Performance Evaluation And Army Recruiting

Traditional performance metrics, such as number of contracts signed per month per Army recruiter, do not adequately measure recruiter effort, skill, and productivity. The authors develop a "preferred performance metric" that takes into account the difficulty of recruiting different types of youth in various markets and propose short-term changes to the system that would more accurately assess recruiter effort and skill.

This research included both a process evaluation and an outcomes evaluation of the Army Recruiter Course (ARC). The process evaluation examined seven elements of the ARC: (1) Recruiter Candidates, (2) Course Content, (3) Instructional Strategies, (4) Media and Materials, (5) Instructors, (6) Instructional Environment, and (7) Student Evaluation Procedures. The outcome evaluation examined the attitudes that students and instructors held toward the ARC. Student achievement data and attitudes toward the course were collected through observations, interviews, and questionnaires. Data were also collected from instructors. Correlational analyses and multivariate tests, along with other procedures, were used to examine the data. The course is regarded positively by both students (past and present) and instructors. Negative correlations between course evaluations and test performance were found, with the exception of performance in the Recruiter Exercise. Generally, the data indicated that the better the student, the more negative the evaluation. In summary, the ARC is effective and is meeting its primary goal. (sdw).

U.S. Army Recruiting Command is faced with the challenge of ensuring that the flow of qualified volunteers is adequate to meet future active-duty accession requirements. This report documents research methods, findings, and policy conclusions from a project analyzing human resource management options for improving recruiting production. It details research designed to develop new insights to help guide future recruiter management policies.

"This is an annotated bibliography of research by the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI) on Army recruiting. Most of the research covered in this report was conducted during the period 1980 and 1999. To provide a framework for this work the research summaries are organized around a model of Army recruitment showing the important factors contributing to successful recruiting. In the model, recruiter production is conceptualized as a joint function of recruiter performance and youths' propensity to enlist. Propensity to enlist is linked to advertising effects and several other environmental factors. Recruiters' performance, in turn, is influenced by their personal characteristics, the training and mentoring they receive, and the level of technical and organizational Support provided to them. The ARI research relating to each of these major components in the recruitment model is documented in this report."--DTIC.

U.S. Army Recruiting Command is faced with the challenge of ensuring that the flow of qualified volunteers is adequate to meet future active-duty accession requirements. This report documents research methods, findings, and policy conclusions from a project analyzing human resource management options for improving recruiting production. It details research designed to develop new insights to help guide future recruiter management policies.

"This is an annotated bibliography of research conducted on military recruiting by the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI), the other U.S. military services, and foreign military organizations. To provide a framework for the research summaries, they are organized around a model of military recruitment showing the important factors contributing to successful recruiting. The model contains the following factors: (1) personnel selection and assessment; (2) training and development; (3) recruiting management and organization; (4) recruiter performance; (3) marketing; (6) youth supply, characteristics, and influencers; (7) propensity; (8) enlistment decisions; and (9) delayed entry programs. One hundred fifty-one reports are summarized, describing recruiting research most relevant to the current U.S. military recruiting environment. It is hoped that the review provides a comprehensive yet concise picture of the research results generated by the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and foreign service recruiting research communities."--DTIC.

Reviews the recruiter incentive systems that the military services use to optimize the performance of military recruiters and ensure that only fully qualified applicants are enlisted. Reviews the services' recruiting processes to: (1) screen, select, and train recruiters; (2) screen, select, and prepare recruits for basic training; and (3) measure and reward recruiter performance. Identifies practices in each service that enhance recruiter performance and retention of recruits and could be expanded to other services.