OK, guys. Listen up: ESD will be knocking on your door very, very soon if you are doing stoopid stuff like this: http://www.wtvf.com/Global/story.asp?S=6494139
So, in the spirit of teamwork, here's some really good tips for you: http://detailedrecruiter.blogspot.com/2007/03/some-advice.html This from SFC B in Phoenix, AZ (or so the blog says) who has a pretty good head on his shoulders and a wicked funny way to tell you to CUT THE CRAP!!!!!
Sergeants, let me be the one to tell you that this stuff just pisses me off. Why? Well, first you have the fun humiliation that comes with all those doggone civilians who think that the one guy in uniform that they see in front of them at McDonald's trying to order some lunch is the same dude they just saw on the TV news last night. Never mind that it was a female, or a Marine, or one thousand miles away or whatever. To a civilian: every GI is the same GI. So the honest recruiters get to suffer for what those dummies on TV did. Sucks to be us, don't it?
Two: I am so sick and tired of going into a Battalion Headquarters and seeing the very same recruiters that we are investigating posted on the awards board as "Top Recruiter of the Daggone Universe".
Three: I am so sick and tired of the honest recruiters having to slog their way through 100 hour weeks just to try to come close to the production numbers that the crooked recruiters make in 20 hour weeks. Really. They are being held to a standard that is largely upheld by criminal activity.
Four: PVT Mallard was somebody's son. Somebody's husband. Somebody's daddy. And PVT Mallard is now gone, not because he got his tail shot off in the war, oh no. Because a crooked recruiter took PVT Mallard by the hand and took him down the road to self destruction. Think about it. The very best scenario would have been his discharge for fraudulent entry once the cadre at BCT finally caught on to the fact that PVT Mallard really wasn't fit for service. And even that would have destroyed his little world: he would have been sent home a second time failure for psychiatric issues. What kind of job was he going to get then to support his family? How was he going to face his wife? His parents? Sure, they say now that they wish he'd never joined, but you and I both know that Mom, Dad, and Wifey were all behind him joining up and getting a great career with bennies! How would you handle returning home as a failure after all the hoopla they raised? Yeah, he was toast, no matter how this cookie crumbled. And yes, I do blame the recruiter.
K. That's enough for now.
I hope I never come to your recruiting station, but if I do, just know that there's a reason for it.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Pissed off doesn't even begin to describe...
Pissed off doesn't even begin to describe my state of mind at this point. Choleric? K. Galled? Yep. Getting there.
Let's begin:
A few months ago, we inspected a battalion. The battalion was excellent, except for one area. In that one area, the senior NCO responsible was doing things he should not do. He wasn't doing things he should do. We wrote him up, as a Recruiting Impropriety, for every contract he'd come in contact with since the start of the fiscal year. Yeah, he is that bad. Broke every rule in the book.
So today, we get the completed investigation. This senior NCO, who is the subject matter expert in his field, the one person everyone else in the battalion calls when they need help in that field, has an excuse for why he did all that wrong. It was, to paraphrase, that "he was never trained in how to do it and he never read the regulation".
Let me say this again:
The senior NCO of his component in his battalion, with probably 10 years experience in recruiting, the subject matter expert in his field, to whom they all look for answers to questions on exactly the things we inspected, claimed ignorance of the regulation and all policies and procedures.
One more time, for effect:
He didn't know how to do his job because he wasn't trained and he never read the regulation.
And his battalion commander accepted that excuse and closed the case as an "error".
I'm going home now.
Let's begin:
A few months ago, we inspected a battalion. The battalion was excellent, except for one area. In that one area, the senior NCO responsible was doing things he should not do. He wasn't doing things he should do. We wrote him up, as a Recruiting Impropriety, for every contract he'd come in contact with since the start of the fiscal year. Yeah, he is that bad. Broke every rule in the book.
