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8
Performance Management of
Recruiters
Earlier chapters described various approaches that can be used in
an evaluation framework for decision making. Econometric, experi-
mental, qualitative, and survey approaches all have their place in
this framework. We have seen how each of these approaches has strengths
and weaknesses that play a role in determining which approach (or ap-
proaches) to use in a particular situation. Many of our examples have
focused on recruiting resources and how best to use them. For example,
we have addressed evaluation of advertising themes, the appropriate
levels of joint and Service-specific advertising, various incentives (and the
levels of incentives needed) to attract recruits, and others. In this chapter,
we focus on what Barnes, Dempsey, Knapp, Lerro, and Schroyer (1991)
refer to as "the linchpin to recruiting success" the recruiter. Recruiter
performance management encompasses the range of issues and decisions
that face Service recruiting managers as they organize to meet their mis-
sion. We demonstrate that effective performance management requires
multiple evaluation methods.
ISSUES IN PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Service recruiting managers establish systems to select recruiters
from among the available pool of Service members, to train and develop
those new recruiters, to open recruiting offices in specific locations, to
establish production goals for each recruiter, to motivate recruiters with
reward and recognition programs, and to monitor and assess recruiter
performance. Many models and options are available for each of these
146
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PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT OF RECRUITERS
147
systems, and each model or option chosen is open to evaluation. In some
cases (for example, selection of new recruiters), there are continuing
research programs to evaluate the effect of alternative programs. In other
cases (for example, the effects of recruiter reward and recognition pro-
grams), research or evaluation is rarely attempted. In still other cases (for
example, establishing recruiter goals), there is a research base for some
aspects of the program (for example, determining market size) but very
limited research on the effectiveness of alternative approaches to actually
setting goals. Given the central role that recruiter productivity plays in
the recruiting process, all aspects of recruiter performance management
should be subjected to evaluation efforts.
Performance management systems are certainly affected by the envi-
ronment in which the recruiter works. (By environment, we mean all of
the conditions that surround recruiters performing their jobs including
the environmental conditions created by the military and those that are
broader and culturally based.) As stated in the committee's earlier report,
the achievement of recruiting goals can be highly dependent on the eco-
nomic conditions of the time, with high unemployment rates resulting in
the easier attainment of recruiting goals. Moreover, other environmental
factors, such as well-publicized military actions, proximity to military
bases, and recruit's acquaintance with soldiers, may have some impact on
a recruiter's performance. Despite the importance of these environmental
factors, we have not addressed them specifically. In many cases, we rec-
ommend that researchers look for general principles that can be applied
regardless of the environmental conditions. In others, we encourage mili-
tary researchers to take environmental factors into consideration when
appropriate.
The issues we address in this chapter involve all aspects of the evalu-
ation framework introduced in Chapter 1. Our framework will guide us
to appropriate evaluation methods for a given situation or specific aspect
of performance management. Because recruiter performance management
systems including both existing and proposed new programs are con-
cerned with recruiter attitude, intentions, and behavior, multiple evaluation
methods will have a role. Thus, in evaluating performance management
systems, there will be situations in which experiments, or econometric
techniques, or qualitative techniques are most appropriate.
APPROACHES TO EVALUATION OF RECRUITER
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
In many ways, military recruiting is similar to other kinds of sales
activities in the civilian sector. While the military recruiting environment
includes many features that distinguish it from the civilian sales environ-
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EVALUATING MILITARY ADVERTISING AND RECRUITING
meet, it is not so unusual that knowledge gained in the civilian environ-
ment should be ignored. There is a substantial body of research on perfor-
mance management of sales forces. When those research findings are
coupled with an examination of best practices used in high-performing
sales organizations, military recruiting management is presented with
numerous alternatives to current practices. In choosing among those alter-
natives, recruiting management can design and carry out studies using
the techniques described in earlier chapters.
In the remainder of this chapter, we describe some approaches that
could be considered in evaluating the effectiveness of recruiter performance
management alternatives. We review areas in which such approaches
may be productive, not to describe in detail how such evaluations should
take place. Many of the topics discussed selection, training and develop-
ment, reward and recognition programs, and performance assessment-
have extensive research literatures that deal with many of the problems
the Services face, and the Services should seek out appropriate expertise
in designing and executing evaluations of such programs.
