Recruiting tool travels at cyberspeed

Cpl. Bryan McDonnell/Marine Corps Recruiting Command
Published: April 25, 2009

The Internet is helping young people get more information about the Marine Corps faster than ever.

Marine Corps Recruiting Command’s advertising department is modernizing the Priority Prospect Card, a form recruiters receive with information from people interested in learning more about the Marine Corps, by gradually moving to the electronic-Priority Prospect Card.

Before, people interested in learning about Marine Corps opportunities had to wait for several processes prior to receiving more information about the Corps. The interested individuals called 1-800-Marines, filled out a Hold-Harmless agreement card at a Marine event, or in recent years, filled out their information online, after which the information was submitted to a sub-contracted company to get sorted for eligibility and legitimacy. The information was then sent to the Fulfillment Center in New Jersey, where all the legitimate data became PPCs that were sent through the postal system to recruiting stations nationwide to be further distributed to individual recruiters as “hot leads.“

Now the information received from the different sources gets entered into the database after being screened, which can be accessed by the recruiting stations from their computers across the nation, drastically reducing the travel time of information requests from potential prospects.
Once the person fills out the e-PCC, the recruiter will be able to view the card within days.

“By going digital, we are speeding up the process of connecting interested young men and women with a recruiter who has the knowledge to help them make an educated decision about joining the Marine Corps. There are several efficiencies that are also seen in the recruiter’s day-to-day activities including saving time and reducing errors in the program,” said Capt. Kathryn Diaz, the lead generation officer for Marine Corps Recruiting Command’s Advertising Department.

Over the last three years an average of 23.54 percent of contracts the Marine Corps obtained were generated from the PPC system, which has been a significant contributing tool for the recruiting force in helping the Marine Corps reach the 202,000 Marine total end strength mission two years before the 2011 goal. “The first to contact, the first to contract” is a saying that is shared around the Marine Corps Recruiting Command, which is why the enhanced speed of the new e-PPC system is a plus for Marine recruiters.
It is important to be able to respond to people’s interests quickly, said Sgt. Irvin Krueger, a recruiter at Recruiting Substation Pittsburg.

“The kids that request the information actually want to join the Marine Corps as opposed to those who might stop into the office because they’re window shopping. It also gives kids a chance to have some anonymity,” Krueger said. “Some of them might get a hard time from friends and family for wanting to join the military, or they just might be intimidated by the recruiters. For the most part, it is a win-win situation.”

Although the upgrade is a step forward, that does not mean that the previous system is bad, Diaz added.

If you are interested in taking the challenge of becoming a U.S. Marine, visit http://www.marines.com or call 1-800-Marines.

Ellie