When you start a camp, you know that your main goal is to provide a high-quality, memorable, and fun camp experience for your campers. As you try to come up with new ways to fulfill this goal, other important aspects of directing a camp may fall by the wayside. That includes staff engagement.

However, having engaged camp staff and counselors is essential to creating a positive and memorable experience for your campers. To help you figure out where to start, this guide will cover the basics and three creative strategies for improving employee engagement at your camp. Let’s get started!

Why is staff engagement important for camps?

What’s unique about camps is that staff attitude can make or break a camper’s experience. While a surly barista at Starbucks might be a dark spot on an otherwise bright day, a visibly frustrated camp counselor can sour an entire summer for a young camper. Making sure your staff are engaged and enthusiastic about camp is a surefire way to create a satisfying experience for your campers.

Aside from providing a better experience for campers, studies have shown that organizations with engaged employees have 81% less absenteeism, a 28% decrease in theft, and a 10% increase in customer loyalty. All these reasons support that having a positive workplace culture and engaged staff is crucial for your camp’s success.

1. Give staff creative freedom.

According to the Decision Lab, “creative liberty increases engagement and intrinsic motivation.” Being employed at a camp means that there are plenty of opportunities for staff to get creative. However, that’s only possible if you let them take responsibility for activities and projects that allow them to stretch those mental muscles.

As a camp leader, don’t be afraid to entrust your counselors with certain responsibilities. While it may be tempting to take on all tasks yourself, it’s best to delegate when possible. Let’s say that you need to optimize your camp’s website to increase registrations. Instead of doing this yourself, allow a staff member to take on the task of writing fun and engaging copy to inspire parents to register their children.

Or, if you’d like to go a step further into engaging your employees, ask them to create some of the summer programming for your campers. Allow them to tap into their passions and hobbies and pitch ideas for new activities or theme weeks to you. This empowers them to get creative with their work, promoting engagement. Plus, you’ll be able to crowdsource fun ideas campers will love from the people who know them best.

2. Introduce gamification.

Although gamification may seem intimidating, it’s simply the practice of adding friendly competition and fun to work to engage camp staff and encourage them to work hard. For example, a robust staff recognition program might be enough gamification to increase employee engagement. After all, these programs are based on the principle of rewarding high performers.

When it comes to rewards for high-performing staff members, eCardWidget recommends the following options:

Social media shoutouts. It’s likely that you already have social media pages set up to promote your camp to potential campers. Use these pages as an employee engagement tool by posting spotlights as a way to recognize high-performing counselors and provide them with some public recognition. Plus, you’ll show potential campers how tightly-knit your community is, and return campers will be excited to see their favorite counselors celebrated!

• Trophy. A trophy is a physical reminder of a staff member’s achievements. You could designate a single top counselor of the summer camp season and present them with a trophy to commemorate their time working. This award will also encourage that staff member to stay connected with your camp and work for you again next year.

• Experiences. Experiences have the potential to be a very thoughtful recognition gift and will give employees something to look forward to on their days off or weekends. These can range from escape rooms to sports event tickets to spa days. You can let staff know in advance that your top performers will receive these experiences to properly gamify your recognition program.

• Peer recognition. While leadership recognition is appreciated, regular recognition from peers is another great way to keep staff members engaged in their work. Encourage employees to show appreciation for their fellow camp staff to ensure that everyone feels motivated to do their best.

Having a thorough employee recognition program encourages staff members to stay engaged in their work and even go above and beyond. Plus, CIRCUITREE recommends investing in a management tool that allows you to track your staff’s progress. This will make it easier for you to determine who should receive recognition awards and conduct performance reviews at the end of the season.

3. Encourage participation in camp activities.

Working at a camp is a niche occupation that generally attracts fun-loving individuals who are dedicated to creating a memorable and positive experience for your campers. While all your staff members know that they have responsibilities above having fun, participation in camp activities and having a great time alongside your campers is also crucial for creating a positive camp environment.

While this might be the day-to-day of a camp counselor’s responsibilities, it’s equally important for other staff members to stay engaged with the camp’s activities. A few types of activities your staff can participate in include:

• Camper programming. You’ve created a detailed and fun summer program schedule for your campers. Allow administrative and kitchen staff to participate in activities such as capture the flag, horseback riding, and more.

• Break time. Camper free time is always a highlight of their days, where they can hang out with friends and participate in less structured activities, such as playing ping pong or soccer. Encourage all staff to be available to campers during break times so that they can also participate in these activities.

• Community gatherings. If participating in daily camp programming is an issue for busy staff members, encourage them to set aside time once a week to be a part of community gatherings. For example, if you have a camp sing-a-long every Sunday morning, ask all employees to be there for the sing-a-long.

Encouraging staff members to participate in camp activities will keep them engaged in their work and may even help them do better in their roles. For example, your marketing managers and outreach specialists will benefit from having firsthand experience of your camp’s community. That way, they’ll be able to suffuse all your camp’s materials with the positive feelings they’ve gained, from your social media posts to your registration forms.

Ultimately, employee engagement brings a variety of benefits, from improved retention to increased revenue. As you begin to prioritize engagement for your team members, keep in mind that doing so will also help you build a stronger camp community and a better experience for your campers. Keep your eye out constantly for ways to build connections with your staff and show them your appreciation.