Setting the tone with a new CSE

[Eagledad]

The more I volunteered at the district and council level, the more my tasks involved working a lot more with volunteers and a lot less with youth. I learned that the patience required for working with different (difficult) volunteer personalities was very strenuous. I have no ideal how pros worked with us all day long 7 days a week.

Barry

[carebear3895]

5 minutes ago, Eagledad said:

 I have no ideal how pros worked with us all day long 7 days a week.

Ibuprofen and energy drinks 

[Eagle94-A1]

Back in the day, Professional Development Level (PDL) 1 had to be done at the 3-4 month mark for 2 weeks. And some DEs didn't make it to that mark. At my PDL-1, one person had her resignation letter already typed and prepared to be submitted after she returned. As CareBear said the reason  she was quitting was a lousy manager,and she felt she deserved a vacation putting up with the lousy manager. 12 to 16 months after PDL-1, was PDL-2 for a week. I know of 2 DEs compatriots went to it, the rest either quit or had it cancelled on them. Do not know of any coworkers going to PDL-3. We also went through 9 DEs and 2 midlevel managers in the 19 months I was a pro.

[carebear3895]

14 hours ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Back in the day, Professional Development Level (PDL) 1 had to be done at the 3-4 month mark for 2 weeks. And some DEs didn't make it to that mark. At my PDL-1, one person had her resignation letter already typed and prepared to be submitted after she returned. As CareBear said the reason  she was quitting was a lousy manager,and she felt she deserved a vacation putting up with the lousy manager. 12 to 16 months after PDL-1, was PDL-2 for a week. I know of 2 DEs compatriots went to it, the rest either quit or had it cancelled on them. Do not know of any coworkers going to PDL-3. We also went through 9 DEs and 2 midlevel managers in the 19 months I was a pro.

we had one person call her Field Director while we were at DOB (the new PDL-1) and told him she wasn't coming back. 

Edited January 9, 2020 by carebear3895

[Jameson76]

14 hours ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Back in the day, Professional Development Level (PDL) 1 had to be done at the 3-4 month mark for 2 weeks. And some DEs didn't make it to that mark. At my PDL-1, one person had her resignation letter already typed and prepared to be submitted after she returned. As CareBear said the reason  she was quitting was a lousy manager,and she felt she deserved a vacation putting up with the lousy manager. 12 to 16 months after PDL-1, was PDL-2 for a week. I know of 2 DEs compatriots went to it, the rest either quit or had it cancelled on them. Do not know of any coworkers going to PDL-3. We also went through 9 DEs and 2 midlevel managers in the 19 months I was a pro.

All you youngsters...really back in the day is was NEI 1 and 2.  Even then you took NEI 1 after 90 - 120 days.  NEI 2 was taken at least a year or so later.  Mine was in Irving, big thing was to go to National Office and see the CSE office

[carebear3895]

21 minutes ago, Jameson76 said:

All you youngsters...really back in the day is was NEI 1 and 2.  Even then you took NEI 1 after 90 - 120 days.  NEI 2 was taken at least a year or so later.  Mine was in Irving, big thing was to go to National Office and see the CSE office

Ours was in Texas as well at Scouting U (formerly the Center for Professional Development), which has just recently closed.  

All entry level professional training has now moved to the Summit. 

[Jameson76]

15 minutes ago, carebear3895 said:

All entry level professional training has now moved to the Summit. 

Lord - no wonder turnover is so high

Hey...join our organization and go to training in WEST VIRGINIA!!

Current slogan: Wild, Wonderful West Virginia

According to its tourism website, West Virginia is a place to make childhood memories. Slightly blurry, distant memories that likely end in a trip to the ER, which turn out to be pretty great memories after all, when you're taking off your shirt and answering onlookers' questions about those wild, wonderful surgical scars criss-crossing your torso.
 

Better slogan: Only Makes You Stronger

[PACAN]

Thanks carebear3895 and Eagle94 and Jameson for your info.

This inability to retain professionals (good ones anyway) is something critical the new CSE needs to fix asap.  Of course he has no control of the council's personnel actions.  We have gone through so many DEs the volunteers joke about "he won't be here long).    

Maybe they need to use the same model used to hire Mr. Mosby and use that to hire SEs from outside the organization especially for failing councils and/or mergers about to come.

 

 

[Jameson76]

5 minutes ago, PACAN said:

We have gone through so many DEs the volunteers joke about "he won't be here long).    

 

Same here on the DE churn, we really do not get attached to them.

Going back about 12 years

DE left, position open for 6 months, new DE was in position about a year, got promoted, new DE was there for about a year, left, position open for 6 months, new DE was there for about a year, left, position open for 6 months, new DE was there for about a 6 months, left, position open for 6 months, new DE was there for about a year, left, position open for 6 months, new DE was there for about a 6 months, left, position open for 6 months, new DE was there for about a year, left, position open for 6 months, new DE was there for about a 6 months, left, position open for 6 months, new DE was there for about a 6 months, left, position open for 6 months, now the new DE has been moved from another district, so we'll see how long they last.

