U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol Agent Recruitment and Retention Survey- Left for Non-DHS Employment

OMB No. 1651-0136

Expiration: 11/30/2017

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Border Patrol Agent (BPA)

Recruitment and Retention Survey – Left for Non-DHS Employment

The Office of Human Resources Management (HRM), in conjunction with the United States Border Patrol (USBP), identified recruitment and retention as two challenges facing the Border Patrol. We are reaching out to former Border Patrol Agents (BPAs) to help us better understand these challenges in an effort to guide future recruitment and retention strategies.

We value your input and ideas. We ask that you complete this short survey, which should take no more than 10 minutes. Your participation is voluntary. All individual responses will be kept confidential and results will be presented in the aggregate. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Lomy Schauffler at 202-863-6377 or [email protected].

Please complete and return this survey in the enclosed envelope by [Date]

For all open-ended questions, please use extra paper if needed for your response.

If you would prefer to complete this survey online, please type the following link into your web browser: https://survey.max.gov/636825

Thank you for your assistance.

___________________________________________________________________________

1) Which of the following factors was MOST influential in your decision to join the USBP and serve as a BPA?

• Commitment to the mission of USBP, CBP or a legacy Customs agency (e.g., the Immigration and Naturalization Service)

• Commitment to law enforcement

• Desire for a Federal job

• Salary/Pay

• Employee benefits package

• Opportunities for advancement

• Reputation of the USBP

• Desire to work in public service

• Other (please specify): _____________________________________________________

2) If you left the USBP to join another organization, what type of organization did you join?

• Another Federal agency

• State or Local Government

• Private Sector

• Other (please specify): _____________________________________________________

3) Did you leave the USBP for another law enforcement position?

• Yes

• No

4) Which of the following factors influenced your decision to leave the BPA position?

Select all that apply.

Work/Life Balance Concerns	Work Conditions/Characteristics
Lack of work/life balance Spouse concern or need (e.g., spouse	Incompatibility with Border Patrol or law enforcement culture
unhappy, spouse could not find work)	Unreasonable workload
Lack of child care assistance/support	Difficulty with shift patterns
Lack of acceptable schools in work area	Concerns about my health
Lack of elder care assistance/support	Concerns about my safety
Desire to be closer to family	Lack of operational resources
Career Advancement, Relocation, and Training Opportunities	Disliked BPA job duties Ineffective use of my skills
Lack of career advancement opportunities	Lack of opportunity to contribute ideas Insufficient base pay
Lack of education/training or developmental opportunities	Insufficient overtime Lack of recognition
Inability to relocate to a better location	Unfair treatment in comparison to others
Received a better job offer	Other (please specify):
Supervision, Management, and Coworkers	__________________________________
Unsatisfactory relationship with my coworker(s)	__________________________________
Unsatisfactory relationship with my immediate supervisor
Unsatisfactory relationship with my manager(s)/style of management in my work area
Poor communication between leadership and employees

5) Of the factors that you selected in the previous question, please rank order your top three MOST influential reasons for leaving the BPA position, “1” being most influential. For each reason you select, please indicate the degree to which it influenced your decision.

	Reason for Leaving	Very Influential	Moderately Influential	Slightly Influential
1
2
3

6) If you have any additional information to provide about your MOST influential reason for leaving the BPA position, please provide your comments here.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7) Would you reconsider working for the USBP if any of these factors changed?

• Definitely

• Probably

• Not sure

• Probably not

• Definitely not
  
  

8) What is the most important change that needs to take place in order for you to reconsider a career with the USBP?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9) What ideas or suggestions do you have for successfully recruiting more individuals into the USBP?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10) What ideas or suggestions do you have that would improve retention of BPAs in the USBP?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

11) How long did you work for the USBP?

• Up to 3 years

• 4 to 6 years

• 7 to 10 years

• 11 to 14 years

• 15 to 20 years

• More than 20 years

12) What was your pay category/grade when you left the USBP?

• Federal Wage System (for example, WB, WD, WG, WL, WM, WS, WY)

• GS 1-6

• GS 7-12

• GS 13-15

• Senior Executive Service

13) Please indicate your last position title prior to leaving the USBP.

Border Patrol Agent	Deputy Chief Patrol Agent
Lead Border Patrol Agent	Assistant Chief Patrol Agent
Supervisory Border Patrol Agent/Watch Commander	Chief Patrol Agent Deputy Division Chief
Special/Field/Training Operations Supervisor/Group Director	Division Chief Associate Chief
Assistant Patrol Agent in Charge	Other (please specify):
Patrol Agent in Charge	__________________________

14) How long did you serve in your last position title prior to leaving the USBP?

• Up to 3 years

• 4 to 6 years

• 7 to 10 years

• 11 to 14 years

• 15 to 20 years

• More than 20 years

15) Please indicate your last work location (sector) with the USBP.

Headquarters	Laredo (LRT)
Big Bend (BBT)	Marfa (MAR)
Blaine (BLW)	Miami (MIP)
Border Patrol Academy (ART)	New Orleans (NLL)
Buffalo (BUN)	Ramey (RMY)
Del Rio (DRT)	Rio Grande Valley (RGV)
Detroit (DTM)	San Diego (SDC)
El Centro (ELC)	Spokane (SPW)
El Paso (EPT)	Swanton (SWB)
Grand Forks (GFN)	Tucson (TCA)
Havre (HVM)	Yuma (YUM)
Houlton (HLT)	Other (please specify): _______________________________

16) What is your age group?

• 18-24

• 25-34

• 35-44

• 45-57

• 58 or older

Thank you for your participation. Please return this completed survey in the enclosed envelope.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: An agency may not conduct or sponsor an information collection and a person is not required to respond to this information unless it displays a current valid OMB control number and an expiration date. The control number for this collection is 1651-0136. This collection is voluntary. The estimated average time to complete this application is 10 minutes. If you have any comments regarding the burden estimate you can write to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Regulations and Rulings, 90 K Street, NE., Washington DC 20229.

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