Across the country, Police Chiefs, Fire Chiefs, and municipal HR directors are facing the same daunting reality: application numbers are down, retirements are up, and the competition for qualified candidates is fiercer than ever. The staffing crisis in public safety is no longer a looming threat; it is the current reality.
Yet, many agencies are still relying on recruiting playbooks from 20 years ago. Posting a job opening on the city website and waiting for qualified applicants to walk in the door—the “post and pray” method—is dead. To fill the ranks, public safety agencies must modernize their approach to match the speed and digital expectations of today’s workforce.
Why Traditional Recruiting is Failing First Responders
The workforce has changed. The newest generation of potential recruits—Millennials and Gen Z—operate almost entirely on their phones. They expect instant communication, transparency in the hiring process, and strong employer branding.
If your agency requires a paper application, takes three weeks to respond to an initial inquiry, or relies solely on email for communication, you are losing your best candidates to agencies that move faster.
Strategies to Modernize Your Hiring Pipeline
Shift from Passive “Posting” to Active “Marketing”
You aren’t just offering a job; you are selling a career, a lifestyle, and a chance to serve. Your agency needs to treat recruiting like marketing. This means utilizing targeted social media ads (geofenced to your area), creating compelling video content that shows the reality of the job, and clearly articulating your agency’s culture and benefits.
Embrace Mobile-First Communication (Texting is Key)
Email open rates are plummeting. Text message open rates remain near 98%. If you aren’t using SMS to communicate with applicants, you are falling behind. Automated text messaging can confirm receipt of applications, send reminders about physical agility tests, and keep candidates warm during lengthy background check processes.
Automate the Busy Work
Your background investigators and recruiting officers are highly trained professionals. They should not be spending their days manually copy-pasting the same “thank you for applying” email hundreds of times.
Utilizing specialized recruiting marketing automation software frees up your staff to focus on interviewing and vetting candidates, while the software handles the repetitive follow-ups, drip campaigns, and scheduling.
Conclusion
The public safety recruitment crisis requires new tools and new tactics. Safeguard Recruiting provides both the marketing expertise to attract candidates and the automated software to keep them engaged. Stop relying on outdated methods.
Contact us today to modernize your agency’s recruiting strategy.