Recruiter Selection
The problem of selecting people who will become successful sales-
people is not unique to the military, yet there are elements of this selection
problem that are found only in the Services. One aspect of staffing the
military recruiting function that presents a substantial challenge is the
pipeline of potential recruiters from which the military chooses. The
Services have specific needs for recruiting personnel and have generally
concluded that uniformed Service personnel will be detailed into recruit-
ing positions. The pool of potential recruiters thus consists of both volun-
teers and nonvolunteers, who have already been trained in some other
military specialty and have some track record of success in that other
specialty. In some respects, then, the military may know more about its
potential recruiters than most organizations know about their candidates
for sales positions. However, organizations hiring salespeople can look
for people with previous (successful) sales experience and can assume
that the vast majority of applicants actually desire to be hired. Neither the
strategy of looking for previous experience in sales nor the assumption of
motivated applicants is available to the military.
Although the Services have traditionally used enlisted personnel
as recruiters, Congress recently mandated experimental use of civil-
ian recruiters in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2001. These experiments are not yet complete; however, the results of
such studies should be taken into account when selection issues are
considered.
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149
We have previously noted that the Services today do not always give
major weight in the recruiter selection process to a candidate's potential
for success in a sales environment (National Research Council, 2003~.
Similarly, the U.S. General Accounting Office noted that the Services typi-
cally focus on past job performance in nonrecruiting (i.e., nonsales) posi-
tions when selecting recruiters (U.S. General Accounting Office, 1998~.
Thus, more efficient and effective methods for choosing specific personnel
who should be assigned as recruiters are likely to exist.
There is a substantial literature, both military and civilian, addressing
the problem of selecting people for sales occupations generally and mili-
tary recruiting positions specifically. For example, Vinchur, Schippmann,
Switzer, and Roth (1998) reviewed 97 studies of the relationship between
predictors and job performance of salespeople. They conclude that per-
sonality dimensions, tests designed specifically for predicting sales suc-
cess, individual interests, and other biographical information items are
useful in selecting people for sales occupations. Recent reviews of the
literature discuss many possible approaches that could increase the likeli-
hood of successfully selecting recruiters who will be high producers
(Penney, Horgen, and Borman, 2000; Penney, Sutton, and Borman, 2000b;
McCloy et al., 2001~. Similarly, there is substantial guidance in the profes-
sional literature on appropriate ways to evaluate the effectiveness of
selection systems (American Psychological Association, 1987~.
The process for determining the effectiveness of a selection procedure
is relatively straightforward and well understood. Although there are
several approaches to establishing the effectiveness selection procedures
(i.e., the extent to which a selection procedure predicts all or part of
required job performance), a common approach involves statistically relat-
ing test scores and job performance measures. Researchers begin by con-
ducting a job analysis often employing multiple methods, such as focus
groups, interviews, and surveys and using its results to identify the
tasks that are performed by incumbents and the knowledge, skills, abili-
ties, and other characteristics (KSAOs) necessary to perform those tasks.
They then search for existing measures (such as tests and interviews),
adapt existing measures, or develop new measures of those KSAOs. Pre-
vious research indicates that cognitive ability, various personality traits,
and vocational interests may be appropriate constructs to be measured in
recruiter selection tools. Often, a combination of such measures proves to
be the best predictor of job performance (Borman, Toquam, and Rosse,
1978~. Candidate selection measures are administered to some number of
applicants for a position (or incumbents on a job), performance data are
collected after some period of time on the job, and the relationship
between performance on the measures and performance on the job is
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EVALUATING MILITARY ADVERTISING AND RECRUITING
determined. Experimental (or quasi-experimental) designs are used to
ensure that inferences from the study can be interpreted.
Managers should be aware that they need not invest immediately in
multiple, large-scale studies that disrupt their routine processes in order
to sort through the many options that are available for selecting recruiters.
Small-scale studies can be very helpful in eliminating options or identify-
ing those options with high promise. In addition, some of the Services
have pursued this line of research extensively.
