By Camp Code Podcast

By Camp Code Podcast

By Camp Code Podcast

By Camp Code Podcast

The most basic human desire is to be able to fit in. In this episode, our hosts dive into stereotypes, managing life pressures and teaching our staff how to build self-esteem, create their potential and give them the superpowers required to battle any self-esteem issue. As Ruby identifies, in order for summer camp leaders to teach self-esteem, it i…

It All Starts with Trust! Managing summer camp staff, no problem...managing summer camp staff that don’t trust one another, that is where the challenge lays. Having staff sharing information, collaborating and working toward common goals is the foundation of trust and can bring the best out of your staff. Beth defines trust as reliance on the chara…

Teach your staff and campers the value of #getoutside! Stop reading these show notes and just get outside! Leadership Training Best Practices Your Hosts: Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - CampHacker.tv Ruby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby Outdoors…

Camp is weird! Let’s help staff navigate. Building off of what we learned from Episode 56, we wanted to focus on some of the findings our Camp Directors friends came across this past summer. Focusing on the outside world, and fitting in on some the cultures we develop at camp, we want to focus on some guidance to help prepare your staff for a summe…

After a shortened Season 6 and a lot of questions from fellow listeners, WE ARE BACK with Season 7. This episode is dedicated to those moments where you as a camp director see something and say, “Are You Freaking Kidding Me!?”. Our hosts Beth, Ruby and Gabs have plenty of experience as Camp Directors and they are here to share stories of times wher…

More and more directors are saying they are finding their staff less and less willing to make decisions. In a world where there are constantly more options available to us, to make a decision can be downright paralyzing. Listen in as Gabz, Ruby, and Beth discuss their best ideas for helping to empower and educator your staff on being smart decision…

Gabz, Beth, and Ruby have spent the last several months working with Colette and Kim from ACA Illinois to put together the first annual Women in Camp Summit. Patti Sampson of Patchwork Marketplace teamed up with the Camp Code co-hosts to do a crossover episode of the podcast to talk about this exciting event. Check out the Rec Heads and Camp Nerds …

Leadership training is important for everyone at camp Many camps have some portion of their staff comprised of volunteers. Be it your nurse for the week who is also a camper parent and trading their work for their child's camp tuition or a community member who simply loves to give back to camp, it is important that these folks get trained too. If y…

Training staff for when it is time to move on Every camp director has had that staff member who needs to move on from camp but having the conversation can be difficult. Tune in to hear Beth, Gabz, and Ruby share their best tips for having those conversations now and how to build this idea of "growing elsewhere" into your camp culture so anyone in y…

Video continues to be a powerful resource in this day and age. Beth, Gab, and Ruby discuss 12 more of their favorites that can be incorporated into staff training this year. Gabz Videos Misunderstandings Knowing our limits Visual Note Taking This Grandma Is Trying To Use Google Home Beth’s Videos Raising Successful Kids Transgender Kids Failure is …

Teaching campers and staff about consent in a vitally important way Though recent headlines have brought this concept to the forefront, this has been a conversation that has been ongoing. This is not a fad conversation and right now, there is an opportunity for youthe development professionals to dive deep and make influence real change in the worl…

How much time do you spend in meals during camp? Meal times offer opportunities for connections and teaching and every second of staff training is valuable. Every person has to eat. Can these three truths come together and help relieve the time pressure so many of us feel during staff orientation? Consider how much of your summer is spent collectiv…

Deciding what to tell and what to practice during leadership training It can be tricky to strike a balance between sharing with staff why certain topics they learn during staff training are important with the time invested in practicing the skills they are taught. Join Beth, Gab, and Ruby for a discussion about how to get just the right mix of thin…

Staff training after everything's gone beautifully When things go wrong, we tend to analyze and question what could have been done differently and how to prevent these scenarios from playing out again. Sometimes, we have really fantastic summers when everything pretty much goes as, or better than, planned. These summers are worth reviewing as well …

Teaching trip and expedition leaders to carry on traditions and build networks of support If your camp runs programming with staff that are off-site for most of the season, this podcast is for you! Beth and Ruby discuss best practices for carrying on camp traditions, setting these staffers up for success, and providing support and training even if …

