In a recent dicussion with one of oiur clients, he said something that not everyone understands about police recruiting.
“Once I jumped in the SAFEGUARD Recruiting Ecosystem, our recruiting turned around and we never looked back!”
Frankly, we’ve never thought of it that way. Yes, we provide our clients a “system” of recruiting that, if embraced in whole, can radically change the staffing of agencies but when this recruiting sergeant called our solution an “ecosystem,” it got us thinking.
Is there a difference? Turns out there is and he was right:
A system is typically structured and closed while an ecosystem is dynamic and interconnected.
A system is designed with fixed processes while an ecosystem is designed to adapt and evolve over time.
A system relies on inputs only while an ecosystem is focused on collaboration and continuous improvement.
While we may not change our terminoilogy and I doubt you care much about the difference, there is no question that SAFEGUARD Recruiting is, indeed, an ecosystem.
From Launch To Today
We launched SAFEGUARD Recruiting after working years in law enforcement and observing first hand the failures of the existing companies taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from agencies that weren’t adding cops on the streets. We knew what it took to staff agencies full and we saw immediate success with our early clients.
But we had created a problem for them.
Our first client went from a few applicants a month to over 100 and they couldn’t manage it. In fact, they were so frustrated, they almost fired us for being too successful. When we asked them how they were managing their canddiates and applicants, they pointed to a bulletin board.
That’s why we quickly pivoted and added our Applicant Tracking Software for our clients. It managed every aspect of the recrutiing process and that worked for a few years until we received feedback from another client:
“Why can’t I move my hiring pool to different lanes and communicate with the groups separately?”
It was a great question and turns out, a great feature. Our development team quickly went to work and made it happen. A few months later, another client told us that he loved the software but he wanted to use it 24/7 regardless of having his computer in front of him.
“Why don’t you develop a phone app,” he said?
This time, our developers went to work and retooled any aspects of our applicant tracking software and SAFEGUARD Connect was born.
After a few years and with the help of many of our clients, we had developed the first law enforcement (first responder) specific recruiting software for the industry. The feedback has sloweed down but we continue to make adjustments based on what we hear.
Yes, we have a system of recruiting but it’s a system truly evolving and always improving.
Here are some other aspects of our solution based approach to first responder recruiting that was born out of the needs of those we partner with:
- Automated messaging that nurtures the applicant through the entire hiring process.
- Referral program where the agency members get a unique link to promote the agency.
- Real time performance tracking where departments can see exactly where and how an applicant found them.
- Automated qualification screening.
- Custom websites and landing pages that connect directly into SAFEGUARD Connect, avoiding tons of e-mails, etc.
- Custom recruiter training for agencies that want to learn more about how we staff agencies full.
- A mobile-first process where candidates can take every step from their phone.
- Automated video based interviews.
And we aren’t stopping
In the last month, we recently added testing and background checks. Not every agency wants or needs every solution that exists in this “ecosystem” but we have it and each piece is designed to enhance first responder recruiting above and beyond our clients’ expectations.
Larimer County (CO) Sergeant Seth Graham doubled his applicants in the first year as our partner. As he added additional solutions, he tripled the applications in year two and he recently told us that his goal is to go ever higher than that.
How does one recruiter do this? Sergeant Graham leverages all the tools within our ecosystem.
Conclusion: An Ecosystem, Not a Vendor
SAFEGUARD Recruiting is more than a service. Every part of the process is interconnected: the branding shapes the messaging, the messaging drives ad performance, the ads feed SAFEGUARD Connect, the system nurtures candidates, and our clients can hire with confidence. It’s a open loop, purpose-built for one mission: fully staffing law enforcement agencies.
Ready to see results? The ecosystem is already built. Let’s activate it for your agency.
