Military Recruiting

Better screening and preparation of military recruiters could improve the retention rates of new recruits, about one-third of whom fail to complete even basic training. GAO recommends that awards for recruiters be more closely linked to retention rates and that physical fitness be more carefully assessed before recruits report for basic training. Only the Air Force requires personnel experienced in recruiting to interview candidates for recruiting duty. Although recruiters from each service receive practical training to improve their ability to enlist personnel, Marine Corps and Navy training also stress the importance of retaining recruits. The Marine Corps and the Navy consider the number of recruits who complete basic training when evaluating the success of recruiters. The Army and the Air Force consider primarily the number of recruits enlisted or the number reporting to basic training. GAO urges the armed forces to consider retention in measuring and rewarding recruiter performance.

GAO noted that: (1) the Department of Defense (DOD) could enhance the success of its recruiters if the services strengthened key aspects of their systems for selecting and training recruiters; (2) only the Air Force requires personnel experienced in recruiting to interview candidates for recruiting positions and uses selection tests to screen interviewees for recruiting duty; (3) while recruiters from each service receive practical training to improve their ability to recruit and enlist personnel, Marine Corps and Navy training also emphasize the importance of retaining recruits once enlisted and require recruiters to focus on retention as well as recruiting; (4) the services have taken steps to improve their delayed entry programs, such as increasing the amount of contact between recruiters and recruits; (5) although all the services give recruits in the delayed entry programs access to their physical fitness facilities and encourage the recruits to become or stay physically fit, only the Marine Corps conducts regular physical training for recruits who are waiting to go to basic training; (6) although recruits who are physically fit are more likely to complete basic training, only the Marine Corps requires all recruits to take a physical fitness test before reporting to basic training; (7) achieving monthly goals has been the key measure of recruiter performance; (8) only the Marine Corps and the Navy consider retention in measuring and rewarding recruiter performance; (9) specifically, they consider the number of recruits completing basic training when evaluating the success of recruiters; the Army and the Air Force consider primarily the number of recruits enlisted or the number reporting to the basic training; (10) DOD's 1996 survey of service recruiters showed that the number of hours that recruiters work reached its highest point since 1989; (11) despite this effort, less than one-half of the recruiters achieved their goals in 9 or more months of a 12-month period; (12) the recruiters GAO interviewed were concerned about the difficulties they face in meeting monthly goals and the long hours they must devote to their jobs; and (13) establishing quarterly floating goals could ease the burden on recruiters and still provide an incentive to meet recruitment goals.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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