Training staff to spread the message that everyone belongs In a world where exclusion can quickly become a theme, camp professionals are remarkably good at creating a safe space where campers and staff can feel empowered to find themselves and be themselves. I think we can all agree that the world would be a different place if every child went to c…

How do you train employees with areas of expertise that are your areas of weakness? Whether you are new director at an established camp or are simply training staff in program areas that aren't in your repertoire, sometimes we have to train staff who know more about some subject areas than we do. Joining the Camp Code hosts today is Chantal "Match"…

More Leadership and Orientation Ideas for the Best Training Ever Thought you had heard all that the Camp Code hosts have to offer? No way! There's always new ideas flowing out of this podcast! Check out this week's episode to hear twelve brilliant brand new ideas for staff training that you can plug into staff training this year in this quickfire s…

Setting New Employees Up for Success While we spend a lot of time planning staff training for our summer staff, it is not uncommon to expect new year-round directors to jump in without providing them the tools for success. Beth, Gab, and Ruby are joined by special guest, Travis Allison for this special episode of Camp Code. Best Practice for Leader…

"You have learned everything I have to teach." If you work in camp long enough, you will either watch a long-time staff member (director, year-round staff member, long-time seasonal staff member) leave or you, yourself, will opt for something different from #campdirectorlife. While camp directors tend to be the types to be inclined to keep this kin…

Best Practices For Your Employment Application Puzzled by why you can't seem to find the right staff each summer? Perhaps it is because of the wording, structure, and requirements of your staff application. Gab, Beth, and Ruby discuss the must-dos (and a few must-don'ts) to help you start your staff training before your people are even hired. Best …

Training for Leading When You Think "What Else Could Go Wrong?" As camp people, we sometimes find ourselves looking around thinking "Universe, what else could you possible throw at me?" and sometimes that all happens before 9 AM. Some summers are just like that and often it is due to circumstances totally out of your control. This episode will talk…

By Beth Allison, Ruby Compton, Gabrielle Raill

Helping You With Last Minute Details for Your Leadership Training Season 3 of Camp Code wraps up with THE checklist to ensure you are ready for staff training this summer. Invest some time in to making sure all of these things are done to ensure a smooth training and thus a smooth summer for all. Best Practice for Leadership Training This week's ti…

The Best Staff Training Don't Dos from Directors Who Have Done Them It's crunch time for preparing staff training for the summer and there are some common pitfalls that every director falls into when designing and implementing orientation for the summer. Beth, Gab, and Ruby share some of their biggest lessons learned over the years and hope that yo…

Keeping Your Return Staff's Attention When They Think They Know It All "Coming back for your second, or third, or 85th season at camp can be a glorious thing. You understand the weird rituals and chanting that seem to spontaneously erupt throughout the day and when somebody whispers Color War, you understand exactly what is about to happen. But man…

Training Staff How to Treat One Another Ah...the birds and the bees and the smell of hormones at camp in the summertime. Whether in a single gender or co-ed environment, the reality is people fall in love at camp. And some people think they fall in love at camp. It makes sense as folks are living and working closely together and acting genuinely an…

Training Camp Staff On Being Let Go By talking about what it looks like to get fired from camp, you may find that your staff make better decisions, which, in turn, actually reduces the likelihood of you having to fire staff as often. Gab, Beth, and Ruby discuss how they train their staff about the termination process, what worked and what didn't, a…

Why your seasonal staff need sales training and why it is worth your time Your summer staff are trained on your mission and are bought in to the why of camp. Who better than your staff to help you market camp than those who really know it inside and out? Tune in to today's podcast to learn how to teach your staff some basic sales strategies that wi…

Training for Your Camp Staff That They Need Let's face it. As the camp director, sometimes you have to tell your staff things they don't want to hear. Often these are the tidbits and pieces of life advice that it will take time for the staff to really appreciate. Go on! Speak up! Tell your thoughts because your staff need to hear it to make camp be…