So today, we get the completed investigation. This senior NCO, who is the subject matter expert in his field, the one person everyone else in the battalion calls when they need help in that field, has an excuse for why he did all that wrong. It was, to paraphrase, that "he was never trained in how to do it and he never read the regulation".
Let me say this again:
The senior NCO of his component in his battalion, with probably 10 years experience in recruiting, the subject matter expert in his field, to whom they all look for answers to questions on exactly the things we inspected, claimed ignorance of the regulation and all policies and procedures.
One more time, for effect:
He didn't know how to do his job because he wasn't trained and he never read the regulation.
And his battalion commander accepted that excuse and closed the case as an "error".
I'm going home now.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
For Your Toolbox: TTMP
It occurs to me that there are things that any recruiter needs in their toolbox, so from time to time I'll give ya something you can use out there in RecruiterLand.
Today it's TTMP.
There are lots and folks out there with lots and lots of theories about recruiting and how to be successful. I will never tell you a "wrong" way to be unsuccessful, because I don't want to come to your recruiting station and investigate you. I will tell you only what I know for a fact is real and true and will work. Please understand- if I give you something, it's because I know it works. It's not necessarily easy. There's no such thing as a "gimme" in this business.
All recruiters must do exactly three things in order to succeed. Those three things are, in order, Prospect, Process, and Follow Up. In order to Process or Follow Up, you must first Prospect, so we'll tackle that first.
I know most of you have heard of things like the MAP, conversion data, and the like. Those are all excellent tools, and the basis for all of them is TTMP. I know, I know- you don't believe in the "numbers game". Well, let me tell ya- just like any game, in order to win, you have to know the rules. Recruiting is a numbers game. And Rule Number One of this game is TTMP- Talk To More People.
No matter what your conversion data is, no matter how bad your market is, no matter how unskilled you are at selling, if you TTMP you will increase your production.
Let me tell you a story (prefaced by the statement that I generally learn things the hard way- you don't have to if you pay attention):
There once was a new recruiter who was, sadly, so shy she could never walk up to anyone and say "hi", much less ask them if they want to join the Army (ok, it was me). Fortunately, I had a fantastic station commander who saw this early, and helped me fix the situation. Five hours on the telephone a day. Yep. Five. And ya know what? I did it. Five hours, every day, 40 attempts per hour. 200 attempts per day. And in those 200 attempts, I got maybe 50 contacts. In those 50 contacts, I made maybe 2 or 3 appointments. Each and every day. You ever heard that "Practice makes Perfect?" Well, it does. The first couple weeks, I had a bunch of no-shows. I learned to change what I was saying to get more to show up. The next couple weeks, I had a bunch of unqualified folks show up for appointments. I learned to prequal while making the appointment. The next few weeks, I was only making 3 or 4 appointments per week, but they all showed up and they were qualified. I just couldn't close! From then on, it was all about refining my interview and closing skills. And I learned more with each appointment I conducted. And all this time, still continued to make 5 hours of phone prospecting a day. You can't quit prospecting once you make appointments- when you quit, you cease to TTMP. You are then only TTSP (Talking To Some People). You have to TTMP.
Even when you make mission, you must continue to TTMP because there's plenty of mission left for next month and the month after that and the month after that. Once you have Future Soldiers, you must TTEMP (Talk To Even More People) because now, not only do you have a mission, you must also be prepared to overproduce in case Johnny gets a case of the shakes and flakes out on you. And the more Future Soldiers you have, the more prepared you must be to overproduce.
There are lots of things we do in order to be successful, but there is still always an element of luck to this game. You can greatly increase your odds of success by improving your skills, building solid HS and FSTP programs, and the like. But the fact is, even if you have done everything exactly right, you really and truly have no control over whether Johnny ships or enlists. You can sell and resell him. You can babysit him. You can see him for three hours every single day. He can still, for whatever reason, evaporate into thin air. The only defense you will have is whether or not you can prove you did your job (that's what the planning guide is for- if you don't maintain it, don't expect it to be your friend here). And what does our job consist of? Exactly three things: Prospecting, Processing, and Follow Up. You can't Process or Follow Up if you didn't Prospect.
Big mission this quarter? TTMP.
Wanna go on leave for Christmas? TTMP.
Really suck at selling? TTMP.
Hate to phone prospect? TTMP in the HS, college, or community.
Can't face-to-face prospect? TTMP on the phone.
TTMP.
TTMP.
TTMP.
Today it's TTMP.
There are lots and folks out there with lots and lots of theories about recruiting and how to be successful. I will never tell you a "wrong" way to be unsuccessful, because I don't want to come to your recruiting station and investigate you. I will tell you only what I know for a fact is real and true and will work. Please understand- if I give you something, it's because I know it works. It's not necessarily easy. There's no such thing as a "gimme" in this business.
All recruiters must do exactly three things in order to succeed. Those three things are, in order, Prospect, Process, and Follow Up. In order to Process or Follow Up, you must first Prospect, so we'll tackle that first.
I know most of you have heard of things like the MAP, conversion data, and the like. Those are all excellent tools, and the basis for all of them is TTMP. I know, I know- you don't believe in the "numbers game". Well, let me tell ya- just like any game, in order to win, you have to know the rules. Recruiting is a numbers game. And Rule Number One of this game is TTMP- Talk To More People.
No matter what your conversion data is, no matter how bad your market is, no matter how unskilled you are at selling, if you TTMP you will increase your production.
Let me tell you a story (prefaced by the statement that I generally learn things the hard way- you don't have to if you pay attention):
There once was a new recruiter who was, sadly, so shy she could never walk up to anyone and say "hi", much less ask them if they want to join the Army (ok, it was me). Fortunately, I had a fantastic station commander who saw this early, and helped me fix the situation. Five hours on the telephone a day. Yep. Five. And ya know what? I did it. Five hours, every day, 40 attempts per hour. 200 attempts per day. And in those 200 attempts, I got maybe 50 contacts. In those 50 contacts, I made maybe 2 or 3 appointments. Each and every day. You ever heard that "Practice makes Perfect?" Well, it does. The first couple weeks, I had a bunch of no-shows. I learned to change what I was saying to get more to show up. The next couple weeks, I had a bunch of unqualified folks show up for appointments. I learned to prequal while making the appointment. The next few weeks, I was only making 3 or 4 appointments per week, but they all showed up and they were qualified. I just couldn't close! From then on, it was all about refining my interview and closing skills. And I learned more with each appointment I conducted. And all this time, still continued to make 5 hours of phone prospecting a day. You can't quit prospecting once you make appointments- when you quit, you cease to TTMP. You are then only TTSP (Talking To Some People). You have to TTMP.
Even when you make mission, you must continue to TTMP because there's plenty of mission left for next month and the month after that and the month after that. Once you have Future Soldiers, you must TTEMP (Talk To Even More People) because now, not only do you have a mission, you must also be prepared to overproduce in case Johnny gets a case of the shakes and flakes out on you. And the more Future Soldiers you have, the more prepared you must be to overproduce.
There are lots of things we do in order to be successful, but there is still always an element of luck to this game. You can greatly increase your odds of success by improving your skills, building solid HS and FSTP programs, and the like. But the fact is, even if you have done everything exactly right, you really and truly have no control over whether Johnny ships or enlists. You can sell and resell him. You can babysit him. You can see him for three hours every single day. He can still, for whatever reason, evaporate into thin air. The only defense you will have is whether or not you can prove you did your job (that's what the planning guide is for- if you don't maintain it, don't expect it to be your friend here). And what does our job consist of? Exactly three things: Prospecting, Processing, and Follow Up. You can't Process or Follow Up if you didn't Prospect.
Big mission this quarter? TTMP.
Wanna go on leave for Christmas? TTMP.
Really suck at selling? TTMP.
Hate to phone prospect? TTMP in the HS, college, or community.
Can't face-to-face prospect? TTMP on the phone.
