In younger staff, search for characteristics or statements that best reflect the camp's core program values (small ingredients). If staff requirements include attributes such as solid values, good character, articulate speech, or the ability to listen, then directors need to develop a standard series of simple questions that will produce the desired information. Note any indications of multilevel thinking or thought patterns that are advanced for their age group.
For lead counselors and supervisors (main ingredients), develop an interview process that allows them to convey the type of leadership qualities they already possess. Questions should be directed toward determining the inherent abilities of what is considered to be important. If current questions do not CLEARLY reveal attributes such as good communication skills, being personable, coping with stress, having a positive attitude, being creative, showing initiative, having a strong work ethic, relating to campers with special needs, demanding excellence, or possessing good problem-solving skills, then revamp the interview.
Interviewers may know in five minutes whether an applicant is wanted, but don't expect the applicants to be as skilled at picking a camp. Spending time with prospective staff is important. Take the opportunity to inform them of camp philosophy, and make sure they leave with enough information to make a good decision. It is critical that staff feel like they can be a part of something special, and this needs to start the first time they meet or talk to any director.
To do this properly, you must set aside a lot of time! Preheat your oven. Most interviews should be somewhere around an hour. No, I'm not kidding. Take notes. Show prospective staff what they say is important. Remember that as a camp director or interviewer modeling a two-way communication process will eventually be the ingredient that helps the cake to rise. Creating a meaningful working relationship now, will result in staff who appreciate the attention and will likely return the dedication when it is needed most--such as providing extra attention to campers on hot days or being energetic during late summer special events. During the summer everyone gets tired, but staff will try harder now because they have gained respect for the relationships directors have cultivated. By the time orientation arrives, the vast majority of staff are informed, included, and motivated to learn.
Bake the Cake
When all the ingredients are mixed and each staff position is filled, don't forget to bake the cake. Senior staff have the advantage of controlling the atmosphere or oven temperature. This is the time to make adjustments in orientation content. Successful camps purposely include a variety of training methods that are specifically designed to relate to all staff. Remember, orientation happens prior to camp. Training does not really begin until the campers arrive. So what can be done to produce a more effective orientation?
Do not present standard information the same way each year. For the cake to properly rise, ask orientation directors to be creative teachers. Instruct them to make the most of this opportunity by modeling inventive ways to communicate camp policies. Use the process of orientation as a learning metaphor so gained practical knowledge will reflect the actual camp experience. To help do this effectively, have veteran staff help as mentors, tour guides, demonstrators, and controlled procedure interpreters. Let them demonstrate to new and junior staff that learning is best understood experientially using innovative teaching techniques. Require veteran staff to work with new staff to present ideas, role play, or update existing procedures. This allows for the communication of fresh ideas with culture-enhanced insight to be a concept--not just talked about, but fostered and implemented.
Take the idea one step further and choose several activities or special events for staff to plan. Make them small enough so staff have a high success rate and let them independently work on it. Give a little guidance, and let them run with it. Don't choose something that will significantly alter your program! Promoting this type of staff interaction serves three immediate purposes:
1. It will generate common interests between new and returning staff.
2. By working together, new staff will creatively learn how certain procedures are done.
3. It will ensure each staff member has a vested interest in the program.
Doing this periodically throughout the summer keeps the staff actively engaged in the program. The buzz surrounding each of these activities is self-generating because it's coming from the staff to the staff.
Remember the Icing
Before the cake is finished, it must have icing. If considerable time has been spent hiring, preparing, and putting staff through a creative orientation, what else can be done? Define where owners, directors, or supervisors fit into this process. Camps that consistently generate unified quality staff have one or several key directors who have mastered the art of staff communication. Because staff come from all over the world and are of different ages and experience, this ability is rare. If the director does not inherently possess this ability, someone else on staff must.
* Take the time and evaluate each director's leadership style from the staff's perspective.
* Define what attributes make an effective trainer given the mission and camper population.
* Examine characteristics such as approachability, presence, timing, energy, stamina, consistent behavior, and disposition. These characteristics make staff want to be a part of the team. By the way, aren't these same traits wanted in the staff?
Is This Cake for You?
In deciding what aspects of this model may be applicable to your program, keep in mind the most important goal is to develop a process that creates a better staff leadership team. If you use preorientation time to develop working relationships by setting up meetings, the foundation for program ownership will be established. Begin by developing character criteria for staff hiring. Specifically look for people who have these traits and then take the time to establish a solid working relationship. Make sure they are team players who fundamentally understand what needs to be accomplished during the summer.
Use orientation as a leadership model by having staff plan and complete small program exercises. Have them demonstrate creative teaching methods when presenting their ideas so staff can receive multilayered benefits from each activity. Be sure trainers are showing the leadership skills necessary to actively engage staff in a two-way communication process.
To be a leader other people want to be around--and therefore follow--one must exhibit the necessary character traits staff should imitate. This parallel process between directors and staff is a critical component of leadership development. If actions by camp leaders unconditionally lead toward a philosophy that is consistent and fair, the camp will be successful.
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