To the leadership, get ready for more workers comp claims at in-service. You'll be taking staff who do NOT work out much during the rest of the year. And, you're expecting them to do DT every day? With a more physical PAT test? Good luck with that.
Here's a suggestion, just a suggestion from someone who's been here for a lil while. I know the exit interviews indicate that pay and benefits isn't why staff leaves. Those exit interviews do NOT, however, tell you what will draw quality staff to the agency. Quality applicants with degree's and good physical fitness are applying to departments that have much better pay and benefits packages than TDCJ. Look at HPD, Dallas PD, FT Worth PD, San Antonio PD,....etc. Those large departments have TONS of applicants for few openings. You know why? They have COMPETITIVE PAY and BENEFIT PACKAGES to the other major law enforcement departments. TDCJ's pay and benefit package can NOT compete with them at the moment. So, while pay and benefits are never sited as a reason people leave the agency, pay and benefits are definitely a reason highly qualified and physically fit applicants go to other departments.
It was stated by an instructor at my last in-service that TDCJ was going to this new PAT to weed out employee's, and only the good employee's would pass the new pat, and would stay. They stated further, that then TDCJ could go to the legislature and say we raised the standards and now deserve a large pay raise. I got news for you in leadership. It won't play out like that. This has been tried before. You're cutting your nose off to spite your face. And, it was inappropriate for an instructor to make this statement to a class. If you start losing staff at an accelerated rate due to the new pat test, and you can't replace them fast enough, guess what. You're going to be far more short than you already are. You think you're short now.........you haven't seen anything yet.
Make our pay and benefits package competitive with outside law enforcement agencies across the state, FIRST. You'll draw in more, and higher qualified, applicants. Get those folks hired. Then, when you've got enough staff to cover the shortages expected from a new, and higher standard, pat test, GO FOR IT. Raise the standards then, when you can afford to lose some folks. Right now, you can't afford to lose anyone at all.
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