the same indoc classes, versus tracking multiple new ...... Step 7: Follow-up .... or volunteer ahead of time so they ca
HOW WE RECRUIT AND RETAIN U.S. NAVAL SEA CADET CORPS IN FOCUS: GROWING OUR UNITS
Learn about our recruiting and retention best practices.
Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Recruiting 20 Retention 28 Resources
28 Ten Cadets in 30 Days
31 Communications and Social Media
34 Sample Training Plan
36 Planning Worksheet 38 Questionnaire 39 Thank you
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LTJG ADAM GLAYSHER, NSCC
HOW WE
FOCUS ON: GROWING OUR UNITS Introduction So you’re a unit commanding officer, department head, or supporting parent auxiliarist, and you’re looking for answers or advice on how to recruit new cadets or, just as importantly, how to keep the ones you have. NSCC Regulations, Chapter 5, Section 0530 states that each unit has a minimum enrollment requirement of 25 Sea Cadets. But if your unit isn’t there yet, how can you reach that number? This guide can help you achieve those goals. In the Sea Cadet community, we often say that once a unit achieves a certain number of cadets, it will gain momentum and be able to recruit and retain membership with relative ease. But how do we reach this important tipping point? How do successful units convert interest into enrollment? How do our most vibrant units keep their cadets interested and engaged? The answer: it takes thoughtful hard work. In 2015, 84 of our top thinkers shared their experiences about what works and what doesn’t by participating in a 33-question survey. This guide reflects the results of that survey. This is not intended to be a manual. No single method is appropriate for every unit. This guide identifies some practices for units to implement to increase recruiting and retention based on their particular circumstances, within the program’s national standards and regulations. These practices have been selected nationally to help you build and maintain your unit. You will even find contradictory suggestions on how to do things because what works for one unit, may not work for another. If one method proves ineffective, try another until you discover the right solution.
Characteristics of Strong Units In the past, we have discussed the characteristics of high-performing units. The consistent trait among strong units — and the key to success in retaining your cadets — is a well-run, high-quality training program. We asked our regional directors to identify one or two characteristics most often shared within their top units. Such characteristics ranged from good leadership and a strong sense of teamwork to an exciting and diverse training program. The list, which we share on page 5, is a great thought provoker. This guide is intended to advance those ideas and to encourage further conversation.
Recruiting Without Retention is Meaningless We can analogize recruiting and retention to an airplane that is about to take off. Recruiting is like jumping into the cockpit, starting the engine and getting the plane off the ground. Retention is the flight itself; all the way through to landing at the destination. In other words, retaining our cadets enables us to turn them into engaged, committed, and passionate leaders during their time in the program. Recruiting and retention are equally important; without either one, your unit will not meet its long-term goals. The number one way to ensure high retention is to keep your cadets interested and motivated to return to drills. One officer described the connection in this way: “I build big numbers by putting on a high-quality program. I don’t deliberately focus on recruiting. Instead, I devote my time to retaining my high-performing cadets by giving them substantial training, exciting drills and meaningful leadership opportunities ... If the cadets aren’t recommending us on their initiative, I will try to figure out why ... and fix that issue instead.” We will review recruiting and retention with this natural and significant linkage in mind. In this guide, we share the best practices for recruiting and retention as directly sourced from you — our hard-working volunteers at the unit- and regional-levels.
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MIDN ALICIA GAVIN, NSCC
INTRODUCTION
RECRUITING
“My ‘strategy’ is to not focus on recruiting but instead develop better training opportunities and a public image. That leads to recruiting on its own.”
In the recruiting world, the most effective source is a personal referral by a cadet or his or her parents. A cadet is the most valuable recruiting tool. A cadet who is challenged and excited will recruit for you. There are already a few recruiting incentives available to encourage your cadets to send referrals your way. Three for Free Program
This program is almost as much of a reward for the parents as it is for the cadets. During your initial meeting with the parents, share that their cadet can earn this reward by recruiting three cadets. During your discussion about what to look forward to and what to expect, remind them the cadet may attend a recruit training or an advanced training for free. This incentive will encourage the parents to share the program with their co-workers, relatives, and friends, in hopes of recruiting others. The economic incentive is particularly beneficial in economically challenged areas. Push this program to your families who are worried about paying for training — especially the crucial Recruit Training. Of course, share that some trainings are exempt, and at times, we don’t have funding to cover the program. Even if they can’t use the certificate immediately, they can keep it in their back pocket for future training. Many cadets find it rewarding to contribute to their family by “paying their own way” to go to training. As a program, we teach self-reliance and personal integrity. We recommend using the Three for Free program as an important developmental step in your cadet’s journey to become responsible for his or her personal success.
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HOW WE
Characteristics of Strong Units • Exemplify good leadership from the top down; promote a sense of teamwork and purpose among unit members. • Participate in fun activities and get out of the classroom setting. This leads to public exposure. • Embrace joint training with other groups/organizations to break the monotony. • Promote active recruiting programs. Have cadets “bring a buddy” for their first orientation visit with the unit. • Empower cadets. Give cadets a specific position and responsibility and hold them accountable for executing their duties.
Recruiting Incentive Ribbon
The Recruiting Incentive Ribbon is a natural outcome of the Three for Free program. The requirement for the first results in the second. Napoleon Bonaparte said, “A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon.” This statement is true only if that bit of “colored ribbon” is given esteem. Among engaged leaders, the Recruiting Incentive Ribbon is thought to be the most important ribbon a Sea Cadet can earn. To encourage cadets to recruit, place value on the ribbon. How can you do this? When a cadet earns this ribbon, call the individual forward and make a speech about the ribbon’s importance to the unit. In your speech, highlight how great cadets are also great recruiters. Be certain your unit knows recruiting new enrollees — both cadets and adults — is a hallmark of leadership. The importance of the ribbon in your units will directly reflect on your recruiting effectiveness. During annual inspections, one of our regional directors asks cadets, “What is the most important ribbon a cadet can earn?” The correct answer is the Recruiting Incentive Ribbon. Create a culture of recruiting and recognize all those who recruit.
So, you’re interested in joining…
In a one-year period, we received 10,360 referrals through www.seacadets.org. We don’t need to tell you that our program did not grow by 10,000 cadets that year. So, what gives?
“It’s not you; it’s me…”
Inquiries may not always convert to enrollments. It’s easy to complete a short form online and submit it. For many, it doesn’t require much consideration. Perhaps they were only slightly interested, or after an initial conversation, they decided it wasn’t for them. Maybe they neglected to provide accurate contact information. These things are out of our control. In this section, we identify what we can control when it comes to converting interest to enrollments.
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BEST PRACTICE #1:
Establish guidelines for response times and enlist people to help you. Put thought into your response strategy and implement measures to help you meet your goals. Responsiveness to Referrals
How does your unit process referrals? Do you have a member of your staff designated to handle online inquiries? Every referral in your unit’s inbox should receive a prompt reply. The feedback we received on referrals varied. Some units talked about their struggle to convert interest into enrollment, while others seemed to have the secret formula. Across the board, the consensus was that in-person referrals, or referrals brought in by a cadet or parent, were the most successful. This makes sense because these individuals tend to have a more complete picture of what they are signing up for and have given it thoughtful consideration. Regardless of the types of referrals — in-person or online — the unit’s level of responsiveness can be a determining factor in the enrollment of volunteers and cadets. An officer connects responsiveness to professionalism: “Every inquiry gets a personal reply — that is just being polite! The NSCC is representative of the business practices, operational procedures, and standards of the U.S. Navy… We must represent that standard (real or perceived) without failure… Replying to an inquiry is just plain non-negotiable to me. Everyone gets a reply.”
Online Inquiries
An easy way to handle this type of referral is to direct everyone to an email account created by your unit to handle incoming inquiries. Consider creating an account with a name like
[email protected]. (For information on how to set up a @seacadets.org address, visit http://homeport.seacadets.org/display/Web/Email+Support.) Post this email address on your website, on social media, and in any message advertising your unit to an outside audience. Assign a team member to monitor this account and be responsible for incoming messages. Once this account has been set up, create an automatic response message with answers to most of the fundamental questions. This way incoming emails will receive an immediate response. This serves a two-fold purpose: it answers the most common questions quickly and efficiently and most importantly, it keeps the prospective member engaged. In our digital world, people expect immediate replies. Be sure to monitor the incoming emails for questions that are not answered in the automatic message, and respond personally to each message promptly. You will hurt your credibility by not responding to messages promptly; assign someone diligent to monitor the account and track interest.
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Thoughts from the Field “First, we send an informational email about the unit and who we are. Then about a week out, if there hasn’t been a reply via email, we follow up with a phone call. We explain more and make sure they received our email. And about one to two weeks before our scheduled indoc we send one more email.”
“Contact should be attempted within 48 hours of referral. At least three attempts at contact should be made within one month if the parent or prospective cadet does not reply to initial contact. Work with the parent to establish if there are any impediments to enrollment, e.g., offer payment plan for financial difficulty.”
“Here’s what HASN’T worked: only using emails as follow-up ... Emailing and asking for a good time to call really seems to be the best.”
PO2 MARTIN L. CASEY, USN
Why We Do It
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BEST PRACTICE #2:
Evaluate if your unit should have open enrollment throughout the year or only recruit and admit cadets at specific times of year. To reach a wider audience, consider posting your recruitment details on social media. Read more about the role of social media in recruiting on page 32.
Referrals come in year-round for most units. You should carefully consider your enrollment strategy. Does your unit have “open enrollment” all year along, or do you only recruit and admit cadets at specific times of the year? In our questionnaire, we asked respondents to identify their enrollment best practices. There were compelling arguments to be made for both open enrollment and specific enrollment periods. Most respondents agreed that the fall, or beginning of the school year, was the best time to recruit, followed by the January and February timeframe. The best time to recruit is when the new recruit has enough time to prepare for Recruit Training. An officer described the fall recruitment period as being ideal: “With many regions now offering Winter Recruit Training, this is a great shotgun approach to getting them in the program and departing for RT within 90 days!” Many of you told us you recommend staying away from recruiting cadets in the May/June-timeframe. An officer explains why: “The very worst time to recruit is late May or early June, which is unfortunately when many parents start thinking about what their kid is going to be doing over the summer. If they join then, they are ill-prepared or ineligible to attend Recruit Training in time to go out and do a fun advanced training to ensure retention.” Some argued that unit demographics have a direct impact on this decision. In localities with smaller populations, open enrollment may be the best practice. One officer states: “We are in a very rural area of northwest central Maine where there are a very limited number of potential
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recruits, and it would not behoove us to only allow enrollment at specific times; we would lose potential recruits.” The decision may hinge on the size of the unit. Open enrollment may work best for smaller units, while for larger units, bringing in groups of potential cadets to run an indoc company may be the best way to approach enrollment. Regardless of your unit’s size or demographics, let’s consider the best practices for each approach. Specific Enrollment Period An officer describes his unit’s strategy: “We accept new cadets into recruit classes three times a year: January, April, and September. We have a four-month indoctrination program that takes new Sea Cadets through the E-2 PQS and BMR. League Cadets start their syllabus. On average, we have 10 to 15 new cadets join at a time. The enrollment day set on an off-drill day, usually two weeks ahead of the next scheduled drill. New recruits are assigned to the X-Ray Division, led by a senior petty officer who reports to the training officer. Over the course of their first four months, recruits learn the basic skills to survive as a cadet. Also, we require cadets to complete their BMR to graduate out of X-Ray Division to the regular unit. The desired outcome is that after four months, recruits will advance to Seaman Apprentice (Temporary).
HOW WE
Thoughts from the Field “We typically contact a prospect within three days of receiving a referral... If we are more than a month from the next recruiting day, we will arrange to meet one-on-one with the prospect and his or her parents, usually at a Starbucks, to discuss the program and application and close the sale. We put them on the path to arranging the medical exam and starting the BMR with the goal that they will sign up on the recruiting day. Although it is a bit of a burden to meet one-on-one, we have found that this creates a sense of reciprocity and is a time investment that pays off in the end with an enrollment.”
“I have done both [specific and open enrollment] in the past and find that the cyclic enrollment process in January, April and September works best.”
This strategy has increased retention during the first year because cadets join as a group and therefore, have an immediate peer group and support system. This also allows us to deliver a focused and organized indoctrination program that sets expectations for new cadets and shows tangible results in a relatively short time, namely getting sign-offs on the PQS, finishing the BMR, and earning rate in just four months.
But don’t cadets lose interest if they are only able to enroll at certain times of the year? Not necessarily. You must have a good plan for maintaining those interested during the waiting period, so you do not lose them. In the interim period, the units get prospective cadets involved by having them work on their BMR or syllabus. By the time indoc rolls around, cadets are ready to enroll. The waiting period is actually a processing period.
The efficiency of this strategy cannot be overstated. Since eliminating open enrollments, we have reduced the stress of continuously having to process enrollments and issue uniforms during a normal drill. This also has put us on a regular schedule for reenrollments and issuing ribbons. We don’t accept new recruits during the summer since new cadets must be members before May 1st to attend boot camp. As a positive side effect, we don’t have to worry about memberships expiring mid-summer, possibly preventing a training request from being processed in Magellan. The obvious efficiency is having 10 new cadets going through the same indoc classes, versus tracking multiple new cadets at various stages of indoc.”
Open Enrollment Many people felt strongly that enrollment should be open year-round. Regardless of a unit’s size or location, many respondents felt it was important to capture the interest of a prospective recruit rather than make them wait. One instructor states, “Millennials expect instant results. They may lose interest if you don’t have open enrollment.”
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For open enrollment, create a plan on how to get the new recruit involved on day one. Don’t wing it. Have a process in place to make the cadet feel welcome, engaged, and aware of the next step. Ensure someone like a senior cadet or an adult staff member is working closely with the cadet to make sure they are aware of the online resources, when
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they will be issued their uniforms, have established goals for their BMRs, how to plan for RT and other unit milestones. Without that, it’s easy to get lost in the crowd. Also, consider that you have to be aware of your training program to prioritize the cadets you already have while you recruit on a rolling basis.
Bottom Line
Surely there are benefits to both practices and it’s important for a new unit to consider these factors when making this decision. Because NHQ doesn’t have an open enrollment period posted, parents and cadets may assume they can enroll at any time. Work closely with your regional directors and inform them whether you have open enrollment or defined enrollment periods so they can effectively process incoming referrals. If open enrollment is not working for you, we encourage you to try the other approach for a year and see if it helps you reach your recruitment goals.
MIDN ALICIA GAVIN, NSCC
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HOW WE
BEST PRACTICE #3:
Involve parents in meaningful ways, especially as volunteers. This may mean that you need to do a little digging to figure out what works for them and what their special talents are, but involved parents are key indicators of a successful unit. The Role of Parents
We asked you to evaluate the importance of regional directors, cadets, and parents to the recruiting process and the vast majority of respondents felt parents were the most important element of the three.
Why are parents essential to recruiting?
As one officer summarized: “Parents will provide additional word-of-mouth recruiting if their child has a positive experience. If not, they will only talk about the negatives with their friends and co-workers.” Parents are natural advocates for the program if your unit provides them with reasons to be enthustiastic. Feedback and creating a positive unit environment are also crucial. If you or other officers complain about how busy you are, how much you spend out of pocket, all the paperwork, cadets quitting and not appreciating the work you do, you will not encourage parents to continue to support their cadets in the program. On the other hand, if you take the time to take constructive feedback and understand the difference that Sea Cadets makes in the life of their children, they will be commmitted to the program — and you may even have shot at recruiting them as volunteers.
