Closing the Recruitment Gap: A Symposium's Findings. (Perspective).

While other factors may play a role, a booming economy and a low unemployment rate often constitute initial responses to a law enforcement agency's question of why it is receiving fewer applicants. Recruitment stands as a serious problem for agencies of all sizes throughout the United States. Although many agencies recognize the problem, they do not seem able to find a simple solution.

To this end, the 205th session of the FBI National Academy (1) held a symposium on recruitment. The participants selected the symposium format over the lecture-based structure because a symposium assumes that while the answers are not always clearly defined, the participants represent a valuable resource for exchanging ideas and sharing experiences on various aspects of a particular topic.

The 205th session was comprised of 264 command staff officers representing agencies from the United States and 24 other countries. Five separate breakout groups worked on different questions related to the issue of recruitment. The questions addressed many diverse issues, such as the amount of technology used by an agency, the traditional application process, and the size of the agency. With this last area in mind and because the participants came from agencies that differed widely in employee strength and jurisdiction coverage, each group separated, when appropriate, any response that might be different for a large agency versus a small agency. For the purpose of data collection, the two agency-size groups were those with fewer than 150 sworn officers and those with 150 or more sworn officers.

Overall, the participants felt that an effective recruitment initiative should seek to align a candidate's personal profile with that of the organization, including the psychological profiling of candidates to assess their personal desires with agency opportunities and community needs. An applicant should know what to expect from the agency. The agency should consider its needs and determine what will attract qualified employees. Symposium participants discovered that, although responses are likely to differ from one agency to another, every agency's goal remains the same: to match the applicant's skills and desires with the agency's needs and culture.

Applicant Expectations

When asked to rank the top five items that new employees want, symposium participants responded with: 1) salary, 2) benefits (leave time, medical coverage, and retirement), 3) job security, 4) career development (specialization and promotion), and 5) job satisfaction (pride, excitement, and community). However, participants from larger agencies indicated that job security; personal growth opportunities; and pay, benefits, and retirement coverage represented the most important factors. Whereas, smaller agencies listed job satisfaction, work hours, city location, family atmosphere, quality-of-life issues, and type of work as important. Participants from the smaller agencies did not all agree that pay, benefits, and retirement options were the top motivating factors. Yet, not having a competitive salary can devastate an agency's recruitment program. The agency should attempt to compensate for low wages by accentuating training or other nonwage benefits. Many participants considered attractive work schedules and take-home cars as desirable benefits. Usually, when the salary is competitive with other comparable agencies, then nontangible concerns become more important. For example, officers in a smaller agency may feel that they have a greater opportunity to make a difference in the organization. Smaller agencies have diversification of assignments, opportunity for training, and, often, a better quality of life. On the other hand, large departments may offer a greater variety of career options, more opportunities for advancement, and an increasingly diverse work environment.

Along with the top five items, symposium participants also said that a healthy work environment is important. Adequate staffing levels; fairness; friendly two-way communication up and down the chain of command; supportive supervisors and managers; consistent work environment; adequate budget to provide resources; continual training and educational incentives; and career development programs constitute a healthy work environment. Participants agreed that a place where people want to work fosters a sense of camaraderie and encourages growth, where everyone works for a common goal.

Employees desire an environment where the upper echelon remains open to change and receptive to the ideas of subordinates, regardless of rank or status. Employees want to take ownership in the organization. Large numbers of agencies have shifted toward community-oriented policing (COP) or problem-oriented policing (POP). By its nature, this role modification from traditional law enforcement necessarily requires officers to become more interactive and communicative.

Finally, participants noted that people entering the law enforcement profession possess a diverse range of backgrounds. Some participants suggested that distinct differences exist between generations within the workforce. Generally, most agreed that officers often perceive value differences between the generations. For example, veteran officers thought that Generation X individuals (2) question authority, want more benefits, and desire more variety in work assignments. They appear more interested in personal life than work. Some participants said, "They don't want to pay their dues; they want things now." Some participants from smaller agencies indicated that those in Generation X appear less interested in promotion.

