Nov 2023. Blues Vol 39 No. 11

- The Recruiting and Retention
of officers. Recruitment
is a very real challenge and at
times, a battle. I assumed my
current role as a Chief with
nine officer openings and 5
tele-communicator openings.
I just hired and filled my last
open position. It took eighteen
months. Eighteen. And I’m the
lucky one. Many departments
are struggling to find officers
wherever they can.
And the competition for new
hires is FIERCE. Like, I can’t
tell you how many people I
was able to get pay raises for.
They would turn in their twoweek’s
notice and their current
Chief would beat my rate
by a dollar or more an hour
just to keep their employee.
This has happened to us at
least a half a dozen times. It
is a serious endeavor to get
people hired with your department.
The idea of retention is also
at the forefront of my mind,
as I am writing this morning.
Now that our department is
at full staff, how do we keep
them. After all, every time
an Officer leaves your department
for another, that’s
roughly $25,000.00 walking
out of the door with them. The
Background. The L-2 and L-3.
The uniforms, body armor,
belt, handheld radios, sidearm,
ammo, qualification, FTO
Training Period, etc. It’s more
than just the loss of an employee,
you’ve lost a chunk of
your budget when they leave.
It’s very serious business
when people walk out. Retention
is a very critical part of
any Chief’s strategic planning.
If it’s not, that Chief is letting
everyone down.
Parting thought here with
the Holidays fast approaching.
I want to mention how
thankful I am for my life, my
career (even the tough parts),
my family and friends. I am
thankful for The Blues and
how it has been instrumental
for many years in helping
Officers just maybe feel not
quite so alone as they did
before.
God bless. Stay safe and
please watch over each other.
The BLUES 9