Adult Recruiting /Membership

[Eamonn]

Looking at the Fact Sheets on the UK Scout site the other day.I found a Recruiting Packet, very much alike to the Selecting Quality Leadership that the BSA has. Near the end of the fact sheet it said that they did a good job of recruiting but not so good a job of retaining adults.

I don't know about other parts of the country but I tend to think that in the District that I'm in we don't do a great job of selecting or retaining.

It seems that the Units that get it -get it, and that the units that don't seem to struggle for a very long time. Many of the new units that start have a long and bumpy ride. Sometimes we luck out and a white Knight comes along and saves the day or much as it pains me to say the unit falls by the wayside.

There hasn't been very many new troops started over the past few years. In fact the new troop on the block is six years old and due to the untimely death of the Scoutmaster, did have a rough time. Thankfully there was a ASM who also had a son in the troop who stepped up to take the SM position. He is the new kid, all of the other troops have SM's that have been around for very much longer. In the past ten years we have only lost one troop.

Our problem seems to be with the Cub Scout packs. We seem to get a lot of interest from the parents when their son signs up for the pack. But we don't seem to move fast enough. We end up with Cub Scouter's that are wearing too many hats, and this really hurts the program when they move on. Or we have dens the size of small packs. Yes, I have seen Dens with as many as 18 in the Den. Everyone seems to be aware that this is not the way it ought to be and I hear all sorts of excuses and reasons.

At times I think that there must be a big black hole. Every year we see about 80 new Cub Leaders at training's and then we never see them again.

I have been on the District Commissioners back to get him to stress the Leadership Inventory with his staff. So we know ahead of time where the problem areas are going to be.

The Round Table Commissioners are doing a better job of making the new faces at the Round Table Meetings feel more welcome.

We are not taking unit leaders away from the unit to serve on the District Committee.

But still we seem to lose a lot of adults.

Is this going on in your area?

What plans do you have to retain new people?

Eamonn

[Bob White]

We make a real effort during Roundtables, district events and during training programs to let unit leaders know how much their participation means. I think the key is in individual personalized recognition.

 

Just as standing in front of a group and saying "we need somebody to do this job" is an ineffective way to select and recruit, to tell a group of volunteers " Thanks so much for your work" is an ineffective way to recognize people's efforts.

 

You have to tell the individual that they are appreciated and you have to be specific. "Sally thanks for your work as a cubmaster, the way you keep your den leaders motivated and having fun is incredible, and its obvious that the cubs are having fun and advancing."

 

It only takes a few seconds to tell someone what specifically they do to make this a better program, but the effects can last for months. To often peoploe get the generic, "hey nice job thanks for coming" and it lacks the impact of a personal, specific compliment.

 

 

[Eamonn]

Bob you are so right.

Very often "We District types", only show up when things are not going well. We need to do more to catch people doing things right and let them know it.

Eamonn

[scoutingagain]

My own observation is an unsolicited compliment or pat on the back for a job well done is worth much more than a standard certificate or group thank you. BW provides some good examples. It doesn't cost anything and can be given by anyone.

 

SA

[Twocubdad]

I'll take it back another step. I think we do a poor job of recruiting Chartered Organizations. Time and again I see new units at CO's where the attitude is, "Sure, you can have a Scout unit here as long as I don't have to do anything." They then find a couple of parents who want to help, but not necessarily be in charge (think assistant den leader). A year or two later the result is a bunch of families with a bad taste for Scouting because they were given the promise of Scouting but then had their unit collapse from under them.

 

How many threads have we had here where a core problem is that the CO doesn't feel an ownership in the unit? How many of those COs ever really bought into the idea that they "own" a Scout unit? How many really understand their responsibility toward their unit. Last year our Council tried to schedule the first COR training session in several years. I know it was cancelled once or twice and don't know if it ever took place.

 

I agree that asking for a show of hands is a poor way to recruit unit leaders. But that is essentially how we recruit chartered organizations. Do we ever look to see if an organization is the best one to charter a unit or are they just the first one to raise their hand. Do we press to see that the IH is committed to Scouting or just willing to let the Scout use the facility? Do we dig to see if the unit leaders are enthusiastic and know what they are getting into?

 

If we ask those questions, I'll bet my district would chartered less than one new unit a year. But year in and out, our greatest challenge in meeting our goals is unit recruitment. The problem is not the 2-3 units we need to meet our 2% goal, but the 8-12 units we need to make up for the ones we lost. It becomes cyclical. Weak units fall apart, but in our zeal to reach our goals we replace them with similary weak units.

 

I second what Eamonn said about units needing a White Knight. From my observations locally it seems to me that the units that "get it" have leaders who are passionate and excited about the program -- your White Knight. The poor mom or dad who was willing to help out but suddenly found and entire unit dumped in their lap are going to burn our rather fast.

 

 

[Laurie]

Eamonn asked:

But still we seem to lose a lot of adults.

Is this going on in your area?

What plans do you have to retain new people?

 

I can't speak for the district or council, but in the pack that I serve, I work hard at making sure our den leaders know when training is and encourage them to go, acknowledge their efforts as often as possibly, thank them publicly for taking training (the boys and families should know this, right?), and work alongside them when they need a hand. This is how I view my role as CM, to work with the DLs, and I love doing it. Have we lost anyone this year? No. Instead, I recruited 2 new leaders the past pack year and four new leaders this current pack year. How? I spent time with these people, got to know them--it was all during Cub events--and learned what their frustrations and their hopes were for Cubs. I asked them what they signed their sons up for. I then, after a few conversations, went to them and asked them to consider being a leader. At the time we had no CR, so we were pretty much on our own. That bothered me, and I brought it to our DE's attention and asked for advice--with the CC's blessing for he didn't even know what a CR was yet This led to a simple solution: the other unit at the CO had a CR, so I called him. He was happy to serve this unit too, and he and I had met, and he was trusting my judgement on many of the new leaders--knowing of our conversations. Now, all leaders are trained. They in turn each want to recruit more leaders and more youth. They are excited, motivated, and just super people. Our unit is struggling though, for it is small and we had lower than usual loss in February, but a loss of some youth just the same. Most likely they'll return in the fall, but for now, I'm just glad we have leaders who refuse to give up. You know what really got them excited? Training! We now have the most people at roundtable too, and I have to tell you--roundtable is more of a chat time with announcements than anything else, but it is a valuable time to meet other leaders and brainstorm together on how to improve each unit. Our plans? Simple--keep the focus on building relationships with the adults while developing the best possible Cub program. Only time will tell if this will work, but we're giving it our best shot. This time though, new recruits will be introduced to the CR to meet and to obtain an application from him rather than me.