Research for Recruiting

Since November 1996, CNA has participated on a Technology Task Force established by the Commander, Navy Recruiting Command, to address several issues concerning the use of technology and Navy recruiting. This annotated briefing summarizes our ongoing efforts in three areas: Internet recruiting, Intranet showcase, and interactive multimedia. The unifying theme to these topics is the need for Navy recruiting to keep up with the rapid changes occurring in marketing and the exchange of information. High-tech methods of marketing and processing applicants should be pursued in order r to keep pace with the tremendous changes in the marketplace.

This study, originally suggested by the Chief of Naval Operations and sponsored by the Chief of Naval Personnel, took a look at several issues that fit broadly under two topics: are there better ways of doing business, and; can we improve our sailors' Quality of Life (QOL)? CNA's task was to do some 'out-of-the-box' thinking and come up with a variety of issues for further study, such as organizational changes, more cost-efficient approaches, and ways to improve sailors' QOL. Our mission was to probe topics that weren' t being adequately addressed because organizational responsibility was not clear-cut. This research memorandum provides a review of the issues examined and the conclusions drawn. Cleared for Open Publication by CNO ltr Ser 09N2/6U532301 of 15 Jul 1996; CNO Case No. 96-187.

The Marine Corps recruits and screens about 2,000 officer candidates annually. Recruiting minority candidates who meet its stringent standards, however, is not easy. Recruiting qualified minorities is especially difficult because of stiff competition from other services, industry, government, and the academic arena. Consider these statistics: (1) of male college graduates in 1990-1991, five percent were African-Americans, and three percent were Hispanics; (2) only two percent of males with Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores meeting USMC standards were African-American, and four percent Hispanic. It is clear that the Marine Corps must recruit more than a proportionate share of the qualified minority pool. Can the Marine Corps improve the way it allocates recruiting goals and resources to take advantage of regional variations in race/ethnicity. Headquarters Marine Corps asked CNA to help with this problem as part of its study of Successful Recruiting and Training of Marine Corps Officers. In this study, we also explored the relationship between officer candidate characteristics and success in Officer Candidate School, commissioning, and The Basic School. In addition, we looked at officer characteristics and promotions to captain and major.

In this research memorandum, we present the findings of one portion of CNA's Future Russian Navy project, which was requested by the Director of Naval Intelligence. We examine what Russians commonly call 'the human factor' in naval affairs, or the set of issues concerned with attracting and retaining personnel and creating conditions that enable and encourage them to perform their missions. We look at three aspects of the human factor in turn: personnel procurement policy, day-to-day military economics, and the navy's relationship with society and local civilian officials. We discuss how the former Soviet Union traditionally approached each challenge and why the old approaches are failing today. We also describe the way the navy is functioning today, living with the residue of the old system, and adapting to cope with the changed environment. We conclude with an assessment of possible remedies to the Navy's human factor problem, and a discussion of current and prospective trends.