Executive Summary
For over 65 years Canadian Red Cross has provided swimming programs and water safety education
throughout Canada in order to prevent water‐related injuries and fatalities. In order to support this goal
the organization has:
1. Created the Instructor Development Program as a delivery model to develop and train a
nationwide network of instructors who deliver water safety instruction at a community level
2. Engaged multiple stakeholders in ongoing research, review and program development
processes.
Through the process of research and development, Canadian Red Cross has come to identify loyalty as a
key factor in developing and maintaining a strong, effective and dedicated network of instructors. The
organization is seeking to create a coveted or cool reputation for Water Safety Instructors (WSIs) in
order to build capacity at a community level through the development and support of a strong, loyal
base of WSIs who are connected to and driven by the core services and seven fundamental principles of
Canadian Red Cross.
Research Questions
The research questions of the project are:
To what extent have Water Safety Instructors been perceived as cool in Canada?
What are the political and historical underpinnings affecting the perception of Water Safety
Instructors?
What are potential key drivers in building reputation and loyalty for Canadian Red Cross Water
Safety Instructors?
These research questions were answered by exploring the experiences and perceptions of two key
stakeholder groups who are engaged with Canadian Red Cross Water Safety Instructor Development
Program (IDP) to assess current perceptions of prestige and reputation, feelings of program and
organizational loyalty, WSIs perceptions of the value of their occupation and to provide
recommendations accordingly.
Literature Review
A literature review based on journal articles and studies from North America, Australia and Europe was
undertaken. The literature review explored common themes in swimming and water safety literature,
methods of building and maintaining professional reputation, prestige and loyalty. Concepts of
reputation and loyalty are explored outside of the field of swimming and water safety literature as no
sources were available within the field of research. The literature indicates that at an academic level,
swimming and water safety research has focused on historical underpinnings, themes of health and
safety and the measurable impacts of work within the field. Literature exploring themes of reputation
and loyalty suggest that it is not enough for an organization to present a clear set of values or principles
to its workforce and expect commitment, loyalty and a great reputation to emerge. Instead, research
indicates that the process of buy‐in among members of a professional group requires clear lines of
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communication, meaningful and visible measures of status and contribution and a structure that
supports bottom‐up and limits top‐down interactions.