A Recipe for Retention

Day 949, 21:35 • Published in USA USA • by Bradley Reala

Only a few days away.

V2 is right around the corner. There's a fair chance that it's going to be the death of some of our older members, but it's also quite possibly the re-invigoration that this country needs. With V2 will come, hopefully, a new influx of players. These are new players that we must be ready and willing to keep if we intend to survive this transition, and how we go about it may be the key to the transition working.

As I see it, there are two incredible retention tools at our disposal. The military (and to a small extent, militias) and the government. The military obviously speaks for itself. Activity combined with comradery has always helped keep our military strong. In fact, it's estimated that the eUS Mobile Forces are among the most effective in the game. Unfortunately the Government doesn't always speak for itself. In the eUSA we have two true branches of government. The Legislature and the Executive. The Legislature is a set body, one Congresscritter per state. The Executive, though, has the luxury of being whatever we need it to be. The Executive branch, in my opinion, is an untapped retention tool.


So how do we make the Executive into an incredible retention tool?

When I served as Secretary of State, I came in with a crazy idea that many hands makes light work. The lighter the work, the better. Nuts, right? Well, one of the main reasons I wanted to do that is because I saw the potential of our Department of State as a retention tool. By bringing in as many people as possible in the lower levels, while trimming the fat and promoting hard workers in the upper levels, I managed to turn the Department of State into a 150 man well oiled machine. During my time we brought in massive amounts of new players, many of whom have stuck around and continued to play the game. It was that fact that taught me how to do what I'm suggesting.

The Government, and many of it's departments, need to work to start spreading around entry level jobs to newcomers who express even a little interest in getting involved. People like work. They don't necessarily like jobs, but they do like the friendships they build and the experience they gain. By opening up large amounts of low level jobs we allow those players to start working with the people who know what they're doing, and teach them to get involved.

Simple right?

Well, not exactly. Not all departments can do what I suggested, though I'm sure talented Secretaries could easily find work that they don't necessarily want to do. A structure is needed, and it needs to be something that allows the newbies to come in and learn from the older guys, without being caught in so much red tape that they suffocate. This honestly has to be handled in a case by case basis, and I don't claim to know how to do it for each department. I successfully did something similar in the Department of State, but that method may not work for every department. What we need to do, and this will obviously be a large project, is start from the top down, trimming the fat at the top, and expanding jobs down to the lower levels.


Mmmmmm...

The government should look a bit like this. On the bottom are all those yummy new players who make us go, spread out as much as possible and given the ability to work and meet older more experienced players. Spreadsheets and the like can usually be managed by these guys, and just giving them a job may well be enough to keep them in the game.

Like breads and other carbs, these guys should be the energy that helps make us successful.

In the middle, a small amount of experienced personnel. The experienced personnel shouldn't really change from President to President. These are the guys who've invested time and patience into their department, know what they're doing, and can pass that knowledge on to the newer players.

Being the fruits, vegetables, dairies and meats, these guys help regulate where that energy is used, and make sure that it's used in a way that helps us grow and expand.

Finally, at the point we have a few dedicated Secretaries and of course the President.

The oils and sweets, there shouldn't be many of these guys, but they should be making sure that everything else is where it needs to be.

Now, because you've been so patient and read through this article, here's a little Zooey for you as a reward.



And one for those of you who aren't Zooey fans (yes, apparently these people exist).