McCloy et al. (2001) provide a recent example that implements this
general approach. They focused on estimating the value of a cognitive
abilities test (in this case, the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery
or ASVAB) and recruiter school grades as predictors of the quantity and
quality of recruiter productivity. Their analyses controlled for additional
factors that can affect recruiting productivity, such as the number of young
men and women in the local population and the number of high schools
in the vicinity. They then added an evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of
a particular selection approach; that is, they considered the trade-off
between the cost of implementing a selection system and the gains expe-
rienced from increased productivity if the system is implemented. McCloy
et al. concluded that adding ASVAB scores and other available demo-
graphic information is a cost-effective method for improving the selection
of Navy recruiters.
Two issues mentioned above must be addressed when carrying out
this type of selection research. First, appropriate measures of recruiter
performance are required. Choices available here illustrate the difficulty
of determining which performance measure or measures to use. For
example, number of contracts in some period of time might be appropri-
ate and is often used as a starting point in the process. However, markets
vary in size and propensity; thus, number of contracts is often adjusted to
consider those factors. Similarly, not all contracts are alike. Some recruits
are more desirable than others; thus, number of contracts is often quali-
fied by specifying "high-quality" contracts. Finally, number of contracts
clearly does not capture all aspects of a recruiter's job.
Once a contract is signed, administrative requirements must be attended
to, and recruiters must continue to motivate applicants until they actually
arrive at their basic training location. For example, Borman, Hough, and
Dunnette (1976) identified eight dimensions of military recruiter perfor-
mance: (1) locating and contacting qualified prospects; (2) gaining and
maintaining rapport; (3) obtaining information from prospects; (4) sales-
manship skills; (5) establishing and maintaining good relationships in the
community; (6) providing knowledgeable and accurate information;
(7) administrative skills; and (8) supporting other recruiters and the Recruit-
ing Command. From this list, perhaps only dimensions 1 through 4 are
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151
being considered directly in a performance measure that is based on
number of contracts. If dimensions 5 through 8 are also important dimen-
sions of recruiter performance, then the number of contracts must be
supplemented with other performance measures. In sum, appropriate
performance measures must be carefully chosen to represent those per-
formance dimensions being targeted by the proposed selection measure.
The second issue is relatively rare in the civilian selection arena, in
which most applicants desire the job to which they are applying. Specifi-
cally, those people being considered for the job of military recruiter do
not always actually want the job. Thus, the evaluation strategy described
above will be useful for identifying measures that will help select volun-
teers who will be most productive, but those same measures may not be
as useful in selecting among nonvolunteers.
People with the KSAOs to perform the job may not have the motiva-
tion to do so in an environment in which the job is particularly difficult
and the rewards are low. Thus, the development and validation of selec-
tion procedures that identify individuals with the KSAOs to perform the
job (particularly those procedures that focus on cognitive skills) may be
inadequate if they do not identify those with the willingness to perform at
the high levels needed by the Services in a perceived low-reward environ-
ment. Thus, in addition to considering the total context of recruiter per-
formance, selection procedures must also better address the motivational
aspects of job performance. It is important to remember that the selection
problem should not be considered out of context. Military recruiting is
not just another sales job. Moreover, the environment in which recruiters
work can have a profound effect on motivation. To some extent, motiva-
tion to perform the job might be better addressed by manipulating the
reward and recognition structure as well as the work environment in
which the recruiter performs rather than by developing better selection
tools.
Recruiter Training and Development
Once recruiters are selected, they must be trained to perform their
jobs, and they must continue to be developed as they progress in their
recruiting career. As with most training requirements, there are multiple
strategies available to address the recruiter training requirement, and
there are constrained training budgets that limit the amount of time (and
thus the specific tasks) for training. As structured today, the Services offer
a combination of full-time, in-residence training along with on-thejob
training to try to ensure that recruiters have the skills required to be
successful on the job. In evaluating the overall effectiveness of training,
recruiting management must address two central issues. The first concern
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EVALUATING MILITARY ADVERTISING AND RECRUITING
is the extent to which the training provided adequately covers the entire
recruiting job. The second concerns the effectiveness of the training given.
While not an area for research, a third issue related to effectiveness of
training that should be mentioned is accessibility of training ensuring
that the right training is available at the right times in a recruiter's
assignment.
Determination of training requirements typically begins with a needs
analysis that specifies what skills are required to adequately perform a
job and includes an analysis of where and how those skills might be
acquired. Processes for both steps are well documented in the profes-
sional training literature. Unless the training is directed at developing the
appropriate skills for the job, it is unlikely to be effective.
