Camp Code - Leadership & Staff Training Podcast for Camp Directors

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/camp-code/best-staff-experience-possibleIt’s time to focus on the staff.In this two-part series, we begin by exploring the topic of giving our staff the best experience possible and helping us deliver a great summer program. Coming on the high side of the pandemic, staffing and retaining staff was a challenge for many camps. We know that for staff to be committed, we have to find ways to keep our staff engaged and consistently developing. There has been a shift focusing on the camp employee where now they are asking themselves important questions such as “Am I resting enough?”, “Am I getting paid enough?”, “Is my time worth it?”Fundamentally, this shift means that summer camp leaders have to refocus on how they recruit, staff and maintain their employees. As Gabrielle identifies, the pressure to create an unforgettable moment for campers, takes a toll on our staff. Finding ways to advocate and practice mindfulness and to explore our current state of mental health is now more important than ever. Further, in the past, we have expected our staff to work six days a week and having to be physically and emotionally available for our campers at all hours of the day. To help alleviate this pressure, Beth brings up the idea about introducing “floaters” as a way to hire extra staff to provide additional support to staff, giving them additional rest time. Camp staff do not need to follow a strict program day in and day out. Camp is home for our summer staff, we need to make it feel more like home and allow folks to be comfortable and not be “on” 24 hours a day! To hear more about Beth and Gabz thoughts on the current state of summer camp staffing, have a listen now! We hope you love this episode of Camp Code! If you do, please consider subscribing to the show, and leaving us a rating in your Podcast app. It’s SO easy, just head to https://ratethispodcast.com/campcode-Best Practice for Leadership TrainingFrom Gabrielle RaillThis week’s tip is more of an anecdote! If you feel lost and you don’t know what to do, it’s because we don’t know what is coming in the future. We use our experiences, education and knowledge to make decisions. When those decisions impact someone else’s mental health, that decision becomes more complex than we will ever know. We cannot fully understand the mental struggles that people are going through and one of our largest strengths that we can use is to demonstrate empathy, listen with conviction and understand their perspectives.-Your Hosts:Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - Go Camp ProRuby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby OutdoorsGabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp OuareauMeasure twice! Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis. Stop flying blind: Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis.

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/09/camp-unionHow might (or might not) a union help serve Camp Pros as they navigate an increasingly stressful profession?At the end of August, a particularly thought-provoking post was made in the Summer Camp Professionals Facebook group.After hearing about some of the horror stories of this, and past summers, a pro posted this:“…Its become clear to me in the last few months that the people in charge of camps are often not the people that run summer camps and this can lead to some wild expectations including around hours, pay, vacation time, parental leave, etc. because the ACA hasn’t put these things in the standards, I’m wondering if having some sort of body to educate people on best practices around expectations for staff would be helpful.”That pro, was Alana Matteson, and she is our guest this episode to kick off ournew season of both Camp Code and the CampHacker Podcast!Alana joins Travis and Ruby for this discussion on not just Unions, but the type of advocacy that pros need in general to have more successful, fulfilling and sustainable careers.-Do you read the show notes?  Let us know - click the following link to receive 10% off a lifetime subscription of Go Camp Pro's 5-Minute Fridays. (psst. Even if you don't buy anything, clicking this link will still help!)(click here - https://bit.ly/pod-notes-discount)-Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp DirectorTravis: WorkSharpRuby: Personal Recipe BookAlana: Power Beats High-Performance EarbudsYour Hosts:Travis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - Go Camp ProRuby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby OutdoorsAlana Matteson, Summer Camp Professional-Rate and Review the CampHacker Show-Thanks to our sponsor!UltraCampWouldn’t it be refreshing if your registration software gave you MORE time? With UltraCamp, you can track attendance, manage staff applications, streamline registration, and much more. Get back the time you need to focus on what is really important: CAMP! Find out more at summercampsoftware.com/campcodeMeasure twice! Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis. Stop flying blind: Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis.

