Staffing and Personnel

What is it?

This chapter synthesizes how R3 roles are implemented across various contexts, ranging from small-scale, community-focused initiatives to large, multi-faceted programs. It provides insights into effective staffing strategies, role delineation, skill requirements, and best practices tailored to fit different organizational sizes and scopes.

Whether an R3 practitioner operates within a small grassroots organization or a large state agency, this chapter helps optimize their role for maximum impact in promoting hunting and shooting sports. This approach fosters a deeper understanding of the varied nature of R3 roles and equips practitioners with the tools and knowledge needed to adapt and excel in their unique environments.

This chapter outlines the positions that make up an effective R3 team and the qualities those individuals should have. It also provides resources to aid in attracting those individuals to your organization, including job descriptions, interview questions, etc.

Why is it Important?

An R3 program is only as good as the people designing and implementing it. The R3 enterprise is large and complex, and effective implementation requires a broad suite of skill sets that cross a variety of divisions or departments—regardless of organization type or size. Identifying the types of positions, skills, and experience you need is the first step toward creating and implementing an effective R3 plan/program.

How can your organization help its practitioners?

• Provide a clear line of communication to senior leadership.
• Provide Funding/FTEs for adequate R3 staff and programming.
• Ensure the R3 coordinator position has sufficient authority and influence to do the job.
• Provide training/onboarding with peers, relationship development, and professional mentors.
• Provide leadership support for the R3 Coordinator to do only R3 work.
• Set clear goals and objectives for R3 staff (so you know who to hire and what they need to learn).
• Lead a culture of organizational buy-in for R3. For R3 strategies to be truly effective, they must be ingrained in the entire organization’s culture. When every member is aligned with the R3 mission, efforts become an ingrained part of all operations. This holistic approach fosters a culture where every team member feels invested in the growth and sustainability of hunting, shooting sports, and conservation, regardless of their role. Such comprehensive organizational commitment is essential for creating lasting and impactful R3 outcomes.
• Recruit diverse talent (race, ethnicity, age, gender, ability). This requires considering prospects that you might not have considered in the past. Look beyond traditional networks and actively build relationships with institutions that serve underrepresented communities, such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, and Asian-serving institutions.

Attracting and Hiring R3 Talent

R3 is a broad discipline, and developing, implementing, and evaluating R3 efforts requires a broad skill set. Your R3 coordinator does not have to possess all the skills and experience needed, but the more you can get, the better. Skills and expertise the coordinator does not have will need to be represented in the rest of the team.

Here are some things to consider as you prepare to hire R3 professionals:

• Recruit R3 team members from various disciplines and interests to present a wider body of outdoor knowledge supported by in-the-field experience.
• Recruit from colleges that have R3 tracks or that do R3 graduate projects to find candidates who are already familiar with R3.
• Recruit diversity. Include members from various backgrounds, ages, genders, and experience levels. Diversity can help the team understand and address the unique needs and perspectives of different demographic groups in your target audiences.
• To recruit diverse talent when hiring outside the organization, establish relationships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and Asian Serving Institutions. Attend diverse career networking fairs such as The Minority Outdoor Alliance’s annual career and networking fair. Employers can significantly enhance their recruitment strategy by participating in such events and forming new relationships. This leads to a more diverse, inclusive, and dynamic workforce. This approach aligns with modern values of diversity and inclusion and strengthens the organization’s ability to address complex challenges.
• Create thoughtful interview questions that probe for the type of person who views inclusivity and R3 as a lifestyle, not just as a job. Probe for the candidate’s previous experience and if there are transferrable skills for the position.
• You aren’t necessarily hiring the typical biologists and administrators your HR department is used to pursuing. Consider posting R3 positions in R3 Communities like CAHSS.org and RBFF.org but also in places requested by marketers, communicators, and individuals from the hunting, firearm, archery, and fishing industries.
• Encourage adaptive change within the organizational management structure. Seek to embed the functions and responsibilities of R3 across the organization.

