Waiver  Analysis  Factors The  most  important  factor  to  consider  is  the waiver approval rate.   If a station is submitting many waivers  that  are  not  being  approved,  there  is  an obvious problem.    A station with a large number of waivers, but equally high approval rate, may not have a waiver problem at all. Each territory needs to be evaluated  separately  to  determine  what  proportion  of contracts   from   waivers   would   be   acceptable. Determine  what  percentage  of  the  station’s  total contracts  are  waivers  and  see  if  the  number  falls within  the  acceptable  limit  you  have  set.  Another factor  to  consider  is  the  types  of  waivers  being requested. Waivers that may be approved at the NRD level have a better chance of resulting in a contract than one that must go to higher authority. Not only is the reason for the waiver usually more serious when higher approval authority is required, but they take longer. Long waits can often mean loss of applicant interest.  Time  considerations  must  also  be  a  factor  in your  waiver  analysis.    How much time was actually expended on the applicant? Is the time justified? Potential Problem Identification Once  you  have  made  a  tally  of  the  factors involved   in   your   analysis,   you   need   to   look   for significant  trends  that  may  signal  potential  problems that  will  require  further  training. LOW APPROVAL RATES.– Low  approval  rates may  be  the  result  of  poor  blueprinting.  Find  out  if waiver  requirements  were  identified  before  processing was started. Low approval rates may also mean that the recruiters and RINC are unfamiliar with command expectations.  Discuss  the  “whole  person”  concept with RINCs to evaluate their understanding. A low waiver   approval   rate   shows   wasted   time   on undesirable   applicants. HIGH PERCENTAGE OF WAIVERS.– Stations consistently requesting a high percentage of waivers may  not  be  prospecting  the  quality  market.  Check applicant  logs  to  see  where  most  of  these  waivers  are coming  from.  The  cause  may  be  territory  specific. There are some areas where applicants will be more likely  to  require  a  waiver  than  others.  You  must know your territory to make this judgement. Check past  production  and  waiver  information  and  compare notes  with  the  other  services.  Compare  with  attrition information. If no other problems surface, no action needs to be taken on the high percentage rate. LOW  PERCENTAGE  OF  WAIVERS.–  A low percentage  of  total  contracts  requiring  waiver  may  also signal  potential  problems. Check   for   effective blueprinting. You  want  to  make  sure  the  low percentage   is   not   a   result   of   missed   waiver requirements. Talk with the RINC to ensure recruiters are  not  unnecessarily  restricting  enlistments  because they  do  not  want  to  request  a  waiver.  Compare  to attrition  figures. Low  waiver  percentages  coupled with high attrition percentages should be a red flag. ATTRITION  ANALYSIS Attrition  analysis  is  conducted  to  identify  factors that contribute to statistically higher attrition. This information is used to identify personnel in DEP with greater attrite potential so that preventive steps can be taken.  Attrition  analysis  can  also  identify  possible processing  or  DEP  management  problems  with  a station or individual recruiter. The bottom line is to reduce   attrition   and   improve   effectiveness.   The benefits of reducing DEP attrition are obvious, as it affects our net attainment. Not so obvious, but of just as great an impact, is recruit training center (RTC) attrition. Recruiters need to understand RTC attrition hurts their efforts in several ways. First, we will have to make up RTC attrition in the long run. National goals   take   into   account   current   attrition   rates. Secondly, RTC attrites can make a serious negative impact  on  return  to  the  community.  RTC  attrites  are usually  not  pro-Navy  and  rarely  accept  responsibility for their discharge. This  negative  publicity  is  not going to help your recruiting efforts. Reducing both RTC and DEP attrition should be a continuous goal of every  recruiting  supervisor. Conducting Attrition Analysis The  first  step  in  your  attrition  analysis  is  to  look at the percentage of DEP and RTC attrites for the station. The analysis is conducted separately first, then   information   is   used   together   for   complete problem identification. Find out what the NRD and national average attrition rates are and strive to stay below  them. The  next  step  is  to  consider  the following  factors  for  each  attrite: l Reason for the attrite – Many refused-to-ship attrites  may  signal  a  sales  or  DEP  management problem.  Many  medical  attrites  may  signal  improper blueprinting   methods. If   you   find   a   significant number  of  waivers  for  the  same  reason,  look  for  a common problem. 8-16