The one a few back (sort of lost count) some of our Scouts on camp staff met when they came up to summer camp, we never actually met them.  They were gone by November of that year.

[carebear3895]

23 minutes ago, Jameson76 said:

Lord - no wonder turnover is so high

Hey...join our organization and go to training in WEST VIRGINIA!!

Current slogan: Wild, Wonderful West Virginia

According to its tourism website, West Virginia is a place to make childhood memories. Slightly blurry, distant memories that likely end in a trip to the ER, which turn out to be pretty great memories after all, when you're taking off your shirt and answering onlookers' questions about those wild, wonderful surgical scars criss-crossing your torso.
 

Better slogan: Only Makes You Stronger

Better yet, the training staff is still based in Dallas...LOL. Every month they have to fly out now for a week away from family. 

I wonder what genius thought THAT was a good idea. 

[Eagle94-A1]

1 hour ago, Jameson76 said:

All you youngsters...really back in the day is was NEI 1 and 2.  Even then you took NEI 1 after 90 - 120 days.  NEI 2 was taken at least a year or so later.  Mine was in Irving, big thing was to go to National Office and see the CSE office

I don't remember who it is, but someone on here did their entry level professional training at Schiff Scout Reservation back when national HQ was in NJ.

Yep seeing the national HQ and CSE's office were big things for me too. What was coincidental was one of my council's camporee chiefs sent a letter and rope for the CSE tie into a square so that it could be awarded as a prize. The letter and rope were on his desk.

40 minutes ago, carebear3895 said:

Ours was in Texas as well at Scouting U (formerly the Center for Professional Development), which has just recently closed.  

All entry level professional training has now moved to the Summit. 

I was told new DEs now have to do a lot of online modules prior to attending, and that the course is only a week now.

9 minutes ago, Jameson76 said:

Same here on the DE churn, we really do not get attached to them.

We also go through DEs and have major vacancies.

I was a DE 22 years ago. My immediate replacement lasted approx. 3 months. He didn't make it to PDL1. His replacement lasted about 2 years, had a nervous breakdown with the stress of the job, and left. There was no replacement for about a year. Since 2004,  have had 2 dedicated DEs. The rest were either DE's having us as an additional district or DDs/FDs covering the vacant  territory. We currently have not had a full time dedicated DE since 2010

[carebear3895]

4 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

I was told new DEs now have to do a lot of online modules prior to attending, and that the course is only a week now.

Yup. About 11 "weeks" of stare at the computer training then 1 week of in-person. 

4 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

I was a DE 22 years ago. My immediate replacement lasted approx. 3 months. He didn't make it to PDL1. His replacement lasted about 2 years, had a nervous breakdown with the stress of the job, and left. There was no replacement for about a year. Since 2004,  have had 2 dedicated DEs. The rest were either DE's having us as an additional district or DDs/FDs covering the vacant  territory. We currently have not had a full time dedicated DE since 2010

And folks wonder why membership keeps dropping....We can't keep the people whose job it is to literally recruit new Scouts. 

[sri_oa161]

We had a DE once, who came to our camporee to visit.  He was not on the books yet until Monday morning.  He went to the office that Monday for a staff meeting.  He and the other DEs went to lunch.  He left and was never heard from again.

[an_old_DC]

1 hour ago, Jameson76 said:

Same here on the DE churn, we really do not get attached to them.

Going back about 12 years

DE left, position open for 6 months, new DE was in position about a year, got promoted, new DE was there for about a year, left, position open for 6 months, new DE was there for about a year, left, position open for 6 months, new DE was there for about a 6 months, left, position open for 6 months, new DE was there for about a year, left, position open for 6 months, new DE was there for about a 6 months, left, position open for 6 months, new DE was there for about a year, left, position open for 6 months, new DE was there for about a 6 months, left, position open for 6 months, new DE was there for about a 6 months, left, position open for 6 months, now the new DE has been moved from another district, so we'll see how long they last.

The one a few back (sort of lost count) some of our Scouts on camp staff met when they came up to summer camp, we never actually met them.  They were gone by November of that year.

Same story here, with one noticeable difference. No matter when a DE quits, our council will leave the role vacant for the rest of that calendar year so they can use the funds budgeted for that person's salary elsewhere and continue to meet yearend financial numbers without going over budget. The problem is that when a DE quits in March, for example, a district wont have a DE until next January.

[an_old_DC]

1 hour ago, sri_oa161 said:

We had a DE once, who came to our camporee to visit.  He was not on the books yet until Monday morning.  He went to the office that Monday for a staff meeting.  He and the other DEs went to lunch.  He left and was never heard from again.

Our council had a string of DEs quit because they didn't want to camp at district camporees and such. Council no longer requires DEs to camp at their district events. They may show up for a couple hours on a Saturday but that's it.