The international participants had fewer concerns with Generation X employees than did their U.S. counterparts. Some participants felt that the Generation X issues appear over generalized, instead of a basic human reaction of people discounting those that they do not understand. However, with the advent of COP and POP, many agencies have shifted their service style to meet the diverse needs of their communities, which often reflect a broad cross section of generational differences and require officers to understand the values of individuals from various age groups.

Agency Requirements

Symposium participants felt that the law enforcement profession needs intelligent, not just educated, officers who can solve problems and accept racial and cultural diversity. In short, agencies prefer smarter over tougher. Law enforcement is moving away from the "big tough cops" in favor of candidates, regardless of size, who possess qualities that mirror the tenets of the COP and POP philosophies. Also, more and more, communities want service-oriented people with interpersonal skills as their guardians of justice. While participants recognized that the profession still attracts adventure seekers, they compiled the following attributes, or core values, desired of a law enforcement officer: adaptable, analytical, communicative, compassionate, courageous (both physically and morally), culturally sensitive, decisive, disciplined, ethical, goal oriented, incorruptible, mature, responsible, and self-motivated. In general, participants felt that agencies expect officers to have good interpersonal and communication skills, as well as sales and marketing abilities. They thought that officers should be adaptable to change, desire continued learning, and posses the ability to become either a generalist or a specialist or, at times, both.

Law enforcement candidates must be prepared to work in a rapidly evolving environment. As communities face the transient issues of globalization, immigration, and language barriers, law enforcement officers increasingly will see more diverse opinions from within the community as this globalization spreads. Language and generation barriers continue to challenge law enforcement. Agencies must develop methods of bridging trust among the diverse groups that they will serve in the future. Law enforcement agencies may need to employ bilingual officers, interpreters, and computer translation programs to communicate, along with recruiting immigrants. Officers also must learn about cultural issues, such as ethnic holidays, traditions, and customs.

Symposium participants also felt that the profession needs officers from diverse educational backgrounds, not just criminal justice majors. Agencies should recruit or network with community planners, engineers, social scientists, and educators. Some thought that knowledge of community planning and foreign studies may have greater value than criminal justice course work. Many current law enforcement officers maintain the argument that "common sense" is needed more than a college education as a valid prerequisite for a law enforcement position. Generally, participants from larger agencies favored a 4-year college degree requirement. Others took the position that higher education is preferred but not required. If a college education is not a prerequisite, then participants said that agencies should consider educational incentives, such as tuition reimbursement and flexible work schedules, to encourage continued education and emphasize the value that they place on advanced learning.

In addition to education, participants considered that technology may influence the recruitment effort, depending on an applicant's personal interests. Some applicants may be attracted to an agency that has the latest technology, while others may avoid an agency for the same reason. Several participants suggested that when agencies consider technical skills as important, they could use the Internet as a tool for attracting those candidates more likely to embrace technology.

Finally, participants believed that COP and P01 have raised community expectations of law enforcement to provide nontraditional service. Agencies embracing these strategies expect their personnel to become more involved on an individual basis, take ownership of the problem, and work with others toward solutions. COP and POP require individuals to possess interpersonal skills and remain open to people who may disagree or have different opinions. Some participants noted that it may prove unreasonable to expect law enforcement officers to remain open and receptive to community needs if their needs are not recognized. Recruitment is an agency's first opportunity to introduce its philosophy toward service commitment. The COP and POP philosophies need to begin with the prospective employee.

Recruitment Challenges

After examining applicant expectations and agency requirements, symposium participants discussed what agencies can do to better align the recruitment process with their future needs. They felt that an agency should inform potential employees early in the application process of its vision and what applicants can expect if hired. Also, an agency must recognize that some applicants simply may not match its mission and needs, and the sooner the agency and the applicants discover this, the better.

According to symposium participants, large and small agencies appear to search for "good people" the same way. Many participants thought that an agency can attract quality candidates through current employees who say that it is a good place to work and demonstrate an outward sign of esprit de corps. Employees can act as cheerleaders for the agency by their attitude and demeanor. Also, the appearance of the officers, buildings, grounds, and vehicles reflect the agency's image. If an agency has a positive image, those outside the agency may perceive it as a good place to work. Likewise, the agency's reputation greatly influences the recruitment effort. For example, qualifies, such as fairness and a high priority on training, can help attract qualified applicants. A lack of applications should prompt an agency to conduct a self-assessment to determine if its image and reputation represent it correctly.

