Motivations and Barriers for Seasonal Camp Employment

Dan Richmond,M Deborah Bialeschki,Jim Sibthorp

doi:10.5195/jyd.2020.822

Dan Richmond, M Deborah Bialeschki + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5195/jyd.2020.822

Copy DOI

Abstract

Each year, many summer camps deal with the challenges related to retaining quality seasonal staff. Retaining seasonal staff from year to year requires knowing what motivates staff to return and understanding the factors that drive voluntary turnover. While research on employee retention and turnover is abundant in management literature, few studies have focused on seasonal summer camp staff. This study used a mixed-methods design and involved a national sample of 997 returning camp staff from a variety of camp types. Respondents completed an online survey that included a 40-item questionnaire measuring staff motivations to return to camp and a series of open-ended questions on drivers of retention and turnover. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis revealed 7 latent constructs that drive motivation. Within the whole sample, Job Impact had the highest subscale mean score followed by Camp Embeddedness, Value Alignment, Staff Development, Management, Job Fit, and Compensation. Analysis of open-ended responses confirmed that Job Impact and Camp Embeddedness were the primary motivations for seasonal camp staff to return and that Compensation, Poor Job Fit, and Other Opportunities were likely drivers of turnover. This study helps paint a picture of the key factors that bring back seasonal staff and the factors, both controllable and uncontrollable, that lead camp staff to pursue other opportunities. Findings may be especially useful to professionals in the camping industry interested in seeking out potential camp staff and retaining staff year over year.

Highlights

Research in human resource management has examined the issues of staff retention and turnover for decades
The purpose of this study was to build on existing research on seasonal summer camp employment (e.g., DeGraff & Glover, 2003; Duerden et al, 2014; Henderson, Bialeschki, & James, 2007; McCole, Jacobs, Lindley, & McAvoy, 2012) to understand the employment motivations of returning camp staff from a nationally representative sample
Over 50% had two or fewer years of camp job experience prior to returning to camp employment, 83.9% attended camp as a camper and 61.3% participated in counselor-intraining (CIT), leader-in-training (LIT), or similar programs before they worked as seasonal camp staff

Summary

Introduction

Research in human resource management has examined the issues of staff retention and turnover for decades. Retaining high-quality staff helps ensure that organizations meet their performance goals and maintain a healthy organizational culture (Hancock et al, 2013; Mitchell, Holtom, & Lee, 2001; Selden & Sowa, 2015). While seasonal employers like summer camps do have to let go employees for poor performance and other reasons like a discordant person–organization fit, the primary path for losing employees from season to season is due to voluntary turnover (American Camp Association, 2016). As every industry is slightly different, a need exists to understand what motivates individuals to return to camp employment while considering the drivers of turnover, as camps must regularly replace staff on a year-to-year basis (Henderson et al, 2007; McCole et al, 2012)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion