5 Things to Talk About in Your Next Recruiting Unit Meeting!

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Want to get your police recruiting turned around here in 2025?  I’ve got the five things you need to discuss right now to get everyone in the unit on the same page and ready to attack those vacancies of yours...keep reading! 👀

Hey everyone, it’s Tom Sye your Police Marketing FTO, and even though the new year is only a couple of months in…you’ve still got a million things to do and somehow it’s already starting to feel a lot like 2024 all over again, right??!?!  I’ve been there and it’s not a great feeling. 😒

A big part of the reason you’re feeling this way is because you’re not in the know….and when you’re in the dark, you can’t see the light.  Let’s fix that right now. 💡

Look, you’re not gonna like this one bit…but you need to have a meeting.  😑

I know, I know…everyone’s busy and we don’t have time for that…but listen to me…without getting everyone on your recruiting and background staff on the same page, you have zero chance of solving your recruiting problems, whether it’s this month, next month or at any point during the next year.  This is that critical. 💯

So…with that being said, call everyone together and discuss these five things as soon as possible…

1.  How many vacancies you have

This seems like such a simple topic to discuss and that’s because it is.  But you know what…most people in recruiting and backgrounds…if you were to ask them right now could not tell you how many sworn and civilian vacancies they currently have.  That’s a huge issue. 😳 

I’ve said it before and I’m going to say it again…you will never be able to solve your recruiting problems if your entire staff doesn’t even know what the basic problem is. 🤯

2.  When your next application period is

Whether you test monthly, every other month, or periodically when the need arises, everyone should know the exact dates you are accepting applications.  This comes in really handy when a potential applicant asks and ensures that you have a better answer than ‘gee, I don’t know…let me find out for you’. 😵

Make sure everyone knows when the application period opens, closes, and when, even if approximate, the next one will be. 📅

3.  What day your police testing is on and when the next one after that is

In an ideal world, you could just pick some testing date out of thin air and all of the awesome and super qualified candidates you’ve been searching for would simply show up on that date and all of your problems would be solved.   Unfortunately, we live in the real world where that never happens.  The last thing you want to tell a potential candidate is 'we’ll have another testing date at some point...keep checking our website'. 🤦

Make sure to plan out testing dates in advance so you don’t run the risk of losing an applicant to an agency who has a better game plan than you! 💪

4.  Who’s working who and where they're at

This will be the part of the meeting where every background investigator quickly gives a rundown of all of their applicants and where they are at in the process.  This allows the whole staff to have an idea of where people are at, be able to answer general questions from say…the Chief later, and most importantly reassures the entire unit, in a super real way, the task of filling your vacancies doesn’t rest solely on them. 😌

5.  What do you need?

As should be the case with any recruiting or hiring meeting, you should always end with a good 'what do you need' session where people can relay any help, advice, or assistance others in the unit can provide.  This isn’t meant to be a ‘if we could have anything we wanted’ wish list type of conversation however…but more of a I’ve got two people coming next Tuesday for something can someone help me out type of thing. 👍

It should be very plain to everyone that they should never hesitate to ask for or give help and if you got someone who is constantly unwilling to pitch in…you’ve probably got the wrong person working for you. 🤷

So…when’s the meeting?  Cover these topics, get everyone on the same page, and start recruiting like it’s 2025! 🚀

Need some more advice on learning how to get things turned around at your agency? 👇

My Road to Better Recruiting course is open right now and will teach you everything you need to know to do exactly that.  You can see everything that is included in the online super course by visiting forcopstraining.com/rtbr. 

I promise you, this will be the best recruiting course you’ve ever taken and you'll wish you took it sooner! ✋

Have a friend at another agency who really needs to get their team together as well?  Share this newsletter with them so they can learn too!  Afterall, we’re all in this together and they’ll be sure glad you did. 🤝

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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