Why won't my support staff come back to camp? How to increase the return rate of your behind-the-scenes employees

Camping Magazine, March-April, 2005 by Gail Siegal

While my job is almost impossible to describe to anyone outside of the camp universe, those that understand it are incredibly jealous. Unlike most professionals, I have the privilege of interacting with phenomenal young people from around the world who are looking for the opportunity to work at a U.S. summer camp. While I enjoy my job all year, the most rewarding moments come in July. Each summer, I visit my participants at camp and see how the cultural exchange program that we (and they!) have been preparing for all year actually plays out. I first meet many of these participants the previous December or January in their home countries, where we talk about their goals for the experience and what they can expect at camp. I see them again at their arrival orientation, when they are jet-lagged but excited, amazed that the summer has finally arrived. By the time I see them at camp, some of them have only grown more excited about this opportunity. Others, however, have lost all passion for the program.

A few years ago, we knew why support staff weren't returning to camp. The U.S. Department of State limited the number of returning support staff in any given summer to 10 percent of the total number of support staff from the previous summer. (For example, if one international cultural exchange organization brought over five hundred support staff in 2001, that same organization could only bring fifty second-timers in 2002.) No support staff participant could work more than two summers. In theory, these regulations allowed more students to have the experience of coming to the U.S. at least once. In practice, camps found themselves having to train almost entirely new groups of support staff every summer. Now that these regulations have been lifted, have you seen an increase in your number of returning support staff? If not, you may want to take a closer look at your camp culture.

Last summer, arriving at one camp, I was met by an enthusiastic participant who could not wait to show me around. Our tour of the camp grounds ended at the laundry room, where she introduced me to all of her co-workers and her supervisor, then proudly explained her responsibilities.

At another camp, I found another participant who was eager to show me her camp. She, however, wanted to show me how unappetizing the food was and how cramped the living conditions were. When we ended the tour in her workplace, the kitchen, she shared only complaints and criticisms with me.

I visited many camps this summer and found myself trying to pinpoint why, concretely, some support staff found camp to be such a rewarding experience and others could not wait for their nine weeks to be over. On the surface, the two camps I described above were extremely similar. I couldn't discern any real difference between the quality of the food, the space in the cabins, or the working conditions in general. But when I thought back to the two participants' motivation for participating in the program, I realized only one had the opportunity to create the experience she had envisioned for herself months before. The difference between the two camps really lay in each camp's attitude towards participating in a cultural exchange program. Their level of commitment was reflected in their hiring choices, orientation setup, daily schedule, and overall policies. These elements directly affected whether or not each participant was able to accomplish the goals she had set for the summer. While the first participant had found exactly the growth opportunities she was seeking, the second was disillusioned to learn that camp would not be the life-changing experience she had heard about from past participants.

As you begin hiring for summer 2005, think carefully about why staff would want to come to camp in the first place. If you are able to provide an environment where staff can meet their objectives, you'll find yourself with a happy group of workers who can't wait to return. When we ask potential participants why they are interested in our program and what they hope to accomplish this summer, we hear the same responses over and over:

* They want to improve their English. While there are many reasons to hire a diverse staff, this is one of the most compelling. If all of your staff speak the same language, they will feel silly speaking to one another in English. Hire staff from as many different countries as possible. For those that do come from the same country (or speak the same language), split them up and assign them different job responsibilities.

* They want to make American friends. These participants have chosen the U.S., not Canada, Australia, or the U.K., because they want to meet Americans. Are your American staff welcoming your international staff into your camp environment? Do you see them taking days off together? Does your international staff visit the American staff at home after the summer has ended? If not, then you need to make a conscious effort to integrate these two groups as soon as they arrive for orientation. House them together. Train them together. Use all of those games, songs, mixers, and activities you have accumulated to unite your entire staff, not just the counselors or specialists. If you continue to see a separation between American and international staff, pull some of your returning American staff aside and ask them to make an effort to include international staff in more informal social activities, including time off. You have the power to change the structure of social interaction at your camp.