TTMP.
TTMP.
TTMP.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Feeling much better now.
You know, as I was posting the last, I realized that I was feeling a bit, well, bitchy. Then I realized the last time I ate was lunch yesterday, and that low blood sugar is not a good thing for my mood. So, I skedaddled on down to the mess hall (I refuse to call it a dfac- I grew up with mess hall and mess hall it shall remain) and got me some grub. Roast cornish hen, spinach, mashed taters and cottage cheese. Yum, yum. I do feel much better now.
Being able to skedaddle on down to the mess hall is a novelty to me. I'd been out in Recruiting Land for 14 years, far far away from military bases, and it's comforting to be back on post. I didn't realize how much I'd missed it. For $3.65 you can get yourself a pretty darn good meal that's good for you, too. Beats the heck out of the BK right across the street, that's for sure.
All righty, then. If my last post seemed a bit pessimistic, that's because I've had a couple conversations lately that kind of got my hairs stood up. See, recruiting ain't easy. Yep- a recruiting lifer is saying it out loud. RECRUITING AIN'T EASY. That old story about making mission and going fishin', that's BS. Once you make mission, then you really go to work. Cuz now you have a whole squad of Johnnies that need babysat. They'll call you at 2am to tell you their gf broke up with them. They'll call you at 4am to tell you they got back together. Their parents will call you and complain that Johnny moved out and won't come home and they are worried (Johnny is around 30 yrs old.) If he's in high school, the school will call you and tell you Johnny skipped class. Johnny's gf will call you and tell you she's pregnant but it ain't his and can she still get military benefits for the baby. And this is after you spend hours, days, weeks, months chasing his sorry butt around to get him to commit to join the Army, get him processed, and all that. Then Johnny ships (usually) and he quits calling you for a bit but now parents and gf and his late Aunt Marie call even more because he hasn't bothered to send them a letter in the last 24.
So when people start talking about my Recruiters, I get a bit upset. Because I know that the vast majority of Recruiters are doing the hard right thing, all the time. However, comma, there are a few who just defy all reason by doing the easy wrong thing at any one time. And although MOST Recruiters do right, it's the ones who do wrong that get all the attention.
Let me tell you a story about when I first inprocessed here at the Puzzle Palace for my current assignment.
As part of the inprocessing, I got to talk to a senior officer. That officer said, (and I paraphrase here) "So, recruiting's going great for you, huh? You didn't ask for the position, you were nominated, so you must be a high roller- making mission and going fishing, right? Four day work week?" To which I replied, "Um, no. I did ok, but I never in the last 14 years had a four day work week. Once you make mission, then you really go to work." And that senior officer seemed a bit confused, and talked about an area just visited where everyone was on four day weeks and making mission and life is grand for them. I let it go, for the sake of keeping the conversation short.
Later, the same day, I get to sit in on a briefing on a major investigation going in an area very near the one we'd been talking about. Kids, these recruiters (I use a small "r" here because they don't deserve the big one) were doing things I'd never have dreamed up in a million zillion years. And then I got to thinking- "No wonder they're on four day work weeks." Kids, I am here to tell you that Recruiters are being held to a standard that is in some cases upheld by less than honorable activity. And that makes me angry. I know dozens of honest, honorable Recruiters who will never be top Recruiter. They do their jobs, and do them to the very best of their ability, sometimes to the detriment of their families and their health. But they will never be "Top anything". They make mission every now and then, and they roll a donut every now and then (hopefully they make mission more than they roll donuts!) But they never, ever put their careers, their livelihoods, their families in jeopardy by doing the wrong thing. I do know of at least a couple recruiters (there's that small "r" again) who have been "Top whatever" lots of times. I've investigated them. And what I found was unappetizing at best, downright disgusting at worst. To find out some of what we've seen, go to the command homepage, click on the SJA and read the newsletter.