Hiring an R3 Coordinator

The R3 coordinator role requires a unique skill set that complements the organization’s goals and capacity. The original National R3 Action Plan states¹ “for effective R3 efforts, an organization’s capacity should include:

• A dedicated R3 coordinator or team
• Coordination and partnership with other R3 efforts
• An understanding and application of R3 models, pathways, and best practices
• Evaluation systems that can track participant behaviors and provide data that can prove and improve R3 efforts.

The National R3 Implementation Workgroup created the following guidance to help organizations build their R3 team and select a coordinator to lead their organization’s efforts.

As an organization begins the search for the right fit for their first, or next, coordinator to develop capacity and lead R3 efforts, it is important to consider the organization’s intentions and goals and the skill set needed to accomplish them. For instance, if an organization is looking to increase communication with its hunters and target shooters, it might select a coordinator with a background in marketing and communications; in comparison, if an organization is looking to improve its recruitment programs, it might select a coordinator with a background in human dimensions and social sciences. Many R3 coordinators have a bachelor’s degree of some type, often in natural or wildlife resources, and some have specialized graduate degrees in human dimensions, social science, or even marketing.

Positioning the Coordinator in the Organization

As the organization determines its R3 goals, another step to consider in addressing those goals is the organization’s internal structure and where the coordinator position may be housed. A few common options include:

• Reporting to the Director, with influence over all departments
• Marketing/Business Development
• Information, Education, or Programming
• Organization Administration (Government Affairs, Licensing, Budgeting, etc.)
• Conservation/Wildlife/Fisheries Management
• Law Enforcement

The placement of the position could significantly influence the success of the coordinator. In some cases, the organization hires the position in one department, and then as they develop strategies, move the position around (and often higher in the staffing table) to make it more effective. To view some of the structures used over the past few years, reference these case studies of how four states structured R3 in their organization.

• Arizona
• California
• Georgia
• Iowa

Job Description: The Hunting and Shooting Sports R3 Coordinator will coordinate the efforts of an organization-wide team to recruit, retain, and reactivate hunting and shooting sports participants. This position is responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with community and business partners to enhance R3 efforts and meet organization goals. The R3 coordinator will be responsible for developing, implementing, and evaluating strategies to increase overall participation in hunting and shooting sports.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop, coordinate, and implement the R3 plan.
• Build collaborative partnerships with sporting groups, retailers, industry, and organizations to help recruit, retain, and/or reactivate hunters and shooting sports participants.
• Assist in developing, coordinating, and implementing communication efforts designed to recruit, retain, and reactivate participants.
• Plan and conduct research efforts required to improve R3 efforts.
• Develop methods to track participation and evaluate whether specific efforts are working.

For more sample R3-related job descriptions, visit the Clearinghouse R3 Job Descriptions Collections.

Sample Interview Questions:  

The following sample questions provide insights into the candidate’s communication skills, social skills, personal attributes, and technical skills concerning the specified competencies. It’s essential to note the content of their answers and how they communicate and reflect on their experiences. Use this material as a starting point and adjust it to fit your organization, objectives, and circumstances.

• Can you describe a time when you proactively promoted and implemented R3 values in a previous position?
• >Do you participate in hunting or the shooting sports? Why do you do it?
• What is your favorite species to hunt or shooting discipline and why?
• When was the last time, in your personal life, that you introduced someone new to the activity? Tell us about it.
• Can you describe a situation where you had to work closely with a colleague or client who came from a very different background or culture than your own? How did you navigate any differences?
• Tell us about a time when you had to adapt your communication style to cater to a diverse audience.
• Describe a situation where you didn’t agree with someone but needed to understand their perspective to move forward.
• How do you ensure you’re actively listening and showing empathy in your daily interactions?
• >How have you adjusted your approach to team members who might need different types of support or communication?
• How have you actively integrated diversity and inclusion initiatives into your previous roles, especially in the context of hunting and shooting sports?
• Can you describe a successful grant proposal you’ve written in the past and the impact it had on the organization or project?
• What challenges have you encountered in grant writing, and how did you overcome them?
• How do you handle situations where team members from different disciplines disagree on a strategy or approach, especially in the context of R3 initiatives?
• Describe a situation where you identified a need or opportunity without being prompted and took the initiative to address it.
• How do you maintain your motivation and manage your time independently working on multiple projects?
• Describe a project where you had to collaborate with teams or individuals from different disciplines or functions. How did you ensure smooth communication and collaboration?
• Tell me about a time you had to convince or align different departments or teams around a shared goal. How did you approach it?
• How do you handle situations where team members from different departments have conflicting priorities or viewpoints?
• Describe a time when you had to relay information between senior leadership and ground-level teams. How did you ensure clarity and understanding at all levels?
• Can you provide an example of how you built a relationship with a colleague or stakeholder from a completely different functional area?
• Describe a project you managed from inception to completion. How did you address all aspects, from the high-level objectives to the finer details?
• How do you keep track of and manage the varied needs and priorities of different stakeholders in a project?
• How do you handle risks or unforeseen challenges in a project? Can you provide a specific example?
• Tell us about a time when a project didn’t go as planned. How did you adjust, and what did you learn from that experience?

Hiring an R3 Marketing Manager

R3 is largely a combination of marketing and education. Your R3 effort is going to require a great deal of marketing expertise. Suppose your R3 team does not have ready, cooperative access to your organization’s marketing team. In that case, they may need a marketing expert of their own. Following are some resources to help find and attract the right skill set.

Job Description: The R3 Marketing Manager will be responsible for implementing and managing recruitment, retention, and reactivation marketing strategies that are culturally inclusive and culturally competent to grow participation in hunting and shooting sports. The ideal candidate is an experienced, dependable, detail-oriented, and highly motivated communications professional who can manage multiple projects simultaneously and work well under tight deadlines. Responsibilities include promoting R3 programs, services, products, and events to appropriate constituent groups including but not limited to: sporting groups, conservation organizations, municipal entities, outdoor recreation and tourism groups, natural resource professionals, educators, and state, federal and tribal agencies. The R3 Marketing Manager works with other staff to develop and implement strategies to raise public awareness and engage more citizens in hunting and shooting sports. The position requires translating scientific concepts into effective messages and reaching multiple audiences through various platforms.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Develop and implement integrated marketing campaigns to target new, current, and lapsed hunters and shooting sports participants. Considers inclusive language with every campaign.
• >Analyze market trends, target demographics, and participant behaviors to optimize R3 efforts.
• Consider cultural competency when targeting new audiences (Reach out to organizations that focus on serving the groups you want to reach).
• Collaborate with digital content creators to produce relevant promotional materials.
• Create and edit engaging written copy and graphics for news releases, websites, social media, e-newsletters, brochures, outreach events, magazine articles, and more. Gather photo and video content for educational and promotional materials. Ensure the creative vision of content is aligned with the organization’s branding standards.
• Engage with industry partners, NGOs, and state, federal and tribal agencies wildlife agencies to amplify R3 efforts.
• Track and report on marketing campaign effectiveness and provide insights for improvements.
• Coordinate with event organizers to promote hunting and shooting events and workshops.
• Maintain brand integrity and ensure all marketing initiatives align with organizational values and goals.
• Implement best practices for social media strategies to support R3 marketing goals and manage, track, and report social media performance.

For more sample R3-related job descriptions, visit the Clearinghouse R3 Job Descriptions Collections.

Sample Interview Questions:

The following sample questions aim to provide insights into the candidate’s communication skills, social skills, personal attributes, and technical skills in relation to the specified competencies. It’s essential to note the content of their answers and how they communicate and reflect on their experiences. Use this material as a starting point and adjust it to fit your organization, objectives, and circumstances.

• Describe a situation where you identified a need or opportunity without being prompted and took the initiative to address it.
• How do you maintain your motivation and manage your time when working on projects independently?
• How would you approach marketing hunting and shooting sports to a diverse audience to ensure broad appeal and inclusivity?
• Can you provide an example of a marketing campaign or initiative you were involved in that successfully increased participation or engagement in a particular activity or program?
• Tell me about a time when you had to adapt your communication style to cater to a diverse audience.
• Describe a situation where you didn’t agree with someone but needed to understand their perspective to move forward.
• How do you ensure you’re actively listening and showing empathy in your daily interactions?
• Describe a project you managed from inception to completion. How did you address all aspects, from the high-level objectives to the finer details?
• How do you keep track of and manage the varied needs and priorities of different stakeholders in a project?
• How do you handle risks or unforeseen challenges in a project? Can you provide a specific example?
• Tell me about a time when a project didn’t go as planned. How did you adjust, and what did you learn from that experience?
• What’s your personal time/project management style?
• Have you ever been in a position where you had to manage team projects? How did you manage the team’s workflow? Were these team members subordinates or peers? Does that make any difference in your project management?

Hiring a Shooting Sports Manager

A single organization can have shooting ranges spread over hundreds of miles. They must be operated and maintained to best serve participants and public safety. A shooting sports manager oversees range operations and shooting events and programs for your R3 effort.

Job Description: This position is responsible for a broad range of tasks related to recreational shooting, shooting sports, shooting range management, and developing new shooting ranges. The duties of this position include budget management of state and federal funds or other grants/funding; developing and implementing range standard operating procedures and maintenance schedules; implementing safety initiatives, scheduling range use requests; coordinating events/managing volunteers; and responding to citizen concerns.

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage the organization’s shooting ranges and shooting sports events and programs.
• Design, develop, and implement shooting range projects that support educational programming and public recreational shooting in state parks, wildlife management areas, and other areas of opportunity.
• Liaison on shooting range developments, including project development, construction oversight, funding coordination, grant management, facility needs, public communication, and staff training for shooting range operation, maintenance, and program development.
• Monitor state shooting ranges and provide support for staff and volunteers, addressing issues and developing strategies for success.
• Manage federal and private grants for shooting range development and shooting sports programming. Maintain all aspects of compliance.
• Develop methods to track participation and evaluate whether specific programming contributes to R3.

For more sample R3-related job descriptions, visit the Clearinghouse R3 Job Descriptions Collections.

Sample Interview Questions: 

The following sample questions aim to provide insights into the candidate’s communication skills, social skills, personal attributes, and technical skills in relation to the specified competencies. It’s essential to note the content of their answers and how they communicate and reflect on their experiences. Use this material as a starting point and adjust it to fit your organization, objectives, and circumstances.

• Can you describe your previous experience in managing shooting ranges or similar facilities?
• How have those experiences prepared you for managing multiple ranges over a wide geographical area?
• What is your understanding of the R3 (Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation) initiative in the context of shooting sports? How would you apply these principles in your role as a Shooting Range Manager?
• Can you discuss your experience implementing and maintaining safety protocols across multiple shooting ranges?
• Managing multiple ranges requires effective operational strategies. How would you ensure consistent operations and standards across all locations?
• How would you engage with the local communities and address their public safety concerns regarding shooting ranges?
• >Describe a shooting program you have developed or managed in the past. How would you adapt or create events and programs for the R3 effort to attract and retain participants?
• How do you stay updated with the laws and regulations related to firearms and shooting ranges? Can you provide an example of how you have navigated legal compliance in your past roles?

Hiring a CRM Specialist

Your Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) can be a valuable part of your effort to recruit, retain, and reactivate hunters and shooting sports participants. But your CRM system is only as good as the staffers that operate it. For that reason, you might want to add a CRM Specialist to your R3 team.

