Successful Strategies for Staff Recruitment and Retention Talking Circle – April 27, 2005 San Diego, CA Maggie Gurley of Boys & Girls Clubs of Green Country, OK and Toni Sarcinella of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale, AZ led a discussion on staff recruitment and retention. They noted that a recent study found that local Boys & Girls Clubs have a turnover rate of 100.3% for part time and 47.9% of full time staff. The cost of replacing an employee is between 25% and 100% of that worker’s annual salary. There are additional costs as well – that of relationships. The value of the bond between member and staff is immeasurable. It has been found that the two most effective means of retaining staff members are training and recognition. Never underestimate the impact of a thorough orientation to your program. This is a new staff member’s first impression of the Club. Training is another important part of staff retention. However, if your Club can’t afford to send staff away to a training, have them use the Gear Up CD. The CD is cost effective and can be reused in the future. Another valuable cost saving idea is to have BGCA send trainers to you if your budgets are too limited to send staff to national or regional trainings!  Additionally, local Clubs will often team up to plan a cluster training open to all Clubs in the state. To request a specific training, contact your Training and Professional Development Committee member or your Regional Service Director. The following are some ideas for staff training and recognition: Ask employees, “What do you want to do when you grow up?”  Instead of training them to be better in their current position, start training them for the position they want in the future.   Mentoring within the organization is an effective way of investing in a staff member. A recent survey found that the best recognition tool is the instant thank you. Thank your staff immediately when they do a good job at something. Let your Executive Director know when you see a staff member doing something above and beyond. The Executive should then send a personal, handwritten letter to the staff thanking them for their work at the Club. Following the presentation, workshop participants shared their ideas for staff recruitment and recognition. Some of their suggestions are listed below: Ideas for Recruitment: College interns Youth Opportunity Programs Community Paper Tribal internet website AmeriCorp Former Club members or Junior Staff Trainings Recommendations (parents, leaders, board members) Word of Mouth Volunteers Ideas for Retention Have the kids recognize staff Incentives – tickets to games, movies, gas money, parking spots, weekend getaway, dinners Thank you letters Performance Review (bonus, promotions, Merit salary increases) Trainings (Youth Development Conference, cluster trainings, quarterly refresher, regular staff meetings) Annual Employee Retreat Good benefits/salary Tell them they did a good job at the end of the day Staff of the Month (plaque, check, paid day off, etc., Employee of the Year) Thank You Train – Set up in a hall, anyone can place a picture to recognize someone they want to thank Boys & Girls Club logo items View Toni and Maggie’s ALCP Project on this subject by following the steps below: Go to: www.clemson.edu/gotovcc Log in using your bgca.net username and password  Click on Exhibit Hall and then click on Completed Projects Scroll down to view the project entitled, Creating a Culture for Local Club Staff Development: Identifying Strategic Tools to Enhance the Impact of Training