Facing Perhaps our Greatest Challenge in Scouting (Cont.)
There is no doubt that Scouting is appealing to many. Just a few years ago, we routinely welcomed over 3,000 new families into Scouting every year. Covid happened and it certainly put a damper on our recruiting for a couple of years, but we continue to attract interest every fall as we open our doors and send out the call to prospective members. Virtually every new member event I attended last fall drew family interest in the double digits. Others reported the same experience to me. It seems that our challenge is not in attracting interest, it lies in that ugly, often forgotten word; retention.
Retention of members is essential to maintain our strength and grow our program. It begins with those families that turn out for our join events or sign up on our interest forms at larger events and activities. Recently in Appleton at the Fox Cities Kids Expo for example, a number of parents signed up to obtain more information and connect with a Pack. Each month, new names appear in the interest category collected through the BeAScout.org site. So, the question remains, what are we doing to follow up with those expressions of interest? We need to be prepared to respond – that’s a concept, Be Prepared!
- Pack leadership must plan for and be prepared to welcome new Scouts at any time throughout the year. That means helping our newest members integrate into existing Dens and friendship groups within the unit, welcoming and educating our parents about Scouting, and including them in the operation of the Pack.
- We must have a well-conceived program plan that is engaging, fun, and meets the needs of the advancement program.
- Most parents were not involved in Scouting as youth, but some were. Leverage the experience of those who were Scouts themselves and ask for their help in relaying their experience to other new parents for whom Scouting is a mystery. A unit new family coordinator is a must and a strong orientation, effective unit communication strategies, and ways of engaging all parents are also essential.
- Parents generally want to know what their youth are experiencing and want to be able to answer their children’s questions rather than shrugging their shoulders and appearing not to know. Youth count on their parents after all, so if we empower the parents, it strengthens the family relationship.
- Asking parents to support the program in small ways that do not overwhelm is important for building future unit leadership. Asking for help with an achievement at the Pack level or with one skill at the Troop can ease them into more advanced roles. If experienced Scouters fall within your unit, ask what they want to do. They may shy away if the feel that great expectations are placed upon them too quickly. Being a Scout is different from being an adult leader, even if you know a lot about the program.
The second area of retention that seems to trip us up is that moment of crossing over into a Scouts BSA unit. Troops are hungry for new members and need to do all that I’ve suggested for Packs. In addition, they need to have activities and appropriate outings for Arrow of Light Scouts, both to demonstrate the fun of Scouting and the adventures that lie ahead, and to introduce prospective AOL Scouts to the character and personality of the unit. They need to make connections. This is especially important if relatively few of their fellow AOLs are crossing over with them or looking at the same units. There are safety and familiarity in numbers when friends cross over together. We lose too many youth who don’t connect and feel welcome. Of course, our troops, crews and ships need to continue to foster a sense of belonging in order to retain members.
Scouting at the Cub Scout level is vastly different from the skills and experiences of the Scouts BSA level. Arrow of Light Scouts don’t know that, even though they have a glimpse at it through their advancement requirements. Their parents certainly don’t know that unless they were Scouts themselves. We need to provide clarity to them as they begin their new adventure, and need to provide the kind of experiences and role models that motivate them to aspire to be Eagles, to finish Scouting strong with a cohort of good friends. Scouts will remain in Scouting if they find friends they don’t want to leave behind, are given the room to grow and develop, and can learn some leadership skills. They are whole people with interests outside of Scouting. We need to support and encourage those interests and neve make them choose between Scouting and a favorite sport, club, job or other activity.
The last lesson of retention is simple, yet probably the hardest. We need to learn from those who elect not to continue. When someone stops showing up or becomes less engaged, we need to explore the reasons with that Scout. It may be difficult to hear it, but if our program is not satisfying in some way or isn’t meeting the needs of that Scout, we ought to know it. After all, if we cannot work to address our shortcomings, we will continue to suffer losses. Rather than just let them go, we need to ask them for the greatest gift they can provide; honest, unfettered feedback. When a Scout decides to leave us, whether at the Pack or Scouts BSA level, we owe them closure. They need to know they were appreciated, contributed to the whole, assess their experiences and what they learned in the process, and that they are always welcome back if time or circumstances allow.
Now is the time to prepare for welcoming new members in the fall, for connecting with our current members to take the temperature of our program, and to reach out to those AOLs who did not cross over to make sure they explored fully their opportunities to continue in Scouting. If you think about it, we need to recruit perhaps 40% more youth each fall just to keep up with our current levels of membership to counteract the losses we might be able to prevent with better retention strategies. We simply need your help.
As always, I want to thank you for entrusting your youth to Scouting and supporting their growth within our program. With your help and careful planning, we can retain our youth and extend the Scouting experience to others.
Paul Shrode
psshrode@aol.com