The Absurdities of the Job

There is probably not an agency in the United States that is not currently experiencing some sort of staffing issue. Many are facing recruitment shortages. Some are also facing retention of their incumbent staff, from either accelerated retirements or just plain quitting. These troubles are not unique to anyone. From small to large, rural to urban, city, county, state and federal; all are wading into the labor pools.

This article appeared in the January/February issue of OFFICER Magazine. Click Here to view the digital edition. Click Here to subscribe to OFFICER Magazine.

One of the biggest and most overlooked issues in staffing is that of retention. It is rare that we fully explore the investments that go into a new employee. On first blush, most add the salaries of the human resources staff or your recruiting staff. Then add your quartermaster’s cost of the general issue of uniforms and issued equipment, it starts to add up. Most just ring up the tangibles only: the uniforms and basic issued personal equipment. Still do not forget to compute the overall costs of training—the instructors’ salaries and academy tuition, these add thousands more to the losses. Many years ago when I was in Savannah, we tallied up how many thousands of dollars it cost the department to get one officer to the street to fill one position. The final tab from hello to one year status made us review our retention and selection policies.

From soup to nuts

It all starts with a capable person who walks in your door wanting to be a police officer or a deputy. Why they show up or what motivates some is beyond me at times. Some are true believers, with pie in the sky dreams, imagining that they can make a difference in the world. Some of them are lured to an agency for whatever reasons, seeing this as a part of their future. Some just need a job. I recall in the late 1970s, I was just getting out of the military, I was just happy to get a job with little questions asked. It a steady paycheck. However, the tables have turned, today’s recruits are going to require you answer questions for them.

Some of today’s generation have some disillusionment about what ‘the job’ fully encompasses. When I was a chief, that department created a check sheet for a candidate. Once a contingent job offer was made, the candidate was to read and sign off on a series of statements. It was that they fully understood the job requirements. I have found out through my colleagues that they had encountered young people who had graduated the academy but did not understand the employment conditions. Some believed that they would be exempt from shift work by some miracle. Some did not fully grasp that they had to work general holidays or religious holidays. One of the check points was that the police department was staffed 24 hours a day, every day and that all personnel were subject for recall. To include rotating shift work—we had to explain to them, not everybody works eight to five in this world. This is an experience orientated vocation; seniority is a consideration for days off. The next block statement of their job classification is as an essential employee. An essential employee would be the one who has to stay behind when everybody else evacuates when the hurricane arrives. Just because everyone else gets to leave, there are those who must continue service delivery.

We even added a statement regarding linear progression and methodology of promotions and assignments. Just because they have a degree or had seen all the reruns of NCIS does not mean they are going to be instantly miracled into a detective. I think a lot of the disenfranchisement which may lead some young people to join and quit is that they do not understand the rules of the game. When a department has invested vast amounts of money and their leaving is because we did not explain things up front, then they blame is on us. It’s like the old country and western song called “the cold hard facts of life.” I think we do a disservice to a candidate if we do not fully disclose to these incoming employees what is expected of them during their onboarding. Some of you may scoff and think that this is so trivial; so did I at first. Who would ever ponder this? But after speaking with colleagues across the nation nearly every one of them has had a disillusioned employee leave over what we accept as the standard working conditions. Therefore, I recommend give a disclosure of what they are about to get into. Although, this seems counter-intuitive to frighten off a possible candidate before they start. Let them decide if they want this job and its lifestyle up front. If you can prevent one from this early out cycle, you have saved your budget thousands of dollars. Now we can also offer a position to someone who might be more deserving.

Another one of the absurdities of today’s law enforcement recruitment is preparing the recruit for the realities of life. With the exception of someone who comes to you from the military or from emergency services, many have never witnessed some of the atrocities of life that they are about to encounter. I have seen more than once where a viable candidate sees some of the horrors that humans can be subjected to and then merely wanted to walk away from the job. Granted, all of us have seen some of these horrors, some of us still have issues coping with our past crime scenes, and some of us just want some mind eraser. But we must be ready to shore up our recruits when they see these things that could make them want to walk away from the job. Invest in employee counseling; again we have invested a lot of money to get him or her this far.

I’ve also unfortunately seen some people who have made it through their first six months and become so disillusioned because of the mundane repetitious calls. If they were a true believer thinking they were going to make a big difference in world, they are in for a surprise. I have tried talking to some who were exiting, trying to get a handle on what is forcing them to leave. Several had told me that they thought that they would be able to make that difference. But when they went back to the same neighborhoods, seeing the same plights of urban mankind repetitiously, they felt that they were not making a difference at all and wanted to find another helping vocation. Granted, one’s happiness in life and vocation should be a primary goal of life. I would like to see employees happy, but it can be a hard goal to achieve. In closing, today’s recruitment and retention is fraught with more perils than ever. It is bad enough that we must rebuild and rebrand ourselves to regain public trust again. But I think some who are coming to us for employment are thinking they have something to offer. Alas, some do not have the internal moxie to perform this job and try, only to leave. Being up front with candidates is imperative. It protects your recruitment and onboarding budgets. Also, being up front and working with recruits as they go through their first few years strengthens them. When they have that first horrible call, we need to be there to shore them up. If we can retain them by helping them, we have invested in our most valuable resource, our staff.

About the Author

William L. “Bill” Harvey is a U.S. Army Military Police Corps veteran. He has a BA in criminology from St. Leo University and is a graduate of the Southern Police Institute of the University of Louisville (103rd AOC). Harvey served in leadership positions including chief during a career that spanned over 40 years.

This article appeared in the January/February issue of OFFICER Magazine.