As with recruiter selection, there is a substantial professional litera-
ture addressing the issues involved in the development of recruiter train-
ing programs, both in the civilian environment and in the military. The
committee has recommended that the Services develop and implement
training systems that make maximum use of realistic practice and feed-
back (National Research Council, 2003~. The Federal Advisory Committee
on Gender-Integrated Training and Related Issues (1997) also included
recommendations for improving recruiter training.
The second issue is evaluating training effectiveness. Is a specific
training approach accomplishing its goals? How effective is it compared
with alternative approaches? There is also an extensive professional lit-
erature regarding training evaluation in both the civilian environment
and the military. While Salas, Milham, and Bowers (2003) note that rigor-
ous training evaluations are rarely completed for military training courses,
that does not mean that such evaluations should not be completed or
cannot be completed. On the contrary, training evaluation is usually cited
as a critically important aspect of the instructional systems design process
used by the Services.
The need to evaluate recruiter training programs has not been
ignored. Hull and Benedict (1988) proposed an evaluation methodology
for Army recruiter training; Hull, Kleinman, Allen, and Benedict (1988)
carried out an evaluation based on that methodology. Those authors used
outcome variables that included ratings from instructors and both current
and former students. Chonko, Madden, Tanner, and Davis (1991) used a
qualitative approach to evaluate the effectiveness of the specific sales
techniques taught to Army recruiters. Kirkpatrick (1976) described four
levels of training evaluation: (1) reaction, (2) learning, (3) behavior change,
and (4) results.
When Salas et al. note the lack of rigorous training evaluations, they
are focusing on evaluations at levels 3 and 4 of the Kirkpatrick model.
Frequently, survey methods are used to determine whether trainees like
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153
(or dislike) a particular training course, and end-of-course tests (coupled
with tests given at the beginning of a course) determine whether trainees
increased their knowledge in a subject area. While trainee reactions and
mastery of specific knowledge are both important aspects of military
recruiter training (or sales training in general), more critical outcomes of
this training include whether or not the trainee can apply what he or she
has learned (behavior change) and whether or not the trainee becomes an
effective recruiter (results).
Appropriate evaluation of training programs often requires the use of
multiple strategies and techniques. As noted above, survey techniques
may be used as a component of training evaluation to determine trainee
and instructor reactions to the training. Surveys can determine whether
trainees liked the training, believed that the training improved their skills,
believed that the training would be applicable on their jobs, believed that
time devoted to particular tasks was appropriate, and so forth. Similarly,
surveys of trainees and their supervisors provide information useful in
guiding training course design and revision. Surveys can be used to
determine whether supervisors believe that the training syllabus includes
the proper tasks or skills that trainees need, that time devoted to particu-
lar tasks is appropriate, and so forth.
At the same time, experimental and quasi-experimental designs play
roles in evaluating whether training results in a specific behavior change
or a change in the overall effectiveness of job performance. While it may
be inconvenient or expensive to implement true experimental designs
(with treatment and control groups and random assignment to condi-
tions), preexperimental or quasi-experimental designs can provide valu-
able information in the overall evaluation of training programs (Sackett
and Mullen, 1993~. Outcome measures for these studies must be carefully
chosen. We noted the Borman et al. (1976) dimensions of recruiter perfor-
mance in our discussion of recruiter selection issues. The choice of appro-
priate criteria against which to evaluate recruiter training is a similarly
complicated issue. If the eight Borman et al. dimensions are all determi-
nants of successful recruiter performance, then it follows that they are all
candidates for inclusion in the evaluation of recruiter training programs.
Choosing only a single outcome measure, such as number of new con-
tracts in some fixed period of time, as the standard for evaluating recruiter
training that covers all aspects of the recruiter job provides little informa-
tion that would be useful in improving the training course.
It is important to remember that development takes place in ways
other than formal training programs. Often, individual feedback and
coaching around certain experiences is a very effective way to shape
behavior. Experiential learning and associated coaching assume that there
are capable coaches who understand what the desired behavior is and
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EVALUATING MILITARY ADVERTISING AND RECRUITING
who can communicate performance deficits and strategies for improve-
ment. Thus, several potentially productive activities may include the
Services studying the informal development of recruiters and identifying
ways to ensure that those who supervise recruiters possess adequate
knowledge of the recruiting process as well as coaching skills themselves.
