Every Epic Recruiting campaign starts the same way: not with a script, a website, or a recruiting video, but with a visit.
Before a single asset is created, Epic’s team spends dedicated time inside your agency learning about your people, culture, community, and recruiting goals. This process is called Discovery Day, and it serves as the foundation for every recruiting campaign that follows.
What Is Discovery Day?
Discovery Day is Epic Recruiting’s structured, on-site research process conducted at the beginning of every law enforcement recruiting campaign.
The goal is simple: understand what makes an agency unique before developing strategy, content, recruiting websites, or digital advertising.
Rather than relying on questionnaires or assumptions, Epic gathers information directly from the people who know the agency best. The insights collected during Discovery Day influence everything from messaging and photography to recruiting videos and website content.
Typically, Epic sends two to three team members on-site and works closely with the agency to build a schedule that fits operational needs.
What Happens During Discovery Day?
While every agency is different, Discovery Day generally includes five core components.
Leadership and Recruiting Meetings
Discovery Day begins with conversations involving command staff, leadership, and recruiting personnel.
These are not presentations. They are roundtable discussions designed to uncover what makes the department unique, what challenges it faces, what type of candidates it hopes to attract, and how leadership views the agency’s culture and future.
Epic also reviews current recruiting efforts to understand what has worked, what has not, and where opportunities exist for improvement.
One-on-One Discovery Interviews
One of the most valuable parts of Discovery Day is the individual conversations Epic conducts with agency personnel.
The team typically meets with 20 to 30 employees representing different ranks, assignments, experience levels, and backgrounds.
These conversations help identify authentic stories, career journeys, and perspectives that can later be incorporated into recruiting campaigns. They also provide a clearer understanding of the agency’s culture than leadership interviews alone.
Facility Tours
Facility tours help Epic understand where personnel work and how the agency operates.
They also serve as an initial production planning opportunity. As the team tours the agency, they identify locations that may work well for future photography, interviews, and video production.
Ride-Alongs
Epic typically participates in ride-alongs during Discovery Day, often on opposite sides of the jurisdiction.
Ride-alongs provide firsthand exposure to the community, operational environment, and day-to-day responsibilities of personnel. They also create opportunities for additional conversations with employees who may not have participated in formal interviews.
Initial Location Scouting
Epic uses facility tours and ride-alongs to begin identifying strong visual locations for future production.
This helps streamline the creative process and ensures the final campaign accurately reflects the agency’s environment.
Why Discovery Day Matters for Recruiting
Many recruiting vendors build campaigns using questionnaires, stock imagery, and limited interaction with the client.
Epic takes a different approach.
The information gathered during Discovery Day helps ensure that every recruiting website, video, photograph, and advertisement reflects the agency’s actual culture rather than a generic recruiting template.
This process often uncovers stories, traditions, opportunities, and strengths that agency leaders may not realize are meaningful to prospective candidates.
By investing time in research first, Epic can create recruiting campaigns that feel authentic, credible, and relevant to the people the agency hopes to attract.
What Happens After Discovery Day?
Once Discovery Day is complete, Epic uses the information gathered to begin developing the campaign.
This may include a customized recruitment strategy, professional content production, recruiting websites, and targeted digital outreach.
Because the creative work is grounded in real conversations and firsthand observations, the resulting campaign is more likely to resonate with qualified candidates.
Frequently Asked Questions About Discovery Day
How long does Discovery Day take?
Most Discovery Days take place over a full day, though schedules can vary depending on agency size, availability, and operational needs.
Who participates in Discovery Day?
Leadership, recruiting personnel, sworn staff, civilian employees, and personnel from a variety of assignments may all participate.
Does Epic travel to our agency?
Yes. Discovery Day is conducted on-site so Epic can experience the department’s culture, facilities, and community firsthand.
Why doesn’t Epic use questionnaires instead?
Questionnaires provide information. Discovery Day provides context. The most valuable recruiting insights often come from conversations, observations, and experiences that cannot be captured through a form alone.
Ready to Start the Process?
Discovery Day is where every Epic Recruiting campaign begins.
If your agency is ready to build a recruiting strategy grounded in authentic research and real-world insights, explore Epic Recruiting’s case studies or contact the team to learn more.
