Six Methods
Increase recruiting production immediately
by Maj David W. Hudspeth
Marine Corps recruiting duty is already tough but is about to get tougher due to the potential increase in mission. President George W. Bush stated recently that “he has asked Robert M. Gates, the new defense secretary, to work with the Joint Chiefs of Staff on a plan to expand the Army and Marine Corps.”1 The President’s declaration was followed by, “General James T. Conway, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, said recently that his force of 180,000 could grow 1,000 to 2,000 a year.”2 G. Lubold observes, essentially, that:
. . . the [additional] force can be grown in four ways . . . increase incentives [for recruits], hire more recruiters and make them more productive, and add to the Pentagon’s $1 billion-a-year advertising budget.3
Lubold’s fourth method is to “change prevailing attitudes about military service.”4 Only one of Lubold’s four offered observations—make recruiters more productive—reflects the ability and opportunity to increase production within the Marine Corps’ 48 recruiting stations (RSs) now. This article identifies and discusses six proven recruiting methods that have resulted in increases in both individual recruiter and RS production.
The Six Methods
Method 1. Put your most credible career recruiters in the billets of recruiter instructor (RI), assistant RI (ARI), and operations chief. During 2004 to 2005 RSs were undermanned by as much as 15 percent; however, despite being undergunned, the stations received their full table of organization’s worth of mission. Given the elevated missions and reduced staffing, the most credible career recruiters became or remained noncommissioned officers in charge (NCOICs) of recruiting substations (RSSs). For the sake of putting the sharpest teeth at the leading edge of the daily dogfight, commanders accepted risk at their headquarters. For example, at RS Orange the ARI position primarily became a position to groom previously struggling NCOICs as opposed to training and evaluating sitting NCOICs and individual recruiters. As a result, RS Orange made mission on the strengths of 20 percent of the staff, struggled to make shipping, and had average training records. By placing the command’s most credible career recruiters in the billets of RI, ARI, and operations chief, RS Orange saw a sustained production increase from all RSSs. It is a very difficult decision to pull the best career recruiters to headquarters because they often lead the command’s most successful RSSs; however, their assignment to the billets of RI, ARI, and operations chief enables production increases from all RSSs due to more proficient training and evaluation and undisputed, experience-based, proven recruiting management.
Method 2. Identify, train, and install ambitious NCOICs according to an established personnel plan. After 2 to 3 years in billet, an NCOIC will begin to show signs of fatigue and complacency. In some cases, signs of fatigue and complacency will occur much sooner. Mission attainment periods will steadily elongate in most cases of long-serving NCOICs (those in billet exceeding 2 to 3 years). Without relief or rekindling, the majority of long-serving NCOICs will begin to miss mission in some form. Recognize the telltale signs of your NCOICs’ culmination points and prepare a personnel plan that identifies, trains, and installs the hungriest, most malleable NCOICs before burnout occurs. Hunger at the NCOIC level, together with having your most credible career recruiters in key billets, will facilitate production increases.
Method 3. Create and sustain an inclusive, positive leadership environment that empowers and trusts. This is a seemingly obvious lesson but is neither so obvious nor easy to produce when you are missing mission or struggling. When you struggle or miss your mission, doubt and distrust invariably creep into the recruiting unit. Soon threats directed downward and the general belief that Marines are not working hard enough or are simply trying to get one over on their leadership persist throughout the command. This belief travels both up and down the chain of command. Recruiting leaders must remind themselves occasionally that their Marines did not wake up that morning, get in their privately owned vehicles, and point them toward work, all while planning to fail. Leaders do not come to work in this fashion and neither do their Marines. Keep the leadership environment positive and trustworthy. If you keep the leadership environment positive, your subordinates will scratch for mission attainment and overachieve when the command is collectively struggling to make its monthly mission. Capt William. T. Eichhorn captured the results of positive leadership with the following observation, “Young troops, when given the right training, your vote of confidence, and your nonmeddlesome support, will not let you down.”5
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| Place your best career recruiters in instructional billets and empower and trust your NCOICs. (Photo by SSgt Ken Tinnin.) |
Leaders should also pursue buy-in from NCOICs when missions need to be increased or changed. It is not a popularity contest by any means when seeking buy-in from subordinates. However, mission changes affect NCOICs most extensively and most immediately. Obtaining buy-in also allows the NCOICs to become partial owners of the plan and further allows them to explain to their subordinates why mission has changed and the needs behind the change. Leaders do not necessarily owe their Marines an explanation; however, nonmilitary spouses would like to know why their Marines have to work later than before. If armed with the information spouses may become more understanding and supportive of their Marines.
Additionally, and more importantly, create an empowering environment where your NCOICs and staff make decisions without having to seek constant approval from the commander. This empowerment will save time and foster trust throughout the chain of command. This trust often surfaces during the kneecap-to-kneecap discovery of an applicant’s blemished juvenile past. The NCOIC, located 6 hours from the RS, sees body language, personal hygiene, and all other nonverbal indicators of sincerity or lack thereof. A commander cannot see these nonverbal cues through a telephonic interview. The commander is forced to trust the combat report of the recruiter physically on the scene. Empowerment and trust may simply boil down to this single question from the commander to the NCOIC in such a situation, “Do you believe in this kid?”
Method 4. Hold Marines accountable. This is another seemingly obvious lesson that again may not be so easy on recruiting duty. Running and not running zero/one training sessions for substandard recruiters are both options available to RS commanders. Both means prove effective; however, zero/one training when done positively and efficiently is one of the most effective methods to increase overall production at the individual recruiter level. Zero/one training when administered by the RI section is also the best means to verify the existence of individual recruiter training jackets and thus ensure that the proper training is occurring at the RSS level. This documentation facilitates dissection of a recruiter’s problems so that the recruiter, the NCOIC, and the RI section train to overcome deficiencies. This documentation also assists a commander in the rare cases where a recruiter leaves recruiting duty due to lack of performance or unwillingness to perform.
NCOICs themselves should be required to call their commanders when they miss first or second phase line objectives. A commander is encouraged to hold face-to-face missed third phase line briefs where the NCOIC explains the reasons and remedies for ensuring that mission making occurs according to their phase line schedules. Commanders should consider holding missed shipping briefs where NCOICs brief the command group (commanding officer, executive officer, operations officer, sergeant major, and RI) concerning the reasons why their RSS missed its monthly shipping mission by category and component and their employed, or to be employed, remedies for ensuring shipping accomplishment the following month.
Method 5. Develop a scalable incentives and awards program. RSs typically have 20 percent of their recruiters writing 80 percent of the RS mission. In a traditional awards program, the top 20 percent of recruiters thus receive all awards and recognition. Like runners, you have varying levels of recruiters. Some recruit fast, some recruit the average, and some struggle. A few years ago the Semper Fit Program encouraged leaders to divide their physical training sessions in groups of fast runners, medium runners, and slow runners. This division allowed each Marine the potential to get a good workout given their abilities. Divide your RS into the top, middle, and lower recruiters and give out recognition for the top performers in each group. When recruiters see that they are competing with those of like ability, the belief that any recruiter can win an award begins to develop and persists. You can set a minimum number of contracts per group to become eligible for recognition.
Have varying levels or categories of awards, such as overall recruiter of the month, rookie recruiter of the month, top Reserve contracting recruiter, top female contracting recruiter, etc. If an RS covers more than one state, have monthly state championships involving the recruiters within an individual state. Use personal pride as an opportunity to run bulls in the ring where individual recruiters pair off, with the losing recruiter’s picture up for grabs as the award. Later, allow the losing recruiter a rematch to retrieve the lost photo. RS marketing and public affairs Marines can produce certificates and photos awarding just about anything that an RS needs to make its mission.
Hype up your awards day. Roll out a red carpet. Have the heavy hitters (those recruiters writing four or more contracts) sitting up front at the awards ceremonies. Let these heavy hitters walk the other recruiters, especially the zero/one recruiters, through each obtained contract. Award guidon streamers for making shipping and contracting and for the RS making mission. Cut or remove these streamers when the RS or RSS misses mission. Award streamer stars for consecutive wins. The more stars on the streamer, the harder an RSS will work to keep from having the streamer removed from its guidon. Have the RSS choose songs for itself so you can play 15 seconds of the selected songs when the RSS or a recruiter comes forward to be recognized. Never allow an opportunity to pass to call a Marine on the phone for doing a good job, and especially call on mission night all those recruiters who have written two or more contracts. A phone call such as this is an award in and of itself. More than anything, change your awards periodically. An overused award loses its novelty and effectiveness. Finally, do not be narrowed by your own military specialty. A grunt serving as an RS commander is encouraged to run “top gun” competitions.
Method 6. Provide feedback. Hand in hand with a scalable awards program is the need for immediate feedback. For example, award performances for October in November. Such compressed recognition immediately affects production. Send out daily standings via fax or e-mail that will ensure them getting into the hands of each of your recruiters. Use your RS daily recruiting bulletin (DRB) as an easel and become a cartoonist. When your NCOICs make mission, draw them standing behind a finish line banner. When your recruiters write two or more contracts draw their faces on the DRB. Such drawing consumes 30 minutes or less of a working day. Everyone enjoys seeing his name in highlights or his picture in the newspaper. The DRB is that newspaper. Remember, however, to keep whatever you draw positive because a negative message will deliver negative production effects.
Conclusion
This article identified and discussed six proven methods to increase immediately the recruiting production within an RS. A recruiting leader should consider and implement the entirety or even only a portion of these suggestions, and further, it is encouraged that leaders be innovative beyond these methods while using them as a base model. Most importantly, collect, analyze, and distribute your own unique lessons learned at every opportunity so that all recruiting leaders have the tools and ideas with which to make mission. With our Corps heading to expansion, we must all elevate our performances to the next higher level and make the mission.
Notes
1. Cave, D. and Shanker, T., “Military Recruiters Facing Need for Numbers,” Orange County Register, 24 December 2006, p. 25.
2. Ibid., p. 26.
3. Lubold, G. “A Growing Concern: Services Welcome Expansion, but Say Adding Manpower Won’t Be Easy,” The Marine Corps Times, 1 January 2007, p. 10.
4. Ibid.
5. Eichhorn, Capt William T., “Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks,” Marine Corps Gazette, December 2006, pp. 30–32.
>Maj Hudspeth is the former CO, RS Orange. He is currently a student at the School of Advanced Warfighting, Quantico. This article was his 2006 Chase Prize Essay Contest entry.