Recruiting Office Locations
Once the Services have selected and trained recruiters, the question
arises, "Where should recruiters be located?" As with training, the answer
to this question is always constrained by budget, by policies that dictate
combining offices from multiple Services when feasible, etc. Along with
the location of each specific office, there are also questions addressing the
number of recruiters who should be stationed in that office. Each of these
decisions is open to evaluation, with the goal of establishing the most
effective recruiting organization for a given budget, or with the goal of
minimizing the cost of obtaining a given number of recruits.
There is little systematic research on strategies for locating recruiters.
However, existing data lend themselves to econometric analyses. For
example, recruiter productivity over time should be available for existing
offices. That productivity can be modeled by such available data as size of
qualified recruiting market in the office's geographic region, experience
levels of the recruiters assigned to that office, incentive programs (for
recruits or for recruiters) that were available at given times, and so forth.
Such analyses could guide recommendations for appropriate placement
of recruiting offices. Through econometric modeling, the Services should
minimally be able to define the relevant variables for establishing recruit-
ing locations and to consider various methods for determining optimal
staffing levels.
Recruiter Production Goals
Most sales organizations establish goals (targets or quotas) for perfor-
mance of their sales force. Many variables potentially shape these goals.
For example, some organizations take into account the "product" being
sold as well as the area in which it is sold and past demand for the
product. Some may even take into account the experience and expertise of
the salesperson. Military recruiting is no exception to this model. The
question of how best to establish recruiter goals (and the question of
whether those goals should be individual or team based) is still open.
Given that recruiting duty is often cited as an extremely stressful job-
due to the constant pressure to "make goal" there would seem to be
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high payoff in defining the variables relevant to military recruiting goals
and evaluating the goal-setting process.
Recruiter Reward and Recognition Programs
Sales organizations generally have well-established reward and rec-
ognition programs, closely tied to performance as measured against goals.
Here as well, military recruiting organizations are little different from
their civilian sales organization counterparts (although military recruiting
organizations must contend with legal constraints against using financial
incentives for recruiters). The hallmark of many sales reward and recog-
nition programs is pay and bonuses based on sales performance. Pay for
recruiters is determined by Congress and cannot be adjusted for this job.
Because the military cannot use most types of financial incentives, the
Services rely instead on nonfinancial incentives such as plaques, watches,
rings, and military decorations in lieu of cash compensation. However,
the effectiveness of such incentives as a reward for past performance and
a subsequent motivator of future performance remains an open question.
The Federal Advisory Committee on Gender-Integrated Training and
Related Issues (1997) made a number of recommendations for changes in
recruiter incentive systems. For example, they suggest that the overall
level of recruiter incentives needs to be increased, that the Services should
make a recruiting assignment career-enhancing, and that a recruiter's
rewards and recognition should be linked to his or her recruits' perfor-
mance in basic training.
All of the evaluation approaches raised in this report should be con-
sidered when attempting an evaluation of these incentives. For example,
there will often be adequate existing data to support econometric analyses
of the effects of specific programs on recruiter behavior as measured by
productivity over some period of time. Asch (1990) provides such an
example. She used demographic data and varying incentive structures to
estimate effects on effort and productivity, concluding that rewards and
the timing of rewards affect the allocation of recruiter effort over time. In
the absence of existing data, experiments could be devised to determine
the effect of alternative programs on recruiter intentions (as measured by
surveys) or recruiter behavior (as measured by productivity).
In addition to evaluating the effectiveness of existing incentives, the
Services must also consider other approaches to reward and recognition.
Defining the most appropriate array of alternatives must be based on
review of the existing compensation literature and analysis of the needs
and expectation of the recruiting work force. The Services could use focus
groups and interview techniques to generate a list of alternative incen-
tives that might be expected to motivate recruiter effort and understand
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EVALUATING MILITARY ADVERTISING AND RECRUITING
the trade-offs among them. For example, the Services may find that
recruiters are willing to accept low cash incentives if sales (i.e., recruiting
performance) are rewarded by career enhancement.
