Office of the Fire Marshal
Ministry Of Community Safety and Correctional Services
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ORGANIZATION STAKEHOLDERS
INDIVIDUAL STAKEHOLDERS
OFFICE OF THE FIRE MARSHAL
POSTERS AND PICTURES
SCOPE AND APPLICATION
TIME
INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING THE PAPER COPY OF THE RESOURCE
INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING THE CD VERSION OF THE RESOURCE
VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION PROGRAM
THE
BENEFITS
RESPONSIBILITY FOR RECRUITMENT
THE ANNUAL PLAN
OTHER RESOURCES
EVALUATION
POLICIES AND
GUIDELINES
RECORDS MANAGEMENT
SUPPORT FROM YOUR MUNICIPAL COUNCIL
RELATED
TOOLS AND TEMPLATES FOR THE OVERALL PROGRAM
WHY?
WHO?
REFLECT YOUR
COMMUNITY
MATCHING THE ROLE AND THE VOLUNTEER
RELATED
TOOLS AND TEMPLATES FOR PRE RECRUITMENT PLANNING
THE MESSAGE
RECRUITMENT
STRATEGIES
MEDIA
NETWORKS & OTHER SOURCES
ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS AND FOLLOW UP
ONGOING RECRUITMENT
RELATED
TOOLS AND TEMPLATES FOR RECRUITMENT
LEGISLATION
SCREENING
APPLICATION FORMS
MINIMUM
REQUIREMENTS
INTERVIEWS
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
MEDICAL CHECKS
PHYSICAL AND AGILITY TESTS
DRIVER’S ABSTRACTS
ROLE SPECIFIC TESTS
CRIMINAL
RECORDS CHECKS
REFERENCE CHECKS
FAMILY AND
EMPLOYERS
RELATED
TOOLS AND TEMPLATES FOR SCREENING
DOCUMENTATION
THE OFFER LETTER
UNSUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS AND WAITING LISTS
RELATED
TOOLS AND TEMPLATES FOR HIRING DOCUMENTATION
ORIENTATION, PROBATION AND ADVANCEMENT
ORIENTATION
INITIAL TRAINING
HUMAN SKILLS:
ROLE SPECIFIC TECHNICAL SKILLS:
PROBATION
RECOGNITION AS A REGULAR MEMBER OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT
RELATED TOOLS AND TEMPLATES FOR ORIENTATION AND ADVANCEMENT
DON’T LET THIS BE THE MOTTO OF YOUR DEPARTMENT!
LEADERSHIP
MISSION AND VALUES
FOSTERING DIVERSITY AND A RESPECTFUL ENVIRONMENT
CONFLICT RESOLUTION
INTERPERSONAL
CONFLICT
HARASSMENT
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISION
DISCIPLINE
EMPOWERMENT, INVOLVEMENT AND DELEGATION
OPERATIONAL GUIDELINES REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT
COMMUNICATION AND PROBLEM SOLVING
TOOLS & TEMPLATES LEADERSHIP, EMPOWERMENT, INVOLVEMENT
TRAINING AND
MEETINGS
TRAINING
MEETINGS
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
RELATED TOOLS AND TEMPLATES FOR TRAINING AND MEETINGS
RECOGNITION, REWARDS AND INCENTIVES
MEETING
INTRINSIC NEEDS
RECOGNIZE TENURE AND SERVICE
LET EVERYONE KNOW
PROVIDE
EXTRINSIC REWARDS
MONETARY REWARDS
HONORARIUM OR PAY
RECOGNIZING AND APPRECIATING THE FAMILY AND SIGNIFICANT OTHERS
TURNED MISSED BIRTHDAYS INTO AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAY THANKS
SPOUSES’ NIGHT OUT
CHILDCARE
RELATED TOOLS AND TEMPLATES FOR RECOGNITION AND MOTIVATION
SUPPORT AND
ASSISTANCE
RELATED TOOLS AND TEMPLATES FOR SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE
THE EXIT INTERVIEW
DISMISSAL
RETIREMENT
REFERENCES
CONNECTING THE INDIVIDUAL TO A SUBSEQUENT FIRE DEPARTMENT
RELATED TOOLS AND TEMPLATES FOR EXIT PROCESS
CONSIDERATIONS FOR SPECIFIC POPULATIONS
EMPLOYER SUPPORTED VOLUNTEERISM
RECRUITMENT
TOOLS AND TEMPLATES FOR EMPLOYER SUPPORTED VOLUNTEERISM
YOUTH IN
THE FIRE SERVICE
DEVELOPING THE ROLE FOR
YOUTH
STUDENT VOLUNTEERS
WOMEN IN
THE FIRE SERVICE
THE OLDER ADULT IN THE FIRE SERVICE
VOLUNTEERS WITH DISABILITIES
UNUSUAL EVENTS AND MAJOR EMERGENCIES
LIMITED POOL OF VOLUNTEERS
SHORT
DURATION OF SERVICE
WHEN EMPLOYMENT CONFLICTS WITH VOLUNTEER COMMITMENT
LINKS
PRIMARY SOURCES OF INFORMATION
OTHER RESOURCES
GRAPHICS
In the early stages of this project, it was identified that stakeholder
consultation was imperative in order to truly reflect the knowledge, experiences
and perspectives of the fire service across Ontario. As a result, when launched
in early 2006, this project brought together representatives from every region
of the province, from different sizes and composition of fire departments and
from municipal as well as fire service viewpoints. During meetings,
teleconferences and email correspondence, these stakeholders contributed their
opinions, ideas, resources and skills to shape this reference package.
