GPF can probably learn from GDF in terms of attracting manpower

Aug 26, 2015 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
It has probably escaped wide attention that on June 5, the Guyana Defence Force held the passing out parade for 270 recruits at the Colonel John Clarke Military School, Tacama, Upper Berbice River.
Just over two months later in mid-August, 311 young people opted to join that organization to embark (hopefully) on a professional career.  Now except for the ones who would have dropped out for one or another reason it means that the GDF would have swelled its ranks by over 550 newbies in recent months.  That for the GDF, however, might not be as remarkable a feat as it seems.
We are constantly reminded that the sister organization of the Guyana Police Force has a severe shortage of ranks which – if remedied, will make the job of law enforcement that much more manageable.
It would be instructive to know what the GDF is doing that the GPF can learn from when it comes to attracting the needed manpower to address its human resource constraints.
It goes without saying that the recruitment of suitable candidates to any disciplined service should be an absolute priority over the medium and long term.
Editor, it is important for us to recognise that certain institutions like the GPF face several challenges which impact on their ability to attract applicants of the requisite standard.  Listed among the inhibitors to quality recruitment are budgetary constraints; available applicant pool quality and quantity; lack of diversity; and a negative perception of the organization.
That being said we also should understand that in a competitive employment environment a police force is confronted by organisational threats including competition by private sector and other public sector agencies;  the public perception of the police; negative public/police encounters; and negative media coverage.
Therefore a comprehensive future-oriented process or strategic planning, which charts a clear path between the present state and a vision of the future, must consider several decision-making factors which will determine priority-based resource allocation including organisational capabilities and environment.  A police force will thus need to develop a recruitment strategic plan comprised of (i) Analysis which relates to developing the information necessary to mount a successful recruitment campaign and (ii) the Strategic Plan Outline which focuses on the essentials that make up the strategic plan.
Editor, intrinsic to the analysis phase of the strategic planning for recruitment and retention would be the determination of factors related to the ideal candidate for the police force; the ‘pull-factor’ which attract suitably qualified candidates; the reasons why the available pool of qualified candidates is contracting; and how the force can rebrand and package itself to show that as an employer it can fulfill the career expectations of potential candidates.
It would also be important to determine why steps in the current recruitment procedure are being retained if they are not a vital part of the process.  The analysis would need to understand how candidates feel about the recruitment process, as well as identifying the failing point in the process.
It is also in the pre-outline phase that issues of diversity in recruitment are considered as well as the current budgetary allocations for recruitment and advertising; and whether there is need to increase the budgets in those two areas.
Seeking and obtaining political commitment for increases in resources has become the norm, but this must be accompanied by a concomitant obligation to detail how resources when provided will be used and the anticipated benefits that will devolve the people.
Prior to developing its recruitment and retention strategy, the organisation should be examining what recruitment strategies have worked or not worked in the past.  It should also make a concerted effort to bring its current ranks in line to be ambassadors to help recruit suitably qualified candidates.
The church and other social stakeholders could also play a significant role in wooing their membership to the force.
But all of those efforts would be derailed if the actions of a misguided percentage continually nurture negative perceptions of the organization.  It would be useful to know how current are the recruitment materials, and the number of hits the recruitment website is generating.
I believe that one of the problems we face is a steadfast inability to learn from the private sector.  In that regard it would be interesting to have an idea of the recruitment problems and successes in the private sector.
With that in view it is in the best interest of public sector agencies like the GPF to conduct exit interviews to determine why staff is leaving outside of retirement or dismissal.  It is also absolutely necessary to develop and implement an evaluation mechanism to assess the effectiveness of the plan, and to determine if the objectives were met, or if there is need for revision to improve effectiveness and relevance.  These are but a few ideas which have been tried and proven successfully.
Patrick E. Mentore

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