January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 27

tunities with green jobs programs
in your parks. Think about what
brought you to this work and what
keeps you here.
Recruit
Consider targeting often overlooked
or marginalized populations through
community partners, elected officials
and targeted recruitment.
* Older adults - In the current
economy, people who have retired
might be interested in seasonal
or part-time opportunities.
* People returning to the workforce
- This is a diverse group,
from veterans to caregivers - like
stay-at-home moms or those caring
for the elderly - to formerly
incarcerated people looking to
transition back into society and be
part of a team providing essential
services to the community.
* Differently-abled people - Any
of the groups that I mentioned
above might all be in this category,
too. You might be required to
check your biases and have hard
conversations across your team
to provide a welcoming environment.
Focus on the mission of
your department and the work
that needs to be done to keep
parks and recreation available to
your community.
Review the titles you use for current
and open positions. It could be
possible to update titles to be more
meaningful or add a subtitle that centers
the work in a more targeted way.
Review your requirements around
education and years of experience.
If a degree is required, expand the
type of degree you would consider.
For example, you might not be able
to attract candidates with a degree
in turf management, but maybe a
person with a degree in horticulture
or environmental science could
have the core skills and only require
targeted training. Partner with community
nonprofits, manufacturers
and local education institutions for
trainings and certifications.
Engage
Your department might not be able
to compete with increased wages in
the private sector. Consider leveraging
your assets, like reduced cost
or free tee times at the public golf
course, pool or exercise class.
Consider friendly competition.
For example, offer the crew with
the most on-time and present people
throughout a month a certificate
and donuts presented by the
department's director or someone
else in a leadership position. Recognize
the crew on social media or
on the agency's website.
Communicate with both returning
and new staff with regular meetings
at monthly or quarterly intervals.
Do not wait until there is a big
change to call people together. The
meetings can be an opportunity to
Park and recreation professionals often
speak about the opportunity to serve
their community as a motivating factor
for staying in the field.
share success, build trust, address
concerns, and help people see the
importance of each job in providing
quality park and recreation services
to your community. Park and recreation
professionals often speak
about the opportunity to serve their
community as a motivating factor
for staying in the field, so be intentional
about celebrating the essential
role of your employees.
We can welcome new and returning
employees with intention
as we build a movement to support
increased use of parks and recreation
facilities. Celebrate the essential
nature of your work and join
the conversation on NRPA Connect
(connect.nrpa.org), where we
encourage you to share your stories
of success and crowd source solutions
from people in diverse agencies
across the country.
Ayanna Williams, MSW, is Director of Community and
Environmental Resilience at NRPA (awilliams@nrpa.org).
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G | J ANUAR Y 2 0 2 3
| Parks & Recreation
27
http://connect.nrpa.org
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2023 - Parks & Recreation
