An Easy Fix for Your Gen Z Police Recruiting & Retention Problems!

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It’s no secret that Generation Z is hitting the job market hard and will soon make up a large chunk of your work force. It’s also no secret that their longevity aspirations don’t exactly match those of older generations.  💯

So, how do you as a police agency fix this massive problem?   I’ve got the super simple solution that will solve all of your retention problems with newer generations...keep reading! 👀

Hey everyone, it’s Tom Sye your Police Marketing FTO, and this week, I want to answer a phenomenal question I received on one of my posts not too long ago asking about the newer generations (Gen Z specifically) and how it’s starting to look more and more like they won’t be hanging around for 20 or 25 years in this profession and what we, as police recruiters, can do about it.  Again, excellent question. 🙌

I’ll start off my answer by telling you the same thing I told him…this problem, like any other in police recruiting, comes down to one thing…philosophy. 🧠

If yours is, that people come into this career to stay 25 years...then this problem is going to be incredibly difficult for you to handle. 😩

If your philosophy is more like mine and geared towards understanding that a lot of Generation Z will stay at your agency somewhere between 3 and 10 years, time will tell the actual number, then the problem becomes a ton easier to manage.  You see, it’s a mindset. 😎

Now, before I go any further, let me explain why the younger generations aren’t vested for the long haul...

The Police Recruiting & Retention Why

No…it’s not because they are soft, flaky, wishy-washy, indecisive, unable to commit to things long term, or any other excuse that is thrown out there by older generations to disparage them.  The real reason that they’re this way…is because of us…Generation X. 😳

You see, unlike us, whose parents harped on us to get something stable for a career and stay there until the end of time…we told our kids, you know, Gen Z, you can do anything you want to do…be anything you wanted to be.  We encouraged them to try things, a lot of things, and shoot for the moon…and guess what…they listened! 🤯

So, when a Gen Z’er decides they want to be a cop for 5 years and then get into something else, it’s not a retention problem…it’s not an agency culture problem…they’re just doing what we, as their parents, taught them to do.  Get it?? 🤔

OK…now…what’s this easy solution that is going to solve all of my retention problems with this newer generation entering and soon to be taking up a big chunk of the workforce that I talked about in the open? 👇

The Solution

Glad you reminded me…and this solution is really super simple…it is…you have to plan for it. 👌 

What a revelation, right? 🤷

Listen…I’ve talked about this a million times, and I’m going to talk about this again…solutions to police recruiting problems are incredibly difficult for cops, because our problem-solving machine Type A brains are always trying to find a forever solution, so we don’t have to go back to that address or deal with this problem ever again.  Black and white solutions to black and white problems.  ⚫⚪/⚫⚪  

But…when it comes to recruiting, you’re dealing with a very fluid, ever changing, gigantic gray area that requires the ability to change how you look at things and accept them even if you don’t understand it.  Case in point – Generation Z not staying long term. 😝

You can spend the next twenty years beating your head against the wall, trying to figure out how to change them and make them stay, or you can simply adapt your philosophy, accept that recruiting has no end date, there’s no finish line…and start planning for short-term departures.  Again, super simple solution that will actually help you keep up with vacancies. 💪

So, how do you plan for it?  I covered this formula a couple of years ago, and I’ll teach it again here for those who are newer to the Police Marketing revolution. Unfortunately, there’s some math involved…but don’t freak out, you’ll be able to figure this out, even I did...

First…you need to determine your departure rate.

 

To do this, simply go back five years, tally up all of the people you hired during that time span, and then figure out how many of those hires left prematurely during that same five-year period. This is anybody who failed out, quit, did something stupid to get fired, or almost any other reason someone left.  This is not counting retirements mind you...that has nothing to do with retention of new hires. 🖐️

Now, divide the number of departures by the number of hires and this is your departure rate which gives you a good baseline to gauge how many vacancies you’re gonna have the following years. 💡

For example, if you hired 20 people and 5 of them left within the five years...you’ve got a 25% departure rate.  Make sense? 👍

Ok, now that you have your departure rate figured out...

It is imperative that you factor that number into your recruitment plan for the following year. This way, you can not only expect, but plan for these vacancies, get ahead of them, and tackle your numbers with realistic expectations. 🫡

Again, for example, if you plan on hiring 100 people over the next 5 years, you should expect that 25 of them aren’t going to stay.  OK? 🙂

Now…this last part is extremely important…

Regularly check and update your departure rate.  Don’t just sit on the estimate thinking it’s going to be good for the next five years.  Remember, things in recruiting are very fluid and you’ve got to be constantly on the lookout for changes.  👀

Being able to shift your mindset to one of...'people are going to get hired, stay five years, leave, and that's ok'...will allow you to plan for the future, reconsider your views on what the proper resources are going to look so you can address the problem, and help you keep up with and stay ahead of vacancies. 🚀

If you’re ready for more philosophical shifts, just like you read in this newsletter, ones that will change your police recruiting & retention forever…my Road to Better Recruiting online super course is open right now and will teach you the exact mindset, direction, and strategies that I've used for the past decade plus to help meet applicants where they’re at, build a relationship with them, and stay ahead of vacancies. 🎯

Check it out now on my website by visiting forcopstraining.com/rtbr and take control of your police recruiting. 

Have a friend at another agency who could really use a change in the way they think about recruiting?  Share this newsletter with them so they can learn too!  Trust me…the future of our profession will thank you later.  🤝

Have more questions about police recruiting, marketing, or anything else you're struggling with? Don't hesitate to reach out...I’m always here to help. 🙏

Until next week my Police Marketing Squad, happy recruiting! 😃

Tom

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👋 I’m Tom Sye, your Police Marketing FTO. I founded ‘For Cops’ Training to teach Police Departments how to attract more qualified candidates through the same tried and tested methods I’ve used for the past ten years at my own department to keep up with turnover and stay ahead of vacancies.

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