So, when bad stuff happens, the doer of the bad stuff gets to go somewhere else, and they replace him with a newbie. And that newbie now has not only the regular difficulties that go with the job, he also has to contend with the people there in the community who knew the old guy and now have expectations of the new guy. This can be tough to overcome. You can't have a weak moment, kids. Stay strong.
For those of you who are doing the right thing, keep it up. Good things happen when you do good things. Don't look for awards as a measure of success. Look at those letters from basic training, at the new kids on HRAP, and the pride in their families' faces. That's your reward. You took a snot-nosed Johnny and turned him into a Soldier. There is nothing better than that.
For those of you what are not doing the right thing: We are watching. You are neither invisible nor invincible.
'Nuff said.
Being able to skedaddle on down to the mess hall is a novelty to me. I'd been out in Recruiting Land for 14 years, far far away from military bases, and it's comforting to be back on post. I didn't realize how much I'd missed it. For $3.65 you can get yourself a pretty darn good meal that's good for you, too. Beats the heck out of the BK right across the street, that's for sure.
All righty, then. If my last post seemed a bit pessimistic, that's because I've had a couple conversations lately that kind of got my hairs stood up. See, recruiting ain't easy. Yep- a recruiting lifer is saying it out loud. RECRUITING AIN'T EASY. That old story about making mission and going fishin', that's BS. Once you make mission, then you really go to work. Cuz now you have a whole squad of Johnnies that need babysat. They'll call you at 2am to tell you their gf broke up with them. They'll call you at 4am to tell you they got back together. Their parents will call you and complain that Johnny moved out and won't come home and they are worried (Johnny is around 30 yrs old.) If he's in high school, the school will call you and tell you Johnny skipped class. Johnny's gf will call you and tell you she's pregnant but it ain't his and can she still get military benefits for the baby. And this is after you spend hours, days, weeks, months chasing his sorry butt around to get him to commit to join the Army, get him processed, and all that. Then Johnny ships (usually) and he quits calling you for a bit but now parents and gf and his late Aunt Marie call even more because he hasn't bothered to send them a letter in the last 24.
So when people start talking about my Recruiters, I get a bit upset. Because I know that the vast majority of Recruiters are doing the hard right thing, all the time. However, comma, there are a few who just defy all reason by doing the easy wrong thing at any one time. And although MOST Recruiters do right, it's the ones who do wrong that get all the attention.
Let me tell you a story about when I first inprocessed here at the Puzzle Palace for my current assignment.
As part of the inprocessing, I got to talk to a senior officer. That officer said, (and I paraphrase here) "So, recruiting's going great for you, huh? You didn't ask for the position, you were nominated, so you must be a high roller- making mission and going fishing, right? Four day work week?" To which I replied, "Um, no. I did ok, but I never in the last 14 years had a four day work week. Once you make mission, then you really go to work." And that senior officer seemed a bit confused, and talked about an area just visited where everyone was on four day weeks and making mission and life is grand for them. I let it go, for the sake of keeping the conversation short.
Later, the same day, I get to sit in on a briefing on a major investigation going in an area very near the one we'd been talking about. Kids, these recruiters (I use a small "r" here because they don't deserve the big one) were doing things I'd never have dreamed up in a million zillion years. And then I got to thinking- "No wonder they're on four day work weeks." Kids, I am here to tell you that Recruiters are being held to a standard that is in some cases upheld by less than honorable activity. And that makes me angry. I know dozens of honest, honorable Recruiters who will never be top Recruiter. They do their jobs, and do them to the very best of their ability, sometimes to the detriment of their families and their health. But they will never be "Top anything". They make mission every now and then, and they roll a donut every now and then (hopefully they make mission more than they roll donuts!) But they never, ever put their careers, their livelihoods, their families in jeopardy by doing the wrong thing. I do know of at least a couple recruiters (there's that small "r" again) who have been "Top whatever" lots of times. I've investigated them. And what I found was unappetizing at best, downright disgusting at worst. To find out some of what we've seen, go to the command homepage, click on the SJA and read the newsletter.