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/camp-code/how-the-heck-are-yaHello from the other side!With summer coming to an end, we are checking in with all of you to just see how you are doing. For us, we are doing just okay. It turns out that many of the camp directors we’ve spoken to are feeling like us, tired; tired of COVID; tired from having to constantly adjust camp programming to meet public health guidelines; tired of being understaffed. As summer camp leaders, now is the time for all of us to recharge and start focusing on ourselves. For Gabrielle, that is taking the month of September off to recharge. For Beth, it’s focusing on mental health, stepping away from social media and getting outside into nature. For Ruby, getting out on the river for a paddle or being outdoors is what brings her joy. In this episode, our hosts focus on checking in with our listeners, prompting all of you to take the time to rest, recharge and focus on next year.-We hope you love this episode of Camp Code! If you do, please consider subscribing to the show, and leaving us a rating in your Podcast app. It’s SO easy, just head to https://ratethispodcast.com/campcode-Best Practice for Leadership TrainingFrom Ruby ComptonDon’t just do something, sit there! The sit spot routine is where camp staff members find a spot at camp to sit, relax, reflect or journal about their time at camp. When you use the same spot from spring to fall, you can take in the beauty of nature as it transforms throughout the seasons.-Your Hosts:Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - Go Camp ProRuby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby OutdoorsGabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau-Thanks to our sponsor!UltraCampWouldn’t it be refreshing if your registration software gave you MORE time? With UltraCamp, you can track attendance, manage staff applications, streamline registration, and much more. Get back the time you need to focus on what is really important: CAMP! Find out more at summercampsoftware.com/campcodeMeasure twice! Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis. Stop flying blind: Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis.

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/camp-code/hopes-for-pros-this-summerOur hopes for you as you go into the summer of 2021.In this season finale, we are not going to give you last-minute tips and tricks for summer camp training because chances are, if your camp is able to run this summer, you already have the tools to make this unique summer camp training memorable. Instead, our hosts Beth, Gabz and Ruby are here to remind you of some of the training we’ve taught this summer and the theme for this episode is hope. To parents and campers, summer camp is an oasis where parents get relief in the daily hustle of life and campers get to play, learn and grow. Although camp is perceived to be an oasis for kids and parents, for you as a leader, camp is your real world. Being a summer camp leader is a real job with real stress, anxiety, laughter, sadness, smiles and songs. Camp is a magical place for children and you never know when you may spark a memorable moment for a child which they will remember forever. As the camp pro, you got this! Our hope is that your staff understand that everything they do this summer may be magical, but in fact is very real this summer. Camp is also full of emotions that can be seen through people in the form of laughter, smiles and songs. However, there are also negative emotions such as sadness, fear or confusion. Our hope for you this summer is that you will continue to practice examining your capacity to hold boundaries to help control the stress and anxiety that can bring you down. Positive emotions always burst out in laughter or song however, negative emotions tend to build up, pushing us to our edges. Daily reflections, mindfulness and gratitude journals are great ways to keep your boundaries intact and helps to ensure that our negative emotions are controlled, processed and digested out of our systems. As always, our hosts have a lot more to say throughout the episode, so have a listen to be inspired to do great things. Another season of Camp Code is coming to an end so as always, thanks for the listening friends. -We hope you love this episode of Camp Code! If you do, please consider subscribing to the show, and leaving us a rating in your Podcast app. It’s SO easy, just head to https://ratethispodcast.com/campcode-Best Practice for Leadership TrainingFrom Beth AllisonTo close off the season, in this episode we’re doing something a little different. Beth takes us down a journey that she calls “Here’s to you”. It starts at the 17:18 mark in the episode and I encourage you to share this segment with your camp staff.-Your Hosts:Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - Go Camp ProRuby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby OutdoorsGabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp OuareauMeasure twice! Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis. Stop flying blind: Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis.

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/camp-code/9-tips-for-summerAnd we don’t mean “just make it through”, we mean “make it through with style!”The weather is finally getting warmer here in Canada, the gardens are full of tulips and the cherry blossom trees are in full bloom. As a camp leader, as we watch nature grow this spring, anxiety and stress can build within ourselves. When spring arrives, it means summer camp is around the corner. We started this season aiming to help the leader come back from a summer that either prevented your camp from running or having to put new safety measures in place that were new to everyone.  As we navigate our way back to summer camp, it is once again time to focus on you. A lot of these make sense at the surface, but actually practicing these tips are harder than you think. We’ve listed them below, but encourage you to have a listen to understand the reasoning behind each step. Go to bed! Get the support you need, outside of your organizationTake care of yourselfSet up an email routineEmbrace the knowledge of your leadership teamWatch and listen and sit still and see (find out more by listening!)Don’t mistake someone’s free time as availabilityCamp is fun, enjoy itBe kind to yourself-We hope you love this episode of Camp Code! If you do, please consider subscribing to the show, and leaving us a rating in your Podcast app. It’s SO easy, just head to https://ratethispodcast.com/campcode-Best Practice for Leadership TrainingFrom Ruby ComptonEstablish a communication routine with friends and peers. Set up a time each week to respond to texts to friends. Message folks to let them know you are thinking about them. This will allow you to not feel guilty if you are not responding to things immediately and give you space to touch base with friends and connect with the world outside of your camp.-Your Hosts:Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - Go Camp ProRuby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby OutdoorsGabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp OuareauMeasure twice! Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis. Stop flying blind: Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis.