The Services could also explore the acceptability and potential incen-
tive value of various career enhancements. We note the widespread per-
ception that successful duty as a recruiter or drill instructor is necessary
for advancement to senior noncommissioned officer rank in the Marine
Corps. In addition, there have been suggestions that recruiter special duty
assignment pay which is now based exclusively on length of time as a
recruiter could be structured to provide an incentive for production
rather than an incentive for staying in the recruiting job.
Interestingly, there are some financial disincentives associated with
the recruiter's job. Anecdotally, recruiters often recount the financial hard-
ships of living in areas without a substantial military presence. The lack of
services often provided on military bases and the cost of medical care are
often cited. Thus another approach to rewarding recruiters is removing
the financial disincentives.
Recruiter Performance Assessment
Answers to any of the questions raised above from recruiter selec-
tion through recruiter reward and recognition programs assume that
there are some measures of recruiter (or team or organizational) perfor-
mance against which alternatives can be compared. These performance
assessment measures themselves are also open to evaluation in a number
of ways.
First, the Services must define the critical aspects of the recruiter job.
The Borman et al. (1976) study defined eight dimensions of recruiter per-
formance; however, we must note that the study is almost 30 years old.
Since many things about the Services and the recruiting environment
have changed in the past 30 years, we could reasonably assume that the
recruiting task has also changed. In addition, enlisted military recruiters
are also part of their respective Services. Those dimensions of performance
associated with simply serving must also be included if the performance
assessment is intended to cover the entire job.
A second task is to assess the accuracy of the appraisal itself. Numer-
ous studies have noted that military performance measures tend toward
leniency that is, disproportionately large numbers of individuals receive
high ratings. Similar problems exist in civilian performance appraisal sys-
tems. The use of experimental performance measures in test development
and validation work also suggests that typical measures are not adequate.
Consequently, the Services must continue to develop and employ perfor-
mance appraisal systems that provide accurate ratings of job performance.
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The military has already devoted considerable resources to the devel-
opment of performance appraisal systems. Theoretically, at least, the prob-
lem may not be with the performance appraisal system but with the
environment in which it is used. Thus, a third avenue of exploration is
studying the conditions under which performance assessments are made
and used. Because the recruiting job is so unlike other military jobs, the
Services might take the approach of developing a performance appraisal
system that is outside the routine systems used for administrative pur-
poses. Such a system might have feedback to the recruiter as its primary
purpose, rather than rating or ranking recruiters.
Another area of research the Services may find productive is to link
performance assessment to training and development options. If the
Services are able to identify specific areas of weaknesses and provide a
feedback mechanism, then follow-up suggestions for remediation will be
required to actually improve the skills of the recruiting workforce. Experi-
mental research will be necessary to identify development opportunities
that actually rectify performance deficits.
A final area of evaluation is the effectiveness of communications about
the performance appraisal system. Stating what is to be rewarded is one
step in increasing the probability that such behavior will be exhibited. If
performance expectations are greater than simply the number of con-
tracts, then that information needs to be clearly communicated to recruiters
so that they can manage their performance in light of a broader view of
performance. Similarly, comprehensible, individual feedback on perfor-
mance is another critical step in ensuring that recruiters understand their
own strengths and weaknesses and are able to target their own develop-
mental efforts appropriately.
CONCLUSIONS
In many respects, the problems of performance management faced by
the military are no different from the problems faced by private industry.
However, the environments are distinctly different, and the military faces
many restrictions to which the private sector is not subject. Because of
these environmental differences, some of the existing research from the
professional literature will be useful, some not. Ideally, the military should
undertake continuous and systematic evaluation of each aspect of perfor-
mance management individually and as a whole in order to improve
recruiter performance, relying on professional literature when possible,
undertaking its own research when necessary.
Research that considers the interactions among various factors that
affect recruiting performance is particularly needed. However, to under-
take such massive research may be both overwhelming and practically
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EVALUATING MILITARY ADVERTISING AND RECRUITING
and economically infeasible. Nevertheless, doing nothing heightens the
likelihood of recruiting problems ranging from difficulty assessing the
more qualified candidates to expenditures disproportionate to the results
achieved. The challenge for the Services will be to establish their own
overall research frameworks, prioritize their many options, select those
research options that are most promising, and continually revise the
research plan based on findings and changes in the environment.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
recruiter performance