So, when bad stuff happens, the doer of the bad stuff gets to go somewhere else, and they replace him with a newbie. And that newbie now has not only the regular difficulties that go with the job, he also has to contend with the people there in the community who knew the old guy and now have expectations of the new guy. This can be tough to overcome. You can't have a weak moment, kids. Stay strong.
For those of you who are doing the right thing, keep it up. Good things happen when you do good things. Don't look for awards as a measure of success. Look at those letters from basic training, at the new kids on HRAP, and the pride in their families' faces. That's your reward. You took a snot-nosed Johnny and turned him into a Soldier. There is nothing better than that.
For those of you what are not doing the right thing: We are watching. You are neither invisible nor invincible.
'Nuff said.
Howdy
All righty then. I decided that I should start blogging over here, as my current blog is just about my purely personal pursuits such as cycling and scrapping, and I have things to say that I don't think belong in the artistic world ruled by civilian women. If you are interested in that or seeing what kind of digital designs I'm up to, hit me over at scrapgirls.com - I'm sfcgijill there too.
OK, so the first and most obvious question is this- what on earth could I possibly have to say that wouldn't fit in with that community? Well, I am a Soldier and that means I have a persona to maintain with them. The Army is great, Soldiers are great, Recruiters are great, God Bless our Troops and George Bush too. I don't want to vent and spoil their vision. I need them to continue to have that nice warm fuzzy about us. They have children who may enlist.
I've been a Recruiter since 1992. Yes, I have my hair, and no, I am not on profile or on anti-depressant medication. I work at the Puzzle Palace. I am not in charge of diddly-squat, so don't bother asking for favors. I wouldn't do a favor for most folks anyway, as I have found that doing favors for people generally backfires in my face. For the last year, I have been here in a completely new and interesting position. I am an Investigator and Inspector. Don't get too impressed- like I said, I am not in charge of diddly-squat. And that is just fine with me.
That said, most other Recruiters would not like to see me come to their stations. Why? Because we don't go to the stations that we think don't have issues. When we come to your station, it's because we've identified a trend that needs to be addressed, and the only trends we look at deal with Recruiter Improprieties.
Now, then. Let's talk a bit about what my job is and what it isn't.
I am an evidence collector. I am not the judge, the jury, or the executioner. Don't waste your time talking to me about what I found in your desk, GOV, or laptop. Besides, if you do talk to me about it, we have to do a sworn statement. You do not want to add "making a false official statement" to your list of charges. So save it. Wait for the investigating officer. He will be more than interested in what you have to say.
If you are stupid enough to do something you shouldn't on government time, in uniform, in your government car, on your government phone, or on your government computer, brother, you need me to catch you. Chances are, we'll nip that naughty stuff in the bud, you'll get your wrist smacked and your eyes opened as you stand on the carpet in front of your Commander. If you've gone beyond the "nip it in the bud" stage, you deserve all you get.
Never forget that each and every applicant is somebody's child. Yeah, they know that kid is an iggit. That's why they are so happy you've taken an interest in him. They want him out of the house, too. They think the military life might just straighten him out, give him a framework so he can be a contributing citizen and quit hoovering up all their groceries. And as soon as dear Johnny gets in trouble, he's gonna say your name, as his family writes letters to their congressman all about what you did. He's gonna spell it right, too, even though he can't spell his own name to save his life. He's gonna hand over your business card and incriminating photo evidence. He's gonna tell us about everyone else he knows that you did the same thing to/for. And Johnny is going to tell a compelling story, complete with tears and snot bubbles, all about all he ever wanted to do was join the Army and make his daddy proud.
OK. Scared you enough yet? Good. Just remember- bad things happen when you do bad things.
Done with that. Done with my blog entry. Taking off the black hat, and I promise, next time I write, I'll be more sociable. Can you tell I got a bug in my britches about something? It'll be over soon, I am sure.
See you soon.
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