How do you create a recruitment funnel for an industry that is struggling nationally?

The Natrona County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) hired LUM Studio to develop a recruitment funnel including, various design and media materials, to assist the NCSO in attracting and securing high-quality law enforcement prospects within, but primarily outside Wyoming. Like most law enforcement agencies, the NCSO is experiencing low applicant rates. According to a recent Police Executive Research Forum survey, 63% of agencies that responded to the survey said the number of applicants for police officer positions had decreased, either significantly (36%) or slightly (27%), over the past five years.

Prior to working with LUM Studio, the NCSO identified several opportunities to attract new applicants outside the state of Wyoming but needed assistance with designing and creating materials to attract these prospective employees. During initial strategy discussions, we identified several materials needed to assist in these efforts, but also established a funnel to push these potential applicants through and track the success of the recruitment effort.

LUM Studio provided strategic messaging and positioning, high-impact photos and video, print/electronic versions of a recruitment booklet, and a landing page with detailed hiring information, a contact form, and links to more information. Since most of the applicants are not deeply familiar with Natrona County, we placed a heavy focus on promoting several important aspects of our area, like recreation and family life, as well as other key points important to the target audiences.

All materials push prospects to the landing page where contact information is collected, and interaction and engagement can be monitored and tracked. Through the contact form, potential applicants have the opportunity to be connected with NCSO colleagues, superiors or families to gather more information about working for the NCSO and living in Natrona County.

Throughout the project, we collaborated with several other agencies including the Casper Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (CACVB/Visit Casper) and Casper Area Chamber of Commerce to utilize existing assets and information about the area.

While many agencies are prioritizing recruitment efforts, the NCSO’s stands out because of the use of targeted, purposeful messaging; high quality, enticing photos and video; and carefully thought-out strategy, execution and tracking.