NCJ Number
114509
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 57 Issue: 11 Dated: (November 1988) Pages: 18-21
Date Published
1988
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Police executives can increase the rate of successful recruitment by applying standard marketing strategy to their efforts.
Abstract
The primary components of any capable management technique and a prerequisite to successful marketing in recruitment are accurate identification of the organization's mission and strategic planning. Agencies must establish and routinely update their goals and objectives to ensure direction and unity of purpose and provide a basis for measuring progress. Identifying the agency's mission requires an evaluation of the organization's business, customers, and value to the customers. The agency also must be proficient in strategic planning: it must know what type of applicant it wants to recruit, preferably on the basis of past indicators of recruits most successful in helping the organization meet its goals. In addition, to identifying desirable recruits systematically, the agency must determine what such applicants want from a prospective employer. Police recruiters must understand that they are marketing their product (the department) to prospective customers (desirable recruits) and target these groups with promotions designed to meet their specific needs. Recruiters must realize that they are competing with other business and police departments for desirable applicants and must manipulate price, place, product, and promotion to position their agency in the marketplace. Finally quantifyable recruitment goals should be set and used to evaluate the success of the effort. 6 footnotes.