Participants also decided that the recruitment process itself can help or hinder agencies gain high-caliber individuals. They thought that agencies should encourage their employees to actively recruit candidates by offering hiring incentives. They also felt that agencies should consider offering applicants a hiring bonus, paying their moving expenses, providing incentives. Participants noted that agencies should start early in school programs by drawing positive attention to themselves and the profession Agencies should recruit from community colleges and universities and should consider hiring students for nonsworn jobs to introduce them to the law enforcement profession. Participants discussed additional potential resources for recruitment, including other criminal justice agencies, the military, police reserves, religious organizations, and schools, as well as job fairs and civic, social, and athletic events.

Participants agreed that requisite skills for entry-level law enforcement positions have changed in the past decade and that the application process should reflect this change. Participants from both large and small agencies thought that agencies should streamline the application process to make hiring faster and easier. (3) The lengthy application process that most agencies use hinders the recruitment effort. Applicants want to be treated individually, not like a number. Highly bureaucratic recruitment processes are not likely to attract applicants who possess the desired skills that agencies need.

The participants did not give a clean indication whether the recruitment process should attempt to have generation-specific strategies. They felt that agencies need to promote, themselves and develop relationship that facilitates a better product or service to the public and; in turn, draws the public to law enforcement as a profession. Agencies need to attract people with integrity, ethics, and personal initiative.

Symposium participants also considered the issues of lateral entry and retention. Lateral entry brought mixed feelings and differing opinions. Generally, less opposition to lateral recruitment existed for entry-level and top positions. Participants expressed concern that first-line supervision and middle management positions should be an entitlement of current employees and not available for lateral entry. Moreover, some agencies that have recruited extensively from other parts of the country have experienced a retention problem, with sick and wanting to return.

On the issue of retaining personnel participants felt that employees in a healthy work environment tend to want to stay which creates fewer vacancies and places a higher value on each new opportunity for employment. On the other hand, high turnover may result in negative consequences, such as in creased overtime. High turnover' also may cause agencies to prioritize existing programs and eliminate' some due to personnel shortages. In addition, participants agreed that high turnover 'reduces the experience level on the street, thereby requiring more supervision. Relatively inexperienced officers begin' training new officers. The lack of qualified people to replace senior positions has a negative impact on the command structure. In short, the overall skill level of the agency decreases. Participants stated that some agencies have (ITO) just off probation teaching new employees. Many departments have FTOs with fewer than 2 years of experience. This creates instability at the base of the organization. Not only do agencies need to recruit good people but they also need to keep them.

Conclusion

The 205th session of the FBI National Academy took on the challenge of improving the recruitment process, a difficulty faced by most agencies. The session used the symposium structure so as not to feed the participants' answers. Rather, such a format enabled the participants to exchange, in a professional dialogue, their ideas about the issues that impact recruitment.

The symposium participants defined many aspects that contribute to a successful recruitment effort. Mainly, they agreed that individuals interested in a career in law enforcement must match their skills and desires with an agency's needs and culture. Agencies, in turn, must examine their requirements and recruit those individuals possessing specific abilities. Such a two-way effort can help close the recruitment gap and garner the law enforcement community valuable, goal-oriented employees who will serve and protect the public for many years.

Endnotes

(1.) The FBI hosts four 10-week sessions each year during which law enforcement executives from around the world come together to attend classes in various criminal justice subjects and conduct academic research, on a variety of related topics.

(2.) Some experts place the age range as those born during the years 1961 through 1981, while others say between the years l966 and 1976. For additional information see, Kim Charrier, "Marketing Strategies for Attracting and Retaining Generation X Police Officers," The Police Chief, December 2000, 45-51; and Elizabeth Foley and Adrienne LeFevre, "Understanding Generation X," Trial, June 2000 58 62 http://proquest.umi.com/pdqweb, accessed May 5, 2001.

(3.) For additional information on speeding the hiring process, see Floyd S. Hulsey and Maureen Goodwin, "Fast Track Application Process Speeds Hiring," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, June 2001, 5-8.