Setting Expectations with your Summer Camp Staff - with Ruby Compton - CampHacker #124

Mar 5, 2020

Ruby Compton, a freelance camp professional and Chief Exploration Officer for Ruby Outdoors, discusses the critical role of clear expectations in shaping a successful camp experience. She emphasizes the importance of defining high-level expectations for staff to boost performance while fostering a respectful work culture. Ruby outlines strategies for effective communication during the hiring process, including the use of pre-interview booklets, and highlights innovative mentorship techniques. Ultimately, she champions a supportive environment that respects young staff members as they navigate their first jobs.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

ADVICE

Transparent Hiring Process Advice

Make your hiring process transparent with timelines, interview expectations, and job offer procedures clearly outlined on your website.
Regular updates and creative communications like newsletters can improve applicant retention and commitment.

ADVICE

Set Clear Hiring Expectations

Use a clear, graphically designed staff expectations sheet during interviews and have candidates and their parents sign it.
Require completed references before the interview to identify committed candidates early and save time.

INSIGHT

Experience Trumps Pay Insights

Young camp staff primarily work for experience, not money, but competitive pay still shows respect.
Being honest about the camp environment helps candidates make informed decisions and reduces surprises later.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Find the Tools of the Week and more links from this episode at http://camphacker.tv/podcast

If you don’t make your expectations clear, it’s your fault when people don’t meet them.

Harsh, right? Well, it’s true!

As Camp Directors, one of the biggest disservices that we can do to our staff is to be unclear about our expectations of them. From the application to the exit interview, we need to be clear not only about our expectations but also about what they can expect from the job.

This isn’t to say that you need to lay out every single expectation for every single program at camp. That would be obnoxious and would stifle creativity. The expectations that you should give to staff are the higher-level ones like the quality of work you expect, the work culture, timeliness, communication and other important policies.

Being clear about your expectations is the best way for staff to know instantly where they stand in terms of their performance. If your expectations are clear enough, your staff evaluations become less focused on telling them where they did or didn’t meet expectations, but why they did or didn’t meet them.

Lastly. We need to remember that we are hiring kids and youth to work with us. This may be their first time experiencing the work-force. Let’s all do our best to treat them with respect and grace. You can set and communicate your high expectations without being a jerk.

To help you firmly, yet caringly communicate expectations this summer, Travis, Joe and Dan are joined by Camp Code Co-Host, Ruby Compton! Ruby’s many years in and around the camp industry have given her a unique perspective on how to, and how not to be a great expectation setter.

Tune in to this episode to hear more about:

Setting the standard of clear expectations throughout the hiring process
How to clearly communicate your expectations to staff
Why we, as an industry can be better expectation setters
How to support staff when they are not meeting expectations

What is something that you do to clearly communicate your expectations? Tell us about it in the comments!

Your Hosts:

Travis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - CampHacker.TV, Founder at Go Camp Pro
Joe Richards, Executive Director - Pearce Williams Summer Camp & Retreat Facility
Dan Weir, Sr. Director - Youth Development, Summer Camp, & Strategic Initiatives - YMCA of Long Island
Ruby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby Outdoors

Rate and Review the CampHacker Show

(Thank you!)

Thanks to our sponsor!

Radtagz - Be and Be Known