Job Description: The CRM Specialist will be responsible for the successful configuration, deployment, and management of our CRM system to optimize our marketing and customer support processes. They will work daily with a team of marketers, communicators, and outdoor educators to connect more people with the great outdoors. The specialist will ensure the highest level of data security and serve as the first point of contact for any CRM-related issues and resolve them in a timely manner.

Key Responsibilities:

• Use CRM systems to manage customer relationships and develop new ways to meet customer needs.
• Handle customer service issues.
• Create and execute recruitment and retention campaigns.
• Develop marketing campaigns to attract new customers.
• Collaborate with marketing, customer service, and operations teams to improve the customer experience.
• Ensure data integrity and security.
• Integrate our CRM with other systems and tools, ensuring seamless data flow and alignment.
• Set up workflows and automate processes to improve team efficiency and lead nurturing strategies.
• Analyze CRM data to identify trends, insights, and areas of improvement.
• Train new CRM users and provide ongoing training as the system evolves.
• Stay up to date on the features of and updates to our CRM system. Ensure our organization is leveraging the platform to its fullest potential.
• Provide recommendations for CRM enhancements and integrations to improve overall efficiency and effectiveness.

For more sample R3-related job descriptions, visit the Clearinghouse R3 Job Descriptions Collections.

Sample Interview Questions: 

The following sample questions aim to provide insights into the candidate’s communication skills, social skills, personal attributes, and technical skills in relation to the specified competencies. It’s essential to note the content of their answers and how they communicate and reflect on their experiences. Use this material as a starting point and adjust it to fit your organization, objectives, and circumstances.

• What CRM systems or large databases have you worked on in the past?
• Have you ever implemented a CRM system from scratch?
• Have you ever converted an organization from one CRM system to another?
• Have you ever been involved in selecting a new CRM system?
• What do you enjoy about working with a CRM system?
• What do you believe is the number one benefit to the customer if an organization they do business with correctly implements a CRM system?
• How does a CRM benefit the marketing department?
• Tell me about a marketing campaign you were involved in using CRM.
• How does a CRM benefit sales?
• Share an example of how you used a CRM to improve customer service.
• You know what we do here. What are three ways you feel a CRM could positively impact our organization?
• What are some of the downsides of implementing a CRM?

Onboarding R3 Employees

Onboarding is a critical step in integrating new employees into your organization. A thoughtful, comprehensive onboarding process eases the transition for new hires and establishes a foundation for their future success. Onboarding is so essential that we have dedicated an entire chapter of this Practitioner’s Guide to it. You can find it here: R3 Foundations and Definitions.

Working With Other Departments

Implementing an R3 effort requires a broad range of skills and collaboration across several areas of expertise. Your core R3 team will need to work with others across your organization. These will include staff from communications, marketing, education, law enforcement, shooting range and property management, just to name a few. Your R3 staff must understand how to work with colleagues from other disciplines.

Here are a few tips when collaborating with coworkers from other departments:

• Set clear objectives. It’s easier to collaborate if everyone involved understands what you’re working toward.
• Show them how your R3 objectives overlap with the objectives of their department. Make every effort a win/win proposition.
• Acknowledge (and heed) their expertise. You are asking an expert on a discipline you don’t typically work in to help you. Acknowledge that they are the expert. Listen to their advice. Share your objective and ask them how they can help you to achieve it.
• Clearly define the role and responsibilities. In meetings, record action steps and decide who will see that they are executed. This is extremely important for tasks assigned to you. It is imperative that you are not the bottleneck when you are asking another department to help you.
• Monitor the project’s progress and dynamics. Be prepared to make necessary adjustments, whether in the project, working methods, or team composition.
• Recognize and celebrate other departments’ achievements and contributions, especially when members of upper management are listening. This recognition fosters a sense of collective accomplishment and motivates continued collaboration.

Working effectively with staff from across your organization requires careful planning, clear communication, and an understanding of others’ unique strengths. By fostering a collaborative environment, respecting one another’s expertise, and aligning goals, you can leverage the full potential of your entire organization to meet R3 initiatives.