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/camp-code/embracing-uniqueness-2021It’s not, “it is what it is”, it’s, “it will be what we make it”Noone asked for all of the challenges and uniqueness that are ahead of us in Summer 2021. This episode, we challenge you to look at the positive side and focus on the unique opportunities that are ahead of us this summer.Whether it’s reestablishing expectations with staff, or taking the opportunity to get rid of that program area you’ve always wanted to - this is your year.We hope you love this episode of Camp Code! If you do, please consider subscribing to the show, and leaving us a rating in your Podcast app. It’s SO easy, just head to https://ratethispodcast.com/campcode-Bonus Link: Ruby's staff appreciation video for her team: https://youtu.be/Y5_hFMFu5no-Best Practice for Leadership TrainingFrom Beth AllisonPlan now for a fantastic end-of-summer celebration for the end of the summer. Figuring out a plan now will help you gather a ton of people to help make this happen. Think big and don’t forget to ask for help from your board, parents and alumni to compile gratitude for the last night of camp.Please share your most memorable moments! -Your Hosts:Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - Go Camp ProRuby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby OutdoorsGabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp OuareauMeasure twice! Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis. Stop flying blind: Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis.

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/camp-code/11-quick-fire-videos-2021Use these videos to dial your staff training up to 11!For some people, they have a favourite pair of comfortable slippers, perhaps a warm sweater or favourite comfort food. For our hosts, their idea of comfort is scouring the internet to help build new ways to develop camp leaders. In this week’s episode, we go back to a fan favourite feature where our hosts discuss quick-fire videos to help facilitate staff training.Ruby’s Favourites:First Thing and Last ThingHow to go From Small Talk to Deep CoversationAuthor: Chad LittlefieldHow to Have a Good ConversationAuthor: Celeste HeadleeBONUS (a fun one)Ducks Annihilate a bowl of peas-Beth’s Favourites:Grit:  The Power of Passion & PerseveranceAuthor: Angela Lee DuckworthFor the Love of Fangirls Author: Yve Blake-Gabrielle’s Favourites: How to Avoid Death by PowerpointAuthor: David JP PhillipsThanks to Camp - Léa's StoryAuthor: International Camping FellowshipThanks to Camp - Kadi’s StoryAuthor: International Camping FellowshipThe links above are the highlights of another great episode. To learn more from our hosts, have a listen today!We hope you love this episode of Camp Code! If you do, please consider subscribing to the show, and leaving us a rating in your Podcast app. It’s SO easy, just head to https://ratethispodcast.com/campcode-Best Practice for Leadership TrainingFrom Gabrielle RaillSoloing a canoe and training from the dock - This is going to be a different summer, meaning your camp staff will need to lead differently. As leaders, we need to pay attention to how we are right now. Are we reacting to things differently, both positive and negative? Take the time and understand that this summer, you’re going to be leading from a distance. So, take the time to reflect on your own expectations and be kind to yourself. This summer is different for everyone, not just you.-Your Hosts:Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - Go Camp ProRuby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby OutdoorsMeasure twice! Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis. Stop flying blind: Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis.

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/camp-code/pods-and-bubblesMake training memorable, no matter what your groupings look like.It’s finally April which means summer camp training is right around the corner and summer camp is in sight! We also know that across the world, vaccination campaigns are occurring, giving us hope that one day, our world will return to some sort of normalcy. Unfortunately, vaccination campaigns just cannot happen quick enough, meaning that summer camp training will be different this year, most likely using pods or bubbles to ensure the safety of everyone involved. Bruce Tuckman is famously known for educational psychology and group dynamics and developed a model to help develop teams into high performers using four simple steps, Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing. Beth goes into detail about how you apply Tuckman’s methodology to help you prepare your team to achieve greatness, while also being pathfinders in your alternative way for staff training. To learn more about Tuckman’s model, click here.Ruby reminds us to use technology to strengthen your training. You can record your training sessions to be a podcast, or other alternative media for your staff. The best part about this - you can do a review of your material afterward and figure out what worked and what didn’t work when facilitating pod or bubble training. If you choose to segregate into bubbles, one of the largest anxieties your staff will have is wondering who they will be sharing a bubble with. To help them out, frontload! Communicate with your staff as early as possible to help alleviate some of their stresses.We hope you love this episode of Camp Code! If you do, please consider subscribing to the show, and leaving us a rating in your Podcast app. It’s SO easy, just head to https://ratethispodcast.com/campcode-Best Practice for Leadership TrainingFrom Beth AllisonSpin training in bubbles to something more positive. We know that working with a smaller group gives the opportunity to create unique memories. Have your staff create pages to their “bubble book” (think high school yearbook style) where your staff can take selfies, use journal entries or identify their favourite parts of training each week.-Your Hosts:Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - Go Camp ProRuby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby OutdoorsGabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp OuareauMeasure twice! Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis. Stop flying blind: Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis.

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/camp-code/virtual-staff-training-2Staff training is a brave new world. Let’s explore it together.We did it! We are a year into physically distancing ourselves from one another and interacting mostly virtually! Although this is not something I would normally celebrate, it has given our hosts plenty to think about, specifically when it comes to facilitating training for your staff. We’ve been there, enjoying a school lecture or perhaps engaged in a positive work session and then the meeting ends abruptly due to time constraints. Ruby recommends that we all focus on building a routine into our training, and have a phase-out process that allows participants to know the meeting is ending by helping them transition from training session to individual reflection. Perhaps a google doc, a slack or something supplemental to allow excited camp leaders to be involved event after the meeting has ended. We’re all going to be sitting in front of a computer for long periods of time during camp training this summer, so Gabz recommends investing into a nice camera and microphone. Nothing is worse than holding your face close to the screen so others can hear you in that sub-par laptop microphone, so invest in tech to make your camp training a success. Below are some of Gabrielle’s favourites from the tech she’s tested out. Canon M50 click hereSigma 16mm f/1.4 lens click hereThronmax Mdrill One Pro mic click hereBeth reminds us that we live in a 3D world where camp training usually consists of using the space and objects around you to facilitate training. In a virtual world, training can quickly become repetitive, so get creative! Hook your iPad to the meeting as a whiteboard, have an activity that and instructions set up on the screen for when participants arrive. Turn that 2D video into a greater depth of knowledge!-So, if you’ve made it here, you’re obviously interested in what tips and tricks our pros have, so for more info, listen to the podcast today! We hope you love this episode of Camp Code! If you do, please consider subscribing to the show, and leaving us a rating in your Podcast app. It’s SO easy, just head to https://ratethispodcast.com/campcode-Best Practice for Leadership TrainingFrom Ruby ComptonCamp is going to be different this year and taking care of yourself is just as important as always. In a world where regular temperature readings are normal, let’s use the technology literally at our fingertips to help us track our temperature, heart rate and anything else that could be useful. Absolutely there is an app for it, making tracking easier than ever. Ruby also recommends a glass of lemon water in the morning to kick start your day and ignite your metabolism.-Your Hosts:Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - Go Camp ProRuby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby OutdoorsGabrielle Raill, Measure twice! Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis. Stop flying blind: Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis.

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/camp-code/virtual-staff-training-1Virtual staff training is a brave new world. Let’s explore it together.Over the last year, virtual sessions have become way too familiar. We know that camp staff have already spent a lot more time meeting virtually regardless as businesses have switched to virtual work and educators have shifted learning to online. Unfortunately, this is not going away yet as most camp leaders are most likely learning how to facilitate virtual training. We’ve got your backOur hosts Beth, Ruby and Gabrielle are here to help you plan the inevitable conundrum of virtual training. We’re already spending countless hours in front of screens, so as leaders we need to find new interactive ways to train our staff. Ruby brings up a great point, go asynchronous! Provide the content for your staff to consume on their time. We obviously know the importance of podcasts, you could use these to provide brief learning sessions! Get creative, use videos, Tik Tok or even traditional presentations with perhaps your audio recordings built-in! Gabrielle reminds us to focus on what’s important for our staff to be able to deliver a fun, safe summer for our campers. As leaders, the content we learn online to prepare for summer may not necessarily be the same content we want to provide to our staff. Remind yourself, your role is to create a foundation of why your staff and campers go to camp. Create connections with yourself, your staff and your campers. Beth reminds us that as we being to train online, we cannot forget to play online. Find ways to build in collaboration. The editor recommends virtual escape rooms and imagination. Even Alexa (yep, that AI speaker in your home) can do free, virtual escape rooms. Have a team work together to solve the puzzle and put in a rule that only one person can click through the virtual room or give the audible commands to alexa to get your team out.  Remember, this blog is just a highlight reel, to get the full benefit from our experts, listen in today! -We hope you love this episode of Camp Code! If you do, please consider subscribing to the show, and leaving us a rating in your Podcast app. It’s SO easy, just head to https://ratethispodcast.com/campcode-Best Practice for Leadership TrainingFrom Gabrielle RaillWe’re used to being pulled in every direction at the same time, yet we struggle to say no. Rather than saying YES right away, ask three questions that could either apply to mental or financial wellness. You need to find ways to take care of yourself. Summer is coming and we all know as camp leaders that when summer comes, the moments to take care of yourself can be few and far in-between.-Your Hosts:Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - Go Camp ProRuby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby OutdoorsGabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp OuareauMeasure twice! Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis. Stop flying blind: Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis.