A Gift to Your Future Self: Why Camp Directors Should Act on Feedback Now

If you’re a camp director, you know the rhythm of the year. One week you’re running on fumes — juggling surprise DPH visits, late buses, the walk-in cooler breaking down, and parents calling nonstop. Then suddenly - it’s over. The campers go home, the staff head out, and you finally collapse.

September feels different. The walkie radio is quiet. The inbox slows. You take that long weekend you’ve been promising yourself since June (ok, since April). For the first time in months, you breathe — but, maybe a little too much. Because in this moment of relief and reverie, it’s easy to push off the piles of feedback sitting on your desk.

Here’s the catch: this is the window when that feedback is sharpest, freshest, and most useful. Acting now isn’t about piling on more work in your September; it’s about leaving a gift for your Future Self — the one who will be knee-deep in hiring, budgets, and compliance paperwork before very long.

The Burnout Puzzle

Camp director burnout, as you well-know, has many causes — long hours, constant juggling, and the weight of responsibility that never really lets up. There’s no single fix.

But acting on feedback is one piece of the self-care puzzle. When staff evaluations, parent surveys, or those “never again” Post-it notes sit untouched until January or March, the details fade — and the work feels heavier.

Using feedback while it’s fresh won’t erase burnout, but it does lighten the load. It’s a way of taking care of your Future Self by easing one layer of stress you don’t need to carry into the next season.

Why Future You Will Thank You

1. Details Fade Fast

   Right now, you remember that your head counselor role wasn’t clear enough, or that too many responsibilities were piled onto one seasonal leader. In six months, those specifics blur into “we had some staffing challenges.” But if you act now, Future You doesn’t have to scramble. In February, you’ll open a folder and see that September You already re-wrote the job description and adjusted the staff structure. Problem solved before it even had a chance to come back around.

2. Patterns Are Clearer in September

   Staff evaluations, quick coaching notes, parent emails — when you look at them now, themes pop out. Three staff mentioned unclear medical protocols. Multiple parents mentioned communication gaps during pickup. Spotting those patterns today means you can prioritize the fixes that matter most. By spring, Future You won’t be guessing at what staff or parents might have meant — you’ll already have written proof.

   
   

3. Less Stress Later

   Late winter and spring is brutal. Hiring is in full swing, licensing deadlines loom, parents want answers yesterday. Picture this: it’s March, you suddenly remember last summer’s issues with parent pickup. Instead of scrambling, you pull up a document you created back in September with the exact problem outlined and a draft of the new procedure. That’s the gift — September You already solved it, so Spring You just has to implement.

   
   

4. Retention Boost

   Staff don’t just want to be heard — they want to see action. When they return next year and notice changes based on their feedback, their loyalty deepens. That translates into stronger culture and less turnover. In other words: when Future You is trying to rebuild a staff team, September You has already laid the groundwork for keeping more of last year’s best people.

Small Actions, Big Payoffs

You don’t need to tackle everything at once. Even a few intentional steps now will lighten your load later.

• Sort staff evaluations by theme. Highlight repeated strengths and challenges.

• Collect your informal notes. That email you sent yourself saying, “Next year we must add a mid-season check-in for new counselors”? That’s useful data. Don’t let it disappear into your sent folder. If you act on it now, February You won’t be scrambling — you’ll see that September You already built the mid-season check-in into next summer’s plan.

• Pick one improvement project. Maybe it’s staff supervision, maybe it’s communication with parents. Don’t try to fix ten things. Fix one.

• Document your “never again” list. Every director has them: “Never run buses without a backup plan.” “Never skip a mid-summer leadership check-in.” Write them down while they’re still raw.

• Loop in a partner. Share your September notes with a colleague, supervisor, or consultant.

  Having another set of eyes builds accountability.

Future You will thank you for each one of these. Imagine pulling out a single page in February labeled “Never Again” — no digging, no guessing, just clarity.

The HR Lens: Feedback as Data

From an HR perspective, feedback is more than feelings — it’s data. And data only helps if you turn it into systems.

• If multiple staff struggled with unclear expectations → update job descriptions and onboarding now. By hiring season, you’ll already have cleaner materials.

• If parents raised safety concerns → adjust protocols now. By licensing season, you’ll already be aligned.

• If leadership communication broke down mid-summer → build mid-season evaluation checkpoints now. By July, you’ll have a system running instead of scrambling to fix problems midstream.

Every time you translate feedback into a system now, you’re handing a solved problem to your Future Self.

Your Wellbeing Matters

Here’s the part directors often forget: camps don’t run without you. Acting on feedback now isn’t just about staff or parents — it’s about your wellbeing.

Think about spring. You’ll already be short on hours, juggling new hires, chasing references, and making sure compliance boxes are checked. Imagine how much lighter that season feels if September You left notes, updated a few documents, or even mapped out next year’s training priorities.

That’s the gift: not adding work now but removing work later.

You Don’t Have to Do It Alone

Of course, not every director has the bandwidth — or desire — to translate feedback into systems. That’s where outside support matters.

At Indigo Consulting, I work with camp leaders to:

• Turn raw feedback into practical systems.

• Restructure staff roles for clarity and sustainability.

• Strengthen safety and communication procedures.

• Build cultures where staff feel supported and parents feel heard.

The result? Camps that run smoother, staff who come back, and directors who don’t feel like they’re doing it all alone.

Final Thought

September should be quieter. You’ve earned that exhale. But don’t let the quiet trick you into thinking the feedback can wait. By acting now, you’re not just improving camp for next year — you’re protecting yourself from the burnout cycle.

Here’s the difference: in February, you’ll either be staring at a problem you only half-remember - or you’ll be thanking September You for already writing down the solution. Which version of Future You do you want to be?

-Donna Johns-Thomas, SHRM-CP