Improved Screening Tools for Recruiters and Station Commanders

Since the inception of the All Volunteer Force, the Army has strived to fill its ranks with high quality youth. In the late 90's, recruiting became more challenging, and the Army has had difficulty enlisting sufficient numbers of high quality individuals. The goal of this effort is to develop the R&D base for identifying the best recruiters who can sustain a sufficient flow of highly qualified new soldiers to meet future demands. New personnel tools will be developed to identify and select individual recruiters and station commanders who can effectively sell the Army to future prospects.

This effort will develop and validate personnel screens to improve recruiter productivity and station commander performance. It began with a comprehensive, selection-oriented job analysis of the recruiter position to inform the development of new personnel screening. In 2001 we developed a preliminary recruiter screening instrument. Starting in January 2002 this recruiter screening instrument was administered to new recruiters as they reported for the Army Recruiter Course at Fort Jackson, SC. These new recruiters are being tracked during their recruiting duty, and test scores will be linked to measures of production and performance to establish the predictive validity of the instrument. Plans are under discussion to develop a computerized version of the instrument. In FY03 we completed the station commander job analysis and have preliminary data on the key competencies required for successful performance in this position. The DA Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, the U.S. Army Recruiting Command, and the U.S. Total Army Personnel Command can use the products of this R&D to identify individuals who will be highly productive recruiters and station commanders.

In FY2004, we will:

• Complete the predictive validation of new screening and assessment tools for station commanders
• Identify and evaluate implementation strategies for the station commander screening battery
• Identify and evaluate implementation strategies for the recruiter screening battery

Proponent: Department of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1
ARI Unit: Selection and Assignment Research Unit

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