Editor鈥檚 note: This video is excerpted from the Lexipol webinar, 鈥�鈥�
The standard for excellence in public safety is changing. Lexipol is your partner in understanding how your agency measures up and setting a course to achieve performance excellence. today to learn about our holistic approach built on Gordon Graham鈥檚 5 Pillars of Organizational Success.
Public safety agencies across the country face a critical challenge in finding and keeping the right people to staff up their ranks. During a time when job applicants are in short supply and lateral moves are on the rise, leaders can no longer afford to rely on outdated recruitment tactics or ignore their retention gaps.
In the recent Lexipol webinar 鈥�,鈥� Battalion Chief (Ret.) Bruce Bjorge and Police Chief (Ret.) Dave Funkhouser share honest insights and practical solutions drawn from decades of experience. Their message is clear: If you want to recruit and retain well, it鈥檚 time to take a long, hard look in the mirror.
Below are important points from the webinar that every public safety leader needs hear.
1. We may be the problem
While multiple factors are involved in the public safety recruiting/retention crisis, one specific element stands out to the presenters. 鈥淲e may be the problem,鈥� Bjorge says bluntly. 鈥淲e being the leaders of the organization. And that鈥檚 an important acknowledgment.鈥�
As the panelists emphasize, recruitment and retention issues aren鈥檛 just about budgets or generational shifts. Leadership and culture both play a defining role. For example, if your own people aren鈥檛 talking up your agency and encouraging others to join, that鈥檚 not a people problem. That鈥檚 a leadership issue.
Funkhouser adds: 鈥淚f your newest recruits aren鈥檛 telling their friends to apply, ask yourself why. Have the courage to go to them and ask what brought them here and what might make them stay.鈥�
And what should you do if your people are leaving? Ask them why, too. Whether you conduct formal exit interviews or more casual (but frank) conversations, this information is crucial to your agency leadership. After all, the only way to come up with an effective treatment is to begin with an honest diagnosis.
2. The Hollywood set problem
Bjorge describes what he calls the 鈥淗ollywood set鈥� issue. In highly produced recruiting videos, glossy websites and Photoshopped social media posts, agencies often look polished and professional from the outside. But what鈥檚 behind the scenes?
鈥淚t looks great on the outside. But you open the door, and it鈥檚 empty. It鈥檚 an empty organization,鈥� he explains. 鈥淭hat starts from the top.鈥�
For all their foibles, this new generation of recruits can spot inauthenticity from a mile away. Culture isn鈥檛 what you claim in a press release 鈥� it鈥檚 what people live every day. If there鈥檚 hazing, toxic leadership, poor camaraderie or lack of support, Gen Z isn鈥檛 sticking around and hoping things get better.
鈥淭hey鈥檒l go find that same sense of purpose in a different career,鈥� Bjorge says. 鈥淥ne where they feel welcome.鈥�
3. Retention before recruitment
Funkhouser makes the analogy: 鈥淚f you鈥檙e losing people faster than you bring them in, you鈥檙e pouring water into a leaky bucket.鈥�
Too many agencies while doing little to ensure their existing employees are happy enough to stay. That鈥檚 a mistake. In public safety, your best recruiters tend to be your own people 鈥� if they believe in the mission, they鈥檒l spread the word.
鈥淚f you take care of the people you have, they鈥檒l become your best ambassadors,鈥� Funkhouser says. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l say, 鈥楥ome work for us. Our leadership is outstanding. We take care of each other. We have an amazing wellness program.鈥欌��
Retention must be a deliberate strategy, not an afterthought.
4. Recruiting needs to be part of your strategic plan
Bjorge and Funkhouser are clear: You can鈥檛 treat recruitment as an HR task or something you only think about when a position opens up. It needs to be permanently embedded into your agency鈥檚 long-term strategic plan.
鈥淲e specifically use the term marketing,鈥� Funkhouser says. 鈥淏ecause that鈥檚 what it is. We have to get into a business mindset.鈥�
That means leveraging social media, creating recruiting videos, building partnerships with schools and local organizations and engaging your current staff in outreach. It also means updating your website 鈥� your 24/7 recruiter 鈥� so it reflects who you are now, not who you were 10 years ago.
Even better? Involve college students in marketing programs. 鈥淭hey know how to connect with their peers,鈥� Funkhouser says. 鈥淲hy not let them help you craft your message?鈥�
5. Gen Z seeks purpose, not just pay
If you think bigger bonuses and better benefits are the key to attracting younger applicants, think again.
鈥淟ooking at what , it wasn鈥檛 pay and benefits,鈥� Funkhouser notes. 鈥淚t was purpose. A supportive culture. Work-life balance.鈥�
Today鈥檚 younger workforce wants to be part of something bigger than themselves 鈥� but they also want to know they鈥檒l receive mental and emotional support. Mental wellness isn鈥檛 just about crisis intervention or suicide prevention. It鈥檚 about fostering a culture where it鈥檚 safe to ask for help, and where life outside of work is respected.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have to be the highest-paying agency,鈥� Bjorge says. 鈥淲e just have to show them that we have their back, that they matter and that this career is worth their time and energy.鈥�
Final thoughts: Culture is the brand
At the heart of it all is culture. Hiring and retention at your agency is primarily driven by your agency鈥檚 culture. It鈥檚 what draws people in 鈥� and it鈥檚 also what can push them out. And whether you鈥檙e aware of it or not, culture starts at the top.
鈥�,鈥� Funkhouser says. 鈥淗ave the courage to look inward. Ask the hard questions. Empower your team to help shape the solutions.鈥�
There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the hiring crisis in public safety. But the agencies that are thriving all have one thing in common: They鈥檙e not sitting around complaining about the problem. They鈥檙e doing something about it.
Let this be the year you do the same.