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Parents as Volunteers
Parents frequently play an essential role in recruiting as volunteers. A parent who is involved as a volunteer is even more likely than other cadet parents to share their positive experience with others, acting as a natural recruiter for not only cadets, but additional adult volunteers. Our survey respondents had some great ideas on how to encourage parents to volunteer, with the common theme, “JUST ASK!” During enrollment, you can request that parents complete a short survey about their background and how they can contribute. Some parents may not like the commute to and from drill; show them they can save time and gas by staying and helping. Appeal first to the strengths and interests they express. However, when a parent of a newly enrolled cadet shows interest in volunteering, consider not having the parent join the same day as the cadet, if you can spare the help. This will allow the cadet to get up-to-speed and comfortable in the unit before a parent comes aboard. It also contributes to the cadet’s sense of independence. Some parents also may be current or former service members looking for volunteer opportunities. Many are proud of their uniformed service and see the Sea Cadet
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Thoughts from the Field “I hold parent meetings and also address parents at the conclusion of a drill weekend. My staff has three adults who are my XO, admin, and finance officers. These adults no longer have children in the program, but actively participate because of what we’ve done for their children and they want to help the next group of cadets. I recruit parents according to their skills and our needs.”
“We are a remote unit. We encourage parents to stay and help when they get there and not waste gas money driving back and forth.” “We have found that if we have a specific task or need, parents are more willing to volunteer.”
“I make sure to meet people at awards ceremonies and follow up with people who I think would fit in with my team. I also look for potential volunteers when the cadets come in for their interview. Former military and obviously nice people get my interest.”
Why We Do It
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HOW WE ENS ELAINE TORRES, NSCC
program as a way to use some of their knowledge to help America’s youth. They can share and use their experience, which is very rewarding. Beyond service members and veterans, look for parents who appear to be busy people who already volunteer. Busy people have a sense of purpose in their lives and good time management skills, making them ideal for the program. If you have the ability to slowly and incrementally add volunteers to your division, let them work their way to earn more responsibilities. Let them initially assist with supply or administrative duties such as the follow-up phone calls and emails we’ve mentioned in this guide. Let them observe how your operations ALLISON LUCERNE officer runs the drill or how your training officer develops lessons. If they are good with a camera, let them photograph cadets in action and update your social media accounts and website with their photos. Let them grow into your command rather than “burn out” within the first six months. When parents see how this program helps their child, it imbues them with the same joy we experience when we see cadets succeed. For most, this is the biggest reward — and your opportunity to grow your unit in both cadets and volunteers. Order a few extra copies of Sea Cadet Quarterly and put them in the hands of an interested parent and say, “This! This is why we do what we do. I hope you can spread the word — or decide to join us.”
Survey Results Do you put more effort into recruiting or retention? Or both equally?
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BEST PRACTICE #4:
You must carefully consider several factors when establishing your enrollment fee. How much do you need to charge in order to operate the unit and outfit the cadet? Charge the cadet something to join. Cadets with “skin in the game” make stronger commitments. The Role of the Enrollment Fee in Recruiting Your unit must charge a sufficient enrollment fee to cover the expenses of adding a new recruit and training them for the first year. You cannot lose money every time you take in a recruit. Unless you are particularly wellsupported by your sponsoring organization, this will mean an enrollment fee of some kind. The question is, “How much?” Contrary to popular belief, charging a higher enrollment fee may actually be a positive recruiting technique. One officer described the enrollment fee as part of the recruiting and retention process. Cadets need to have ‘skin in the game.’ The fee is a means to create some buy-in where they place value on the program because it costs them to enroll the cadet. You can use payment plans to show you are willing to work with them, or try to help them get a partial scholarship, but always try to get them to pay something to join. Don’t be afraid to charge parents what it actually costs you to bring their child into the program and deliver a quality experience. In a world where sports, dance, theater, and other extracurricular activities require thousands of dollars per year, a few hundred dollars towards a program that has tangible
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benefits for their child’s future is hardly excessive. Families need to know about the first year’s expenses, so please make sure you are fully aware of what those expenses are and set your fees accordingly after factoring in the amount of financial support you can expect from your sponsor(s). This fee should cover not only the cost of your unit’s enrollment fee but also the costs for uniforms. Additionally, families should be informed of the costs to attend that important first training: Recruit Training or Navy League Orientation. Because prices change over time, tell them what the approximate cost has been in recent years. If the family indicates that the fee may be problematic, help them come up with budgeting options. Remember, the cadet will be fed and housed for one to two weeks at training. After that, think about where there might be room in the budget. Going to the movies? How many movies could they skip to pay for the training? What about going out for dinner? There is nothing wrong with the cadet helping to pay by doing odd jobs like mowing lawns, raking leaves, and babysitting. Cadets can even reach out
HOW WE
Thoughts from the Field “Charging $250 makes parents think twice before committing. They are more likely to take this seriously if the enrollment fee is high. … If Sea Cadets is a priority, the family will find a way.”
“If cadets do not pay an enrollment fee… they never stick around long.”
Don’t forget:
The Regional Director and NHQ Rep have approval authority over the amount of the enrollment fee (NSCC Regulations 1251.4). PHOTO: PO3 ALLISON BRANAM, NSCC
to grandparents, aunts, and uncles and ask for money as their birthday and holiday gifts. You can help families get creative. If you adequately prepare these families and empower them to plan for these expenses in advance, you help ensure their cadet doesn’t lose motivation and quit. Once the cadet is going to trainings your ability to retain them increases. Additionally, by making your enrollment fee enough to cover your unit expenses, you remove the disincentive of not recruiting new cadets due to the unit’s financial strain. A survey respondent goes on to say, “Our unit is in a rural area and lots of cadets are on free or reduced lunches. Our enrollment fees cover the cost to NHQ, the full set of uniforms, ribbons, and administrative costs for the first year. Recruiting a new cadet isn’t a financial burden on the unit, and a new cadet is fully outfitted with what they need. They have skin in the game and we have our
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expenses covered.” Be aware, however, that if your unit is a registered 501(c) (3), you cannot grant enrollment fee waivers to individual cadets. Doing so violates the IRS Code because unit money must be spent for the unit’s needs, not those of an individual cadet. For more information, see Information Letter 12-14. There was a general concensus that cadets should pay to join, however, some survey respondents felt the reverse was true and that it should be a priority to reduce the overall cost to the cadet. The unit will need to keep this balance in mind. The best practice is to ensure all cadets pay an enrollment fee, but units should get a clear picture of who may need financial assistance or a creative solution to reduce or prepare for the fee.
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BEST PRACTICE #5:
Consider what motivates cadets in different age groups and design your approaches accordingly. When asked if there were a difference in how they recruit League Cadets versus Sea Cadets, the majority of our respondents said their recruiting approach is the same for both. However, we believe that to appeal to all age groups you need to consider what motivates cadets at various ages. A 10-year-old might not yet be thinking about what they want to do after high school, but they may be very interested in what they can do that summer. On the other hand, a 16-year-old who wants to join the Navy might be intensely interested in learning about a certain career field and working toward earning an advanced paygrade after enlistment. When recruiting younger cadets, consider having a current League Cadet available to answer their questions. Go to events that might be attended by their age group, and talk to them about the advantages former League Cadets have once advanced to the Sea Cadet program. Having Navy League Orientation and an Advanced Training under your belt can make a big difference when it is time to go to Recruit Training as a Sea Cadet.
Recruiting — and subsequent training — should be tailored to the age of the potential recruits. One officer talks about their unit’s efforts to address this issue: “We are establishing a separate League Cadet training program. There will be times that the entire division trains together, but younger minds are interested in different things, and we want to avoid being repetitive.” One officer states: “Yes, the focus and training opportunities are different, so the message has to be different. For NLCC, I focus on the training syllabus, Navy League Orientation, and Advanced Training. For NSCC, I ask them what they want to do as an adult, and then I try to match that to what the NSCC can provide them to meet that goal.” If you are a small unit starting out and have staffing limitations that prevent you from delivering separate training, it may be beneficial for you to focus on recruiting a narrower age group of cadets.
Your message to prospective League Cadets should be, “Let’s have fun!” Your message to prospective Sea Cadets should be, “Let’s have fun with a purpose for your future!”
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Thoughts from the Field “League Cadets were often the younger siblings, friends, or other relatives of Sea Cadets. In honesty, the greater emphasis was on recruitment of Sea Cadets and to a lesser degree, the League Cadets. We did have approximately 20 League Cadets at one point; they were not actively recruited, but came as a result of what they learned about the program from enrolled Sea Cadets.”
“With League Cadets, it is definitely about describing the ‘fun’ activities we do. With Sea Cadets, especially as they are closer to high school graduation, it is more about learning skills they can use when entering the Navy or through building life skills.”
“Young people are being challenged by peer pressure at a younger age than ever before. By enrolling League Cadets, we contribute even more to society as a whole, and to a better future for those who participate in our program.”
Why We Do It
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BEST PRACTICE #6:
How to Enroll People Who Will Enrich Your Unit Recruiting the right people goes a long way in increasing retention numbers. After reading our survey, some strong patterns emerged.
Put thought into whom you recruit. Interview both the prospective cadet and his or her parents. You want to see excitement and motivation from the family — not someone being pushed into another activity.
1. NSCC Regulations 0620.1 requires a parent interview. Interview both the parent(s) and the prospective cadet before enrollment. But don’t do all the talking. Ask a lot of open-ended questions like, “Why are you interested in Sea Cadets?” Listen for clues about maturity or commitment. Be wary of parents who are expecting you to fix disciplinary problems. Find out if the parent is more interested in the program than the prospective cadet. Look for engagement and excitement from all parties. 2. Explain that this isn’t a babysitting service or a behavior modification program. 3. Make sure they observe at least one drill prior to enrollment. They need to know what to expect. If they just saw an ad or a newspaper article, but haven’t been to drill, they have no idea what they are getting into. (Remember, they can only observe before enrollment and cannot participate in any physical activities until after enrollment. This is due to our liability/insurance coverage.) 4. Make sure the parents know this is a commitment. They need to get their cadet to drills, there is “homework” with the correspondence courses, and they will need to budget for things like Recruit Training and Advanced Training. There will be community service and patriotic events. They need to know there is a significant, although not burdensome commitment to enrolling with the Sea Cadets. 5. Don’t focus only on the numbers. Bringing aboard a cadet who isn’t ready or doesn’t want to be in the program can negatively affect your entire command which may result in cadet loss. 6. Be honest about the commitment and expectations of the program. Cadets must know they are expected to exercise self-discipline, to make the effort to advance by doing course work, PT, and trainings. Don’t sugarcoat it, but you don’t have to overdo it either. This program attracts goal-driven cadets and parents who want to see their kids succeed. Speaking about success and the requirements for how to succeed in the program will naturally draw potential enrollees.
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Thoughts from the Field “We tell people upfront that we need to interview them. I’ll even say, ‘I don’t think your child is ready yet’ or ‘I don’t think your child is as excited as you are about the program.’ If I feel that someone is looking for an excuse not to join — I’ll even agree with them. I don’t try to convince anyone to join. I only want the people who want to be with us.”
“We require a one-page essay and an in-person interview with each candidate. At the interview, we carefully explain the mutual expectations (what you can expect from us and what we will expect from you). ... We make it really clear that their attendance is tracked, as is their completion of mandatory annual training/course requirements.”
“We are starting to really pay attention to cadets who seem to be hesitant about joining. If it seems to be more the parent’s idea than the cadet’s, it sends up a red flag. Most of those types of recruitments don’t last long.” PHOTO: MIDN ALICIA GAVIN, NSCC
Why We Do It
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ENS SHANNON WARD, NSCC19
INTRODUCTION
RETENTION How do you keep a cadet who graduated from RT in early July interested and enrolled until the following summer? They may not go on another training for a year. How can you bridge that gap?
You are a new unit and have successfully recruited 15 cadets. You’re feeling pretty good about that number for your first year, but after about six months, you start to notice that cadets aren’t participating in the drills. They aren’t bringing their friends either. You wait. A few months later, you’re down to only eight cadets consistently participating. You may start to panic and ask, what am I doing wrong? What does it take to get a cadet from recruitment to successful retention? It requires a great training plan, cadets who are motivated to meet their goals, good communication, and plenty of opportunities to practice leading. We spoke with volunteers about retention, and there were astounding consistencies among their responses. The common thread to retaining your cadets is to provide a vibrant, interesting, and professionally-managed training program to keep them coming back — with their interested friends in tow.
Part of the Team
What does success look like? We asked our units at what point they consider a cadet a successful recruit. Some ask for a minimum commitment, like one year or 90 days, and others cited meeting rate or training goals as the barometer for success. One officer said: “The key to retention is to always have goals for cadets to meet.” Another officer stated: “I consider a cadet a successful recruitment when they make seaman. This way, if nothing else, they can start in the Navy as an E-3 and make more money. I’ve taught them how to set goals and achieve them. They’ve gotten a little more responsibility and respect. It’s a good goal.” Sometimes less tangible measurements are the best indicators for successful retention. Another officer explained, “I consider a recruitment successful when cadets achieve all they want to achieve out of the Sea Cadet program.” If you are struggling to keep cadets interested, take a step back and look at the following four things: what you do at drill every month, how you help your cadets meet their goals, how you communicate with them, and how you provide them with opportunities to lead.
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BEST PRACTICE #7:
Cultivate an exciting training plan using the talents of your staff and inputs from your cadets. Mix things up and keep it interesting. Among our survey respondents, an exciting training plan was the most essential element to high retention. • Make a plan, based on the known and predictable milestones, like promotion deadlines, summer training, winter training, annual inspection, etc. • Set expectations for the cadets, and make sure cadets are prepared for those milestones. Hold an indoc for RT, conduct seabag inspections, review and submit Magellan and paperwork requirements for trainings, and make sure they are finishing correspondence courses. • Get them to the trainings they want, and help them get the promotions and awards they deserve. • Take advantage of what they learned when they get back from trainings — have them teach others! • In between preparing them for the milestones — and especially after they have achieved them — reward them with fun, interesting, engaging activities that still contribute to self-confidence, self-discipline, accountability, teamwork, leadership, and patriotism. It’s not fun for fun’s sake. • Avoid the same routine every drill. • Avoid the same rotation of classes every month/season/year. Don’t over-do things like knot-tying, Morse code, signal flags, or ship nomenclature, especially for your RT grads. They’ve already learned the basics. • Go outside our standard curriculum. Cadets want to interact with the police, firefighters, EMS, pilots, etc. • Respond to ideas from the cadets, and allow them to set part of the agenda • After setting the agenda, put cadets in charge of cadets and step back. Give them the opportunity to lead. • Give cadets real responsibility and authority, and allow them to make mistakes. Treat them like adults. One midshipman puts it this way: “The unit needs a blend of new and old activities to stay relevant. Ask the cadets what they want to do and, if it is feasible, do it. ... For the month of October, for example, our unit spent one day going through classes, learning drill, and doing the ‘mundane’ stuff. The second day was spent at the local airshow. We try to do something like this every month. If you have a month where there is no ‘fun’ activity possible, be creative with the classes. Fortunately, since I am a student, I have used presentations from my professors and taught them at Sea Cadets. Our unit has talked about thermodynamics and the inner workings of a steam turbine, current affairs between Russia and Ukraine, how to use plotting gear to navigate vessels, and so on. ... Also, keep the cadets engaged. Ask them questions about what you just said or taught. This keeps everyone engaged and interested. To sum it up: Mix it up. Get them engaged.”
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BEST PRACTICE #8:
Get to know your cadets so you can understand what motivates them.
“Twice per year, when I was the Training Officer, I would meet with each cadet to understand their goals in Sea Cadets and what they wanted to do in life. Then I would work to find opportunities for them to develop along those lines with recommended trainings. As XO and CO, I would meet quarterly with my petty officers and chiefs, both as a group and as individuals, to discuss goals and how to balance their growth with the needs of the division.” Tailor the Program to Their Needs
Every cadet joins for a different reason. Some are looking to belong while some want to eventually join the military. Other cadets may know that due to health issues they may never be able to join the military and this is as close as they will ever get. Cadets join to pad their college admissions packets or even start building a resume. And many just want to have fun, be challenged, and do something patriotic. Successful leaders will find out the “why” of each of their cadets and try to help them fulfill their goals. Here are a few of these reasons and suggestions on how to engage cadets.
