could have got for himself.

Over the year we do have a lot of dumb meetings called by the Council, mainly to do with FOS.These tend to be time spent looking at reports that we already have or could be E-mailed with little effort. They accomplish very little.

I have never read the contract that a DE signs or their full job description. I would think that they are expected to work 40 hours a week. Work is a strange thing. Sure when we hold a pizza party for our FOS people or take them up to camp this is supposed to be fun- Fun for us but it is work for the DE.The Parking Lot meeting might be when we feel that we are done and that is over and done with is still work for the DE. The phone calls at night are the DE working. The time I spent on the phone with the DE is my hobby but is the DE at work. I work 40 hours a week and get time off for the extra time I put in. I very much doubt if very many DE's keep track of all the hours that they put in.

As for the phone call thing. We found that many of the calls that people make to the DE are to do with matters that should be handled by someone else. Just like the Scoutmaster who asks "Have you asked your Patrol Leader?" We have gone out of our way to get people to ask the right question to the right person. This list normally starts with the Unit Commissioner.

I expect a lot from our DE, I want all the reports from the service Center to go to the right people,I hold the DE accountable to make sure this is done. I don't feel it is my job to make sure that the membership chair or the advancement chair have got their reports and I have received copies, I'm not going to chase the office staff for these. These need to be where they need to be and the DE needs to ensure that they are. I don't care how and I don't expect any excuses. I have no need to go to the Service Center other then for stuff that I want for me. If the District "Needs" something I expect it to be there when we need it. How they get it to where we need it is up to them. At times I know it would be far cheaper and far more efficient if we were to use FedEx or UPS. Do I need someone who is supposed to be an Executive playing mailman?

The last idiot FD, started a lot of what he called Scoutreach Units. I question the use of the word Scout. He managed to get an Americore "Volunteer" to look after these units. When the Americore guy went MIA, he had the DE run the meetings. We had a Senior DE, earning whatever a person of that position earns doing crafts with a five kids in a housing project.

A school teacher in our area starts out at under $20k. In Scouting Magazine it stated that the starting salary of a new DE is $32k. I don't care how much money they make I do think that we need to remember that they are Executives. If they work 40 hour a week they cost $15.38 an hour plus benefits. We need to give them tasks that are value for money for us. At times they become the "Dogs Body" of the district. Then we wonder why the turnover is in some councils so high.

If a DE has any sense the person they need to hide from is idiot Field Directors!!

Eamonn

PS. I have just seen the posting by BP. Our DE's do not have these extra duties, we have a program director to take care of that sort of program stuff. To my way of thinking a DE is a District person, who is employed by the Council and who in no way works for me, but the District is the area where they need to focused on. Anything that gets in the way of that is unfair to the District.(This message has been edited by Eamonn)

[BadenP]

Eamonn,

In small councils, such as where I worked, it is very common and required for DEs to have these extra assignments, professionally it makes them more promotable. Second that salary you quoted was an average, the guys in the big cities make much more and those of us in rural areas much less.

I served two districts simultaneously, was OA & JLT Staff Advisor,and was Asst.and then Camp Director for two years. I had a great time, worked my arse off though. I received all kinds of praise and awards from my districts, OA and JLT staffs, and a special plaque of thanks, mounted in the camp lodge. It was for me one of the best careers I ever experienced, but you have to be willing to sacrifice a lot of things in your personal life because it is an all consuming position.

 

[Bob White]

DEs do stuff???

[Eamonn]

I'm sorry BP the starting out rate for a DE is as stated.

Eamonn.

[BadenP]

Eamonn,

 

Not to quibble but if you read the article again I bet you will find it says "the average starting salary", all councils do not pay the same. Big city DE's start at a higher rate. Pay scales are on a regional and local level not a National one. If the writer did not say that then it is just not true or poor research and reporting I assure you. Any one of us in this forum who was a DE can tell you that, as can National. Thats why most DEs want to promote into large councils where the salaries are much better. Councils are becoming bigger of late as the smaller ones are being absorbed by the larger ones.

[Joni4TA]

LMAO BW, I was thinking the same thing

 

Actually it's weird here, and our SDE does dang near everything haha

 

In addition to being responsible for Okinawa, he frequently makes trips to Thailand and the Phillipines, but also to the Council on mainland Japan. He runs the District Service Center/Scout Shop - you name it, I am sure he does it or has had to do it.

[Twocubdad]

Two words: Krispy Kreme

[DeMann]

Publication 14-630 says that he is to provide professional coaching (to all those guys and gals that call him at all hours of the day and night, as well as propose plans and agendas for all areas of the district structure, suggest action plans for recruiting district personnel, and to give encouragement and inspiration to all scouters in the district. He is also expected to maintain regular contact with the heads of chartering institutions, keep district records up to date, arrange for council office services such as mailings, meeting notices, etc. and provide behind the scenes administrative skill. He also has to develop and maintain his own work schedule and work with and support all volunteers. what is not mentioned is that he is responsible for everything that happens in his district- good, bad, or whatever else it may be. He is ultimately responsible for every unit, boy, adult, and

FOS dollar raised. If he keeps the district growing, he gets to keep his job. If a volunteer screws it up for him, he gets to become unemployed. If he screws it up for himself, he gets the same thing. He is expected to work at least 50 hours per week. Many weeks the expectation grows to 70 or more.

 

Well.... I wonder how he gets it done?

 

[dsteele]

I wonder the same thing myself.

 

Unc.

[Joni4TA]

DeMann -

I wonder the same thing... which is why I can sometimes catch my SDE buried under mountains of paperwork in his office. I am thinking of getting a bullhorn so I can talk to him behind the paper-stacks! lol

[cubbobwhite]

I'll give you an idea of what my favorite DE does during the day. He gets up early and goes to the office before 8am. He attempts to get as much done as possible before the phone begins to ring at 9. Even if he leaves the office he can't escape the phone because he has a cell phone.

 

Throughout the day he is fielding questions from volunteers, who range from brand-new den leaders to the District Commissioner. He meets with community leaders to make sure that Scouting is highly thought of, he writes grant requests, he works closely with the United Way. As the professional advisor to the OA Lodge, he is working to straighten out the mess left by the recently departed volunteer advisor. He helps recruit a den leader for a pack that has Wolves but no leader. If he is lucky, he gets to come home for dinner, but that only happens about twice a week.

 

He is frequently found working on Saturdays and Sundays, in addition to the other five days of the week. When he last figured out his hourly wage, it was just above minimum wage. But he does this job because he likes it.

 

BTW, my favorite DE also spends much of his day doing some of the same things that other fathers do. He is worrying about one of his sons who is in Iraq. He worries about his wife with MS. I guess that makes him a real person just like the rest of us - just trying to do a real job.