The Office of the Fire Marshal gratefully acknowledges the support and input
from the following organizations and individuals.
Organization Stakeholders
Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs (OAFC)
Fire Fighters’ Association of Ontario (FFAO)
Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO)
Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA)
| Pete Barbour | Fire Chief, Malahide (OAFC rep) | |
| Brad Bigrigg | Fire Chief, Caledon | |
| Bill Bowman | Fire Chief, Temiskaming Shores | |
| Aurele Constantineau | Sector Chief, The Nation | |
| Ted Droog | Mount Forest, (FFAO rep) | |
| Gord Hall | Fire Chief, Estaire – Wanup | |
| Mike Horan | Fire Chief, Oliver Paipoonge | |
| John Uptegrove | Puslinch (FFAO rep) | |
| Bill Smirle | Deputy Mayor, Township Of North Dundas (ROMA) |
Office of the Fire Marshal
Herb Clements, Fire Protection Specialist
Dennis Gannon, Fire Protection Adviser
Cynthia Hammond, Program Specialist
DJ Kembel, Program Specialist
Denis Seguin, Fire Protection Specialist
Ted Wieclawek, Operations Manager
Posters and Pictures
As part of this resource package, recruitment posters and brochures were
produced. We would like to thank all those individuals from across Ontario who
agreed to have their photographs shown in these publications. In particular,
thank you to the class of the August 22, 2006 Volunteer Firefighter Module B
course at the Ontario Fire College, for your comments about the Volunteer fire
service and your cooperation with the photography. Thank you as well to Connie
Arthurs, Administrative Assistant with the OFM for the professional graphics in
this resource package.
This resource package includes Public Fire Safety Guideline
04-84-13
– Volunteer Fire Fighter Recruitment and Retention, a resource book that
discusses effective practices, strategies, tool and templates, a CD version of
the resource book and web page information.
According to the Fire Protection and Prevention Act 1997, a volunteer
firefighter is defined as “a firefighter who provides fire protection services
either voluntarily or for a nominal consideration, honorarium, training or
activity allowance. (“pompier volontaire”) 1997, c. 4, s. 1 (1); 2001, c. 25, s.
475 (1).”
There are many factors that contribute to the success of a volunteer recruitment
and retention program. These include implementing organized marketing,
recruitment, selection, hiring, training and retention programs.
This guideline provides municipal officials and fire chiefs of volunteer and
composite fire services with a general overview of principles to consider in the
recruitment and retention of volunteers. It was developed to assist individuals
responsible for the recruitment and retention of volunteer fire service
personnel. The stakeholders who have developed this package have done research
and had discussions to identify effective strategies and practices for volunteer
recruitment and retention efforts. The end result is this comprehensive,
flexible and convenient collection of strategies and tools.
This package provides strategies and tools that you may need to implement a
volunteer recruitment and retention program. This does not mean that every fire
service must use every tool and template. You are free to use and modify the
information based on your needs and the amount of time you can invest in the
program.
Time
“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.”
William Penn
Without doubt, human resources, particularly volunteers, are the fire service’s
most valuable assets. Time is also valuable. Unfortunately, both have limits.
There are so many demands on time within a volunteer or composite fire
department that the leadership may not have enough of it to focus on maintaining
a solid volunteer recruitment and retention program. This can impact on that
other valuable commodity - having enough volunteers who will enjoy and continue
to do the job well.
It is anticipated that by using some of the tools developed in this resource
package, fire chiefs and other leaders may be able to spend more time in their
leadership role, rather than spending time developing a form or document from
scratch.
Instructions for Using the Paper Copy of the Resource
We suggest you begin by taking a moment to reflect on your current practices.
Conduct the self-assessment to identify your fire service’s strengths and
practices to consider in relation to recruitment and retention. Once you have
identified the information you need, you can then go to that specific section of
the book.
The tools and templates for each component of the recruitment and retention
program are listed at the end of each section and are located at the end of the
book. They can be removed from the book and photocopied as required.
Instructions for Using the CD Version of the Resource
The CD contains three files.
Instructions
This will provide direction on how to use the CD-ROM.
Tools and Templates
This folder contains all the tools and templates listed in the resource book.
They are organized by the different components of the recruitment and retention
program. You can access them through this file, or you can access them from the
resource book by clicking on the relevant link.
The Resource Book
Once you open this file, you can read the book electronically. Within the book
there are numerous links that are described below.
We suggest you begin by taking a moment to reflect on your current practices.
Conduct the self-assessment to identify your fire service’s strengths and
practices to consider in relation to recruitment and retention. Once you have
identified the information you need, you can then click on the word highlighted
to the right, and go to that specific section of the book.
You can also review the document through the Table of Contents. If you click on
the title, it will take you directly to that page. To find tools and templates,
in the Table of Contents, click on the
icons. Click on the back arrow
in the
tool bar at the top right hand corner of the page to take you back to previously
read pages. Depending on your computer, you may have to use the control button
or follow the directions on your screen.
For easy editing and printing, the tools and templates are provided in the
format that allows for compatibility with most word processing or publishing
systems. Click on the tool that you would like to view and