I want to go to college: Engage your college-bound
cadets by recognizing their academics, introducing them to Naval Academy blue-and-gold officers, inviting NROTC recruiters, and putting cadets in contact with personnel who can help them prepare for college application processes. Make sure your interested cadets know there are alternative routes to commissioning like Officer Candidate School, Officer Development School, and the Seaman to Admiral-21 Program. Encourage these cadets to help others with correspondence courses and make sure they are aware of the scholarship opportunities offered by the NSCC.
I want to go to cool trainings: Few would disagree that our
Recruit and Advanced Trainings are the gem in the crown
I joined for the advanced paygrade when I enlist: Be of our program. Guide your cadets toward training that prepared to share that the Navy allows enlistment at advanced pay grades while other branches may award advanced pay grades for what cadets achieved in Sea Cadets. Try to help these cadets understand what boot camp or recruit training looks like for the respective services. If you have recent alumni who have enlisted in any of our armed services, ask them to come in and give a talk about what cadets can do in preparation for enlistment, or ask them if they would be willing to send emails to cadets considering enlistment.
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matches their expressed interests. Ask around and find the trainings that would best support your cadets’ goals. Get your cadets to read Sea Cadet Quarterly so they can gain inspiration and information about the experiences of other cadets. After summer or winter training, have your cadets give short presentations or briefs on the events they attended.
I want to give back to our country: Match up your patriotic
cadets with Color Guards or Honor Guards. Present them with opportunities for interaction with our veterans.
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Thoughts from the Field “If the cadets are engaged in what they are doing, they’ll be more inclined to stay. I gave them a questionnaire to fill out. It asked what their interests, career goals and expectations of the unit were. That was enlightening to say the least. Since I knew what they were looking for, I geared presentations toward those interests.”
“During their interview for recruitment, I try to find out WHY they like Sea Cadets. I’ll pull them aside at drill and see how their goals are being met. Are they still interested? What trainings do they want to go to in order to fulfill those needs? I just keep it in my head and try to personally connect. If they don’t have a goal they won’t stay around. They will always leave. I talk with them.”
PHOTO: MIDN ALICIA GAVIN, NSCC
PHOTO: LCDR RODEL AGPAOA, NSCC
I want leadership experience: Ensure they work toward
leadership roles and increased responsibilities. All cadets should have the opportunity to lead.
Bottom Line
Find a way to match all that we have to offer with the needs of your cadets. You can also involve your squad leaders here. Have them check in with their cadets to see what is required for promotion. If your senior cadets are doing their job, the cadets in their squad will set promotion goals and achieve them; this keeps cadets engaged and also gives incentive for the squad member to try to outrank the squad leader in the near future.
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BEST PRACTICE #9:
Communication throughout the month is important.
Communicating With Your Sea Cadet Family
We have many units that function like a family. Through social media, they create a warm atmosphere by sharing birthdays and achievements. They are in touch with their cadets on a daily basis, in small and big ways. This type of communication is important. It keeps cadets focused on their milestones throughout the month, while strengthening relationships with one another. Cadets who are engaged, even when they are not at drill or training, are more likely to stick around because they view Sea Cadets as an integral part of their lives. Don’t just talk once a month. Communicate all month long via email and social media. Remember, except for familial relationships, cadets and adult volunteers cannot be “friends” on social media. This is a proactive measure to protect our youth from inappropriate adultchild interactions that cannot be monitored by either the cadet’s parents or a fellow NSCC volunteer.
Having a hard time keeping in touch?
One officer recommends using Microsoft Office 365 for Non-Profits, for free Outlook and Office. He suggests issuing “each cadet and officer an email address and requiring them to use it regularly. That is also tied into a SharePoint site on which we post announcements and required ‘muster’ surveys. The directory makes emailing individual cadets, or groups of cadets, much easier. Each cadet has to log in before each drill and reply if they are coming or not, which greatly helps our staff officers know whom to plan for!” You can learn more about this program, or sign up for a free trial, at https://products. office.com/en-us/nonprofit/office-365-nonprofit.
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Tips from the Field: When creating a unit newsletter, one of our instructors urges you to consider these things: Distribution: All cadets and their families, officers, volunteers, sponsor organization(s) and your regional director should be on the distribution list. Also, include any interested parties or contributors to your unit. It’s important for the sign-up process to be voluntary. Ensure that the recipient has the ability to unsubscribe, if desired. Content: This is the opportunity to keep everyone engaged in your program with activity updates. Make each story very brief and to the point. Include pictures to enhance the story. Focus on the cadets’ great accomplishments stories and experiences from being part of the program. Frequency: A monthly issue associated with a drill works best. It’s important that information is timely. Dated information is not as interesting. Again, it’s all about engagement.
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Thoughts from the Field “Facebook is an excellent tool. We have an open page for recruiting and a closed page for our cadets and parents. ... Every time a cadet completes an assignment, it is posted and the staff, shipmates, and parents praise their efforts... The squad leaders post tips and encouragement.”
“We use social media like Facebook, email, and our website [to communicate]. We never mail anything and rarely make phone calls. Why is this successful? That’s where they are anyway. Meet them where they are.”
PHOTO: ENS SHANNON WARD, NSCC
“Facebook group pages and bulk e-mails sent out through unit COs are usually the primary forms of contact outside drill. Some units have tried using senior cadets to complete phone trees, but have found that it is not being used as successfully or as consistently.”
Why We Do It
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BEST PRACTICE #10:
Provide leadership opportunities to every cadet — give them room to grow.
Every cadet — from your newest League Cadet to your oldest Sea Cadet — should have opportunities to lead. In our military-flavored environment, it’s easy to use seniority and position as the main way to assign leadership opportunity, but there are also plenty of ways to allow for informal leadership opportunities for even more junior cadets. After developing an agenda (with input from your cadets), put cadets in charge of other cadets, even if just in temporary groupings. Step back and observe. In order for cadets to develop leadership skills, they must be given ample opportunity to lead in a practical setting. Our cadets will only become leaders if they are put in positions of responsibility — and given the chance to make mistakes. If you have a cadet who is uncomfortable in their leadership abilities, give them opportunities to learn in situations with lower stakes. To grow their confidence, have them lead a small group, or even a unit initiative. Help them use their strengths, whatever they may be, to their advantage. Ask your cadets who have completed POLA to teach classes on leadership and encourage them to use specific examples to illustrate concepts. Administration is a challenge for every unit. Set the expectation that even your junior cadets can help you stay on top of awards, ribbons, courses, and training. Although oversight by the training officer is crucial, make it clear that it is the responsibility of the cadet to stay on top of their courseload and plan for their next steps in the program. Empower them to rise to that responsibility.
Let’s Talk League Cadets
If your unit has League Cadets and Sea Cadets, we recommend providing specific leadership opportunities for your younger cadets. Invite them to local recruiting events; let them know they share a responsibility in growing the unit. Let them teach some topics. League Cadets can be very impressive when given a chance. League Cadets who advance to the NSCC should continue their growth as leaders. As one officer says, “League Cadets who become Sea Cadets are likely to go the distance — if they continue to be challenged and mentored.” Get creative when training cadets who are long-time members. Encourage them to establish new goals now that they are Sea Cadets and keep them motivated by focusing on achieving them.
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Thoughts from the Field “League Cadets like to prove they are just as good as Sea Cadets (if not better) in some things and I give them every opportunity to do prove just that. When that happens, it tends to motivate the Sea Cadets because they don’t want to be schooled by League Cadets. They step up their game as well. This creates a great Catch-22 effect making everyone work harder and better.”
“The League Cadets who fleet up are often the most likely to go the distance and stay through the end of high school. They often promote faster and are placed into leadership positions earlier due to their experience.”
“We treat them all basically the same. Our League Cadets are involved with the Sea Cadets about 50-60% of the time. Recently, we have planned more separation so we can focus on building them as leaders of the Training Ship.”
Why We Do It
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LTJG LINDA WRIGHT, NSCC
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RESOURCES
“The formula I’ve used since 1986 has withstood the test of time: if you keep the number and variety of activities up, morale will stay up and recruiting and retention will also stay up.”
The 10 Cadets in 30 Days Plan
The 10 Cadets in 30 days plan has been active for a while and is a proven method for growing your unit or Training Ship. This is an update to that plan. Getting a prospect to an orientation meeting means they have either already made the decision to join or are near the tipping point. The goal of the orientation meeting is not to inform, but to close the sale. Most prospects have already investigated the program. They have studied the unit and national websites, and have seen the recruiting video. Units should create a sense of urgency to push prospects into enrolling in the program. Rather than dragging out acceptance to three meetings, have a solid deadline. Provide an incentive for them to enroll on the day of orientation, such as leaving with a PT shirt or first set of uniforms.
Step 1: Motivation
The best time to launch this process is at the beginning of a school year. Prospective cadets are looking for engaging activities and you want to be first on their mind. Additionally, cadets recruited at the beginning of the school year will have the opportunity to attend a winter Recruit Training or League Orientation, which will keep
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them engaged and motivated. We recommend assigning this project to two or three of your hard charging adults and cadets. It is important to get your cadets involved in the recruiting process, as they are natural advocates for the program.
Step 2: Logistics
Choose a date, ideally three weeks ahead, to be used for a “Prospective Cadet Orientation.” Arrange for ample space to hold about 100 people. Request recruiting materials via Magellan. We recommend the following:
- (100) program brochures - (25) copies of Our Year “By the Numbers” - Issues of Sea Cadet Quarterly - Copies of the annual report, if available
If your unit has additional marketing needs, include them in your request for consideration. If you have a nearby unit, consider inviting them to have a presence at your orientation. This way cadets who reside between the two units will have the opportunity to hear from leadership representing both units. Don’t think of
HOW WE
recruiting as a competition with other units; our mission is to expose young people to the ideals of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps. We are on the same team.
Step 3: Research and Preparation
What are the best ways to reach the youth in your community? Hold a brainstorming session with your team, including your cadets, regarding advertising your event. Think about where your target audience gets information, and use your cadets as resources to market the event to their peers.
receive an immediate response. This serves a two-fold purpose: it answers the most common questions quickly and efficiently, while keeping the prospective member engaged. Be sure to monitor the incoming emails for questions that are not answered in the automatic message. You will hurt your credibility by not responding to messages promptly; assign a diligent individual to monitor the account and track interest.
If your website or social media is outdated, now would be a good time to refresh content, so that if a prospective cadet is researching you, he/she will find new and relevant content.
The night before the orientation have a team of cadets and officers contact everyone again with an email or a telephone call (if a telephone number is given). Answer basic questions, but be prepared to say, “That will be covered tomorrow.” Keep the conversation short. You want them to attend the orientation, not develop a final opinion sight unseen.
Step 4: Marketing
Step 6: Orientation
Determine who on your team will oversee marketing the event and ensure that he/she has the correct information and resources necessary. Request that they check in with you once or twice a week in the time leading up to the event.
Be prepared for more people than expected. Have an agenda. Show that you are professionals and that you take management of the program — and the care of the cadets — very seriously. A basic agenda is on page 30.
Information about the event should be posted on the unit’s social media accounts and website, if applicable. These forums should be monitored closely for activity or inquiries. If possible, post flyers in prominent locations in your community and schools. You can download customizable flyers by going to the Chart Your Course branding center on Homeport, and looking under “Promotional Materials.” Consider sending a press release to your local newspapers, reworded for your local unit, on unit letterhead. The point of contact does not need to be the unit commanding officer; it should be the marketing team lead.
Make a personal telephone call or send an email about five days after orientation to each prospective cadets’ parents to see if their son or daughter is interested in joining. Answer specific lingering questions. Ensure they know when to come back, the cost of enrollment and that the physical examination must be completed before enrollment.
Step 5: Handling Inquiries
Be prepared for numerous inquiries. There are a few ways to make this easier for yourself. If you advertise a telephone number, you can create a voicemail message which will answer most of their questions. The easiest way to handle inquiries is by directing everyone to your unit’s email account, created specifically by your unit to handle incoming inquiries. Use this email address in your press release and any other message, advertising your orientation event. Assign a team member or members to monitor this account.
Step 7: Follow-up
Step 8: Enrollment
Try to streamline the enrollment of the recruits into a couple of drills (weekend format) or into the very next month’s drill (monthly format). We do not recommend spreading out the enrollment process. It’s too much paperwork and time, and you may double your unit’s size within a month.
Step 9: Training
It’s much easier to teach saluting once to 10 cadets than to teach it 10 different times. Try to run the new cadets through orientation together. Some units call this “X-Ray” Division. Use this time to teach them information that will be useful during Recruit Training or League Orientation. Don’t let the enthusiasm of the parents and prospective instructors wane. Make sure it is understood that for the program to exist, adults must be present.
Once this account has been set up, create an automatic out-of-office message with answers to most of the fundamental questions. This way incoming emails will
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Ten Cadets in 30 Days Sample Agenda: 1815-1900
1900-1905 1905-1910 1910-1930
1930-1940 1940-2000
2000-2015
Cadet and staff arrive to set up for a 1900 start time. Have basic refreshments available, as well as pictures and marketing materials out for people to see. Cadets should be in uniform and prepared to greet and chat with parents and prospective cadets as they arrive. The arrival period is a great time to strike up conversation and make connections; you want to make sure you are spending this time circulating, not setting up. Provide ample time for everyone to be seated. Welcome aboard. Invite everyone to join in on the presentation of colors and/or Pledge of Allegiance, led by a cadet. Provide a brief orientation to the USNSCC covering what we are and what we aren’t. Be positive and upbeat, but don’t sugarcoat the challenges of being a cadet. “This is not for everyone,” should be heard several times. Emphasize that it is a privilege to be a cadet and only for those who truly want it. Show the recruiting DVD. Try to project the video or at least show it on a large screen so everyone can see. This is your question and answer period. By now, you should have answered most of the common questions. Be prepared and make sure your cadets are prepared for you to direct questions to them. Having cadets answer questions is preferred because they are better able to connect with their peers. Cadets who can think on their feet also speak volumes about the program. End your session on a high note, perhaps with a cadet telling a short story about their experience in the program. Distribute enrollment information. Make sure you have a roster of the participants. Be sure to get names of interested adults. You don’t want to lose parents because no one ever bothered to ask them to get involved. Give instructions on next steps for those who are interested in pursuing membership in the program.
Recruiting Events
How do you make yourself stand out at parades, airshows, and other traditional recruiting opportunities? CPL Kyle Carpenter Division sets themselves apart with an eye-catching booth. The unit reports that it brings a lot of traffic and that the unit nets about five new cadet enrollments a month, as a result. The unit uses it at parades and functions. They do a lot of color guards and try to bring the tent whenever possible. The booth was purchased by their sponsor. This tent was a good investment for the unit because of how active they are in their community. “If a unit is not active this may not be a good solution for them. Our division does a lot of public events, and we get a lot of traffic with the tent. I can’t tell you how many color guard requests we get from it too.” For printing on large surfaces like tents (left), posters, or sail banners (above), your graphic artist will want to use high-resolution vector files. We have made these files available to our units. Our official logo, slogan, and other graphics are available for download in .EPS format on Homeport. (Note: Anytime you are going to pay someone to put the NSCC logo on an object, Vanguard has right of refusal.)
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Communication is about knowing your audience. Put thought into how you communicate with different audiences. While social media is best for communicating with your unit, unit newsletters or blogs may be a better way to reach your sponsors and other community supporters.
What should you share with supporters?
They want to feel good about what they are supporting. Use this opportunity to highlight a fun activity you did during drill, a cadet who just received a scholarship or an appointment to a service academy, or a great project that your cadets worked on in your community. Sharing these things with your supporters makes them feel good about supporting you — and they should! Get parents to sign up for the newsletter, too, so they can witness first-hand the good the unit is doing.
Use the tools available to you.
Encourage your sponsors, supporters, parents, and cadets to sign up to receive a link to Sea Cadet Quarterly in their inbox. Your unit is part of a larger network of units around the country and it is good for everyone to remember that. Encourage your cadets to engage in the national program by contributing to Sea Cadet Quarterly. At the unit level, Sea Cadet Quarterly should be used as a communications and recruitment tool. Use the latest issue to discuss leadership with your cadets. Discuss Chief’s Corner and other leadership-focused articles as a group. Ask cadets to let you know if they read about an activity or a training event of which they are interested in participating in or replicating at their home unit. Have cadets hand out the issues at recruiting events or to their friends.
How to Order Marketing Materials
Units can order marketing materials on Magellan. Once logged in, navigate to Unit Management and then Promotional Materials. You can submit a request to be mailed to the unit mailing address on file. Marketing Tool
Audience/Uses
Annual Report
Inform stakeholders of the prior year’s accomplishments; express gratitude to supporters; encourage future giving
In Focus Program Brochures
Sea Cadet Quarterly Social Media
Provide in-depth look at aspects of our program; depending on subject, can be used as internal document or as a recruiting tool Present overview of program offerings; invite participation and support Provide a platform for members to communicate about their experiences; demonstrate the impact, breadth, and depth of our program offerings Encourage community engagement; generate interest with prospective members
Style Guide
Empower our membership with standards for the writing and design of promotional materials; establish messaging themes to encourage consistent communication
Website
Provide in-depth information; recruit members; offer opportunity for online donation
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Let’s Talk Social Media Social media is the most cost-effective advertising method for our units. However, more than half of our survey respondents said they did not use social media for recruiting. Let’s change that. Units are more likely to reach potential cadets through social media than through press releases or radio advertisements. Unless you are paying to boost your posts (which we are fans of), it’s free. If your unit is not using social media, you need to be. If you are uncomfortable with it, ask your cadets or a tech-savvy parent to get your unit started.
Successful social media content elicits a positive emotional response and inspires sharing. Think about it this way: if your unit’s Facebook page has 60 fans, every time you post you are only reaching a portion of that number, all of whom are already familiar with or invested in your unit. If you create content that a portion of your 60 fans then share with their hundreds of friends, you are reaching an entirely different audience of potential cadets and volunteers. Shared content expands your reach and engagement. What’s the most shared content? Photos and videos.
Not sure where to start?
Find an awesome photo of your cadets in action and add a caption that communicates to viewers what they are seeing. Post it to your account with the message, “Are you interested in doing this? Join the Sea Cadets. Go to… for more information.” Dynamic photos are an important part of our story and showcase the unique nature of our program. Most importantly, people like and share them.
Want to get advanced?
We asked an officer for some tips. He emphasized the five key features of successful videos: 1) Short 2) Good video and sound quality 3) Good editing software 4) Good content packed with action 5) Personality “First, keep the video as short as you can. The highest viewed videos on YouTube or viral videos are shorter than 2 minutes. A lot of the time they are 30 seconds. Look at the content on YouTube; they are usually less then 30 seconds long and sometimes have over one million hits. Second, film and sound quality are important. There are tons of videos on YouTube and online with terrible video and sound quality. The bad video quality is usually due to a cheap camera and instability. If you have an iPhone or one of the latest Android phones, you’re set. When stabilized, these phones will shoot 1080 HD video. That’s the highest quality video you can get without branching into movie type film quality. Holding a smartphone in your hand and shooting video lowers the quality of video and makes the frame shaky. Once you have the film quality down you, have to get the sound right. Smartphones have great microphones, but you have to stand close to it. If you plan on shooting more than five feet away from your camera, you will need a microphone. Third, you need to get superior editing software. I use iMovie. It comes standard with Macs. If you have never used it before, it is simple and intuitive. Fourth, content is very important. To learn what the best content should be for your videos or what their theme should be, identify your target audience. If you are doing videos for Sea Cadets, then Sea Cadets or prospective Sea Cadets are your target audience. Parents and especially kids want to see the action. The last point is personality. A good personality goes a long way when making videos. You could have the first four
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things down pat, but without a personality, the videos are close to worthless.”
How can you apply this advice?
Select a drill when you know you’re going to be doing something unique and action-packed. Coordinate with a cadet or volunteer ahead of time so they can be prepared with their iPhone or another device. One instructor suggests: “Consider letting the cadets know that you are using this for potential recruiting to get them in on the action. And maybe they will be more likely to share with their friends.” Set the device on a still surface and film the action. For videos that feature cadets talking, choose cadets who are more engaging. Get them to highlight the coolest thing they’ve done as a cadet, or the biggest challenge they’ve experienced and how they overcame it. Or just let them tape the activity. Keep content short and shareable.
Bottom Line
Photos and videos are your best bet for increasing engagement on social media. One of our midshipmen described effective engagement: “Although I am just a tad older than a millennial, I understand how they are when it comes to social media. A wall of text does not seem inviting and is often skipped over. ...Ideally, it is best to make a post that, in the minds of the potential recruit, makes them say, ‘Wow! Could I do that, too?’ On another note, have cadets and parents share posts from the unit page to spread the word. I find that social media is very effective for recruiting and
Things to Consider “Publicize everything you do with supporting pictures.“ Except for familial relationships, cadets and adult volunteers cannot be “friends” on social media. This is a proactive measure to protect our youth from inappropriate adultchild interactions that cannot be monitored by either the cadet’s parents or a fellow NSCC volunteer. When creating content, consider your audience. Cadets and prospective cadets want to see action and the many opportunities that are available to them. Parents want to see where their kid can go with the program. Showcase your unit’s alumni success stories and talk up the training opportunities available to cadets.
When creating content keep in mind the below suggestions: - Pay attention to privacy. When using photos of cadets and volunteers in a public forum, please be mindful of their privacy. When posting photos publicly, try to limit the amount of personal information that the photo discloses. - Pay attention to diversity. Our photos should represent our membership. Be mindful of showing equal representation of members of all ethnicities and genders in marketing materials. - Pay attention to safety. Proper safety gear, safety protocols and guidelines should be obvious to the viewer in risky situations. Firearms training should have obvious range safety practices in place and only images depicting safe handling should be shown. - Pay attention to excellence. Photos should showcase the program in a positive way. Photos of engaged and happy cadets and volunteers are the best publicity we have. Please try to showcase individuals who take pride in the uniform. Cadets and volunteers wearing a sharp uniform highlight the high caliber and professionalism of our organization and set a positive example within our community. If cadets are photographed in civilian clothing, they should be shown in a positive light. Pay attention that the background of the image does not include anything offensive or anything that could create negative connotations for our organization.
You can brand your unit’s posts on social media in order to visually tie your unit to the national program. Check out our Style Guide on Homeport and email
[email protected] to request a computer license for our font, Trade Gothic. “Designate someone who is good with technology as PAO or social media coordinator... it’s a great opportunity for tech-savvy parents who want to help but aren’t quite ready to jump in as an officer/instructor.”
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The key to retention is “an exciting, involved and diverse training program. Having a solid annual and out-year training plan, repeating the events that work, but not too often, and keeping the opportunities available are the key to success.” Sample Training Plan
The importance of an annual training plan cannot be overstated. The creation of an even- and an odd-numbered year training plan reflects professionalism, creativity, and planning – all things valued by both cadets and parents. Additionally, your cadets will know if you value them by seeing how much effort is exerted into training. It doesn’t have to be expensive field trips or training materials, but rather thoughtful, engaging, and challenging activities. Consider the guidelines, pulled from chapter two of our Training and Operations Manual: “Successful units gain their reputations for excellence by actively pursuing opportunities for their cadets. Motivating and rewarding activities and training opportunities that catch and retain the cadets’ attention are essential to the operation of a successful unit. Advanced training provides many exciting opportunities away from the unit for cadets, but these opportunities are only available for a few months of the year. Cadet decisions regarding citizenship traits and character will be made at the unit level, based on the experiences and role modeling the unit provides. That is why unit training is so important; these experiences are the source of unit growth.
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A. Establish two annual training plans, one for evennumbered years and one for odd-numbered years. B. Annual events, such as Annual Inspection, Regional Flagship, summer and winter training periods, required semi-annual PT testing, mandatory training on sexual harassment, fraternization, and hazing should be placed on both schedules. Do not forget to take into account parades, awards banquets, Navy League picnics, regular color guard performances, etc. C. There should be a variety of events, such as field trips and museum visits, on each schedule. It would be best to alternate years for those evolutions which are expensive, logistically challenging, or which may not hold the cadets’ interest if included every year. This method will provide for sufficient turnover in personnel so that interest is maintained. D. The remaining three or four drill periods will be filled with regular meetings where guest speakers visit, administrative tasks are accomplished, basic skills like military drill are taught, field days of unit spaces are held, or practice for regional competitions are conducted.”
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Looking for ideas?
Think Outside the Box
Do you have an interesting guest speaker in mind, but they don’t reside near the unit? Consider using Skype or FaceTime to include them in your drill day. Cadets can easily engage with the guest by video, and as a unit, you will be able to diversify the kind of speakers you include.
Bottom Line
Plot out your unit’s schedule using the talents of your staff and input from your cadets. Communicate this schedule in advance to everyone. Keep it engaging and mix it up. You need to be able to look at the plan of the month and circle where the fun is.
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Planning Worksheet To help you create a realistic plan to reach your recruitment goals and to identify with the ideas presented, use the following worksheet. Minimum manning is a worthy goal to strive for — a consistent, active enrollment of 25 or more cadets. If you are just starting or significantly beneath that number, set an intermediate goal, but strive to achieve minimum manning. One officer recommends this strategy: “At a minimum a unit needs to have a goal of 10% growth. Now keep in mind, a unit loses 10% of its membership on an annual basis usually to graduations and other attrition, so to be effective, you need to plan on recruiting two cadets for every one lost.” Sit down with your cadet roster from Magellan and honestly appraise your situation. Look at the active cadets on your roster that are at 75% attendance or higher. That is your true enrollment for the sake of this exercise. When filling out this worksheet, be specific and realistic.
Current unit strength
(Number of active cadets):
Date to achieve this goal:
Enrollment goal:
How many cadets do we anticipate losing to unavoidable attrition?
How many cadets will we need to enroll each month to reach our goal?
Looking back, what has been the bigger challenge?
Recruiting (I have a hard time getting cadets, but once they enroll they stay in) Retention (Recruiting isn’t a problem, but once they join they don’t stay in)
Do we have a clear training plan? If not, who is assigned to complete one?
When will they have it completed? How will I be able to tell if it is a good plan and if it’s working?
How will I communicate our goal to our unit? What do I feel is my main liability for our unit in recruiting and retention? What specifically can we do to overcome that challenge?
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Once you come up with your goal, don’t keep it secret. Engage your staff and your cadets, and consider sending a copy to your Regional Director to help you commit to your strategy.
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Recruiting and Retention: Best Practices 1. Establish guidelines for response times and enlist people to help you. Put thought into your response strategy and implement measures to help you meet your goals. 2. Evaluate if your unit should have open enrollment throughout the year or only recruit and admit cadets at specific times of year. If open enrollment isn’t working, try specific enrollment periods for a year and see if it helps meet your unit’s goals. 3. Involve parents in meaningful ways as recruiters and volunteers. 4. Charge the cadet an enrollment fee. Cadets with “skin in the game” make stronger commitments. 5. Consider what motivates cadets in different age groups and design your approaches accordingly. 6. Recruit thoughtfully. Interview both the prospective cadet and his/her parents. 7. Cultivate an exciting training plan using the talents of your staff and the input of your cadets. Mix things up and keep it interesting. 8. Get to know your cadets so you can understand what motivates them. 9. Communicate with your staff, cadets, and parents throughout the month. 10. Provide leadership opportunities to every cadet — and give them room to grow.
A rising tide lifts all boats. Don’t think of recruiting and retention as a competition with other units; our mission is to expose young people to the ideals of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps because we believe in it and have seen its results in the achievements of thousands of young women and men. Help recruit for other units nearby or even in other parts of the country. The more success we have as a Corps, the more successful your unit will become. Please share this guide with your cadets and staff for inspiration and to spur continued conversation.
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Questionnaire 1. Which are the most important to the recruiting process (rank 1-3): Parents, Regional Director, Cadets 2. Do you put more effort into recruiting or retention? Or both equally? 3. In your opinion, when is the best time of year to recruit? 4. Do you have “open enrollment” all year long, or do you only recruit and admit cadets at specific times of year? Why? 5. In your experience, what kind of recruiting activity yields the most interest? 6. How do you convert interest into enrollment? 7. How do you energize your cadets to help recruit new cadets? 8. Do you use social media to recruit? 9. If you answered yes to the above question, do you have any best practices from that experience? Any advice for a unit desiring to recruit via social media? 10. Is there a difference between how you recruit Sea Cadets and League Cadets? If so, can you describe the difference in your approach? 11. Have you ever established a recruiting goal or strategy for your unit or region? 12. If you were at your unit at its inception, how did you recruit your first cadets? 13. Do you have an adult (other than the unit CO) dedicated to responding to incoming referrals? If so, has this impacted your conversion rate of inquiries to enrollment? 14. Are there any factors in your unit that limit your recruiting efforts or the desire to recruit more cadets? 15. What is your success rate with NHQ-provided referrals? 16. Explain how you follow up with referrals from NHQ. Do you have a set process? 17. Do you have any personal standards in terms of responsiveness to inquiries from prospective cadets? 18. What roles do parents play in recruiting new cadets for your unit? 19. How do you encourage parents to become volunteers? 20. Outfitting a new cadet can be expensive. Do you do anything to help offset the cost of additional cadets while growing your unit? 21. Do you have a budget allocated for recruiting? 22. Do you feel the enrollment fee is a tool in the recruiting process? Explain. 23. How do you avoid recruiting the wrong person? 24. What advice would you give to units struggling with the recruitment of volunteers? 25. In your opinion, what is the key to retention? 26. Do you have any mechanisms in place to touch base with your cadets throughout their cadet career? 27. Is there a difference in how you motivate League Cadets and Sea Cadets? 28. If applicable: What is your success rate at turning League Cadets into successful Sea Cadets? Do your former League Cadets have a better retention rate than cadets who joined later? 29. How does your unit communicate between drills? What makes this successful? 30. Do you conduct an exit interview when a cadet decides to leave the program? 31. At what point do you consider a recruitment successful? 32. Do minimum manning levels affect your recruiting and retention goals? If so, how? 33. Is there anything else you would like to share on the topics of recruiting and retention? 38
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Thank you! This publication would not have been possible without the contributions of the following individuals. We also extend a special thank you to Todd Dunn and Matthew Landry, whose efforts always surpass expectation. Alfred D. McMullen, Jr. Andrew Munoz Andrew Roth Angela Graham Anthony Ramirez Austyn Sutton Barney Uhlig Barry Williams Billy Dover Brent van Hees Brian Kobleur Brian Naylor Brian Wilhelm Bruce Bruni Bryan Tarrant Colin Benard Daniele Jennings David Adair David Sheets Debbie Treacy Della Chipman Dennis Turner Don Krivanek Donald Gertz Eddie DeWitt Edward C. Brennan Eileen Murphy Elizabeth Taylor Gabriel Mikulich Gelia Woodward George Febo George King James Fath James McLoughlin Jane Horvat Jay Meisner
Jayne Healey Jeffrey Johnson Jim Lukasiewicz Jim McClure Jim Sketchley Joan Larkin Jo-Anne Dao Joe Liranzo John F. Panik, Jr. John Grounds John Moon John Nowakowski Jon Sorensen Joseph Pawli June Walker-Tillett Katharine Keller Kimberly Borzeka Lisa Stoyanovich Luke Clyburn Marlene Erica Gandiosi Martha Robinson Melissa Franklin Michael Gill Michael Melendez Michelle Novinger Randy Merritt R.B. Baker Rhonda Smith Robert Demchak Robert Robbins Rolanda Franklin Rose Marie Jones Scott Oram Shannon Montgomery Shelly Enright Stacy Kehoe
Steve Wymer Stevin Masuda Sue Lounsberry-Allen Tami Brown Terry Turner Thomas Klomps Thomas Luckman Timothy Rilley Tom Sweeney William Corcuera William Golden
In Focus is an official publication series of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps. In Focus promotes a greater understanding of the programs and mission of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps.
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