Training for How To Get What You Need From Those Above You When hiring seasonal staff, directors look for applicants that are trainable. However, you inherit your boss/board/Executive Director/CEO when you accept a job. Ever wish you could conduct staff training specifically for your higher-ups so they will do things the way you want to do them? In…

Training Staff for What to Do Next When the Unthinkable Happens In episode #28 we talked about when the literal stuff hits the fan. This episode addresses some of those worst case scenario moments and how camp directors can best recover and move forward with their staff members. From the tough conversations to doing what is right for camp to some o…

Training for Camp Staff About Bodily Function Regularity and Clean Up a.k.a. The Poop Episode It's the topic nobody really wants to talk about but at camp it always comes up. Going to the bathroom can make or break a child's day at camp, especially if they have any anxiety about using new and different bathrooms, being heard while they are going, o…

This business of camp is hard. You must rest. Hooray! The off-season is upon us! The campers have gone home and your staff are returning to their mundane lives. It is time to start all over again. But wait! It is critical for directors to understand that there is a certain "detox" period from camp every year. Everybody experiences this re-programmi…

Getting to know the most about your staff during Staff Training At the end of staff training, you are making some critical decisions for how your summer will play out. You will likely make decisions about counselor pairs, age group assignments, and who will be supervising whom. For all of them, it is helpful to know your staff so you can plug them …

Training Camp Leaders to Step Up and Exceed Their Potential As camp professionals we want what is best for our camper families. For this to happen, staff must be at their absolute best. For staff to give 100% commitment, they must feel good about themselves. Staff members must fully understand the mission of the organization and have a keen knowled…

Staff Training Take Homes for Camp Leaders When camp professionals gather for a conference, there is much to be learned. With the backdrop of jazz music and beignets, the Camp Code team was fortunate enough to gather in New Orleans for the American Camp Association National Conference. Highlights included the opening keynote starting with a marchin…

Creative leadership training for this summer To generate excitement, energy, and buy in from our staff, a theme during training can quickly communicate that this job is like no other. Themes can range from connecting to the history of camp to making references to current popular culture. A great staff training theme can put a fresh spin on informat…

Videos for Staff Training and Leadership Lessons Gab and Ruby share their favorite videos that they incorporate into staff training. Listen to this episode for how they use the videos below. Specifically for Summer Camps: ExpertOnlineTraining Where Do the Children Play? Play Again YouTube Videos Meatballs - "We want gossip!" Andrew Solomon - Love, …

By CampHacker.TV: Ruby Compton, Luke Durham

Staff Training Begins With Hiring and the Interview Process Though we often consider the first day of staff training the time when we begin absorbing our new team into the camp culture, the reality is that staff orientation starts during the application process. Is the person trainable? How will he or she work on the team that is assembled? Does th…

Motivating and Empowering Young Leaders during Staff Training Cristal Earle is the co-founder of Live Different, an organization that is about seeing change, building hope, and embracing a lifestyle of caring for people, not “stuff.” Cristal spoke with the Camp Code hosts about how to empower young leaders to greatness and how to help them fully em…

Staff Training for a More Respectful, Responsible, and Resilient Staff The Camp Code team is proud to host upcoming ACA National keynote speaker Deborah Gilboa M.D., aka Dr. G, on the show to share her ideas on what parents are struggling with today and how camp can help. Dr. G. answers questions about how to make staff training great and get the b…

Leadership Training and Staff Orientation for Girls Camp The Camp Code team addresses what makes all-girl camp different and how to train your staff to embrace those differences to foster the best experience for participants. This is an episode for anyone who has females on staff, not just those in a single gender environment. Listen in for insight…

Summer Camp Staff Training for Senior Staff Every director needs that group of people who can be there when they can’t be. These staff members are the eyes and ears of the director and must be capable of seeing and hearing the needs of the staff and the campers. Camp directors need teams of people who fully understand the camp’s philosophy and miss…

A great leadership training takes a year to plan. Starting on leadership training now allows you the time to craft creative ideas, to gain buy-in from staff as you hire them, and to gather resources to support your brilliant vision. Identifying where your areas of strength and weakness were during training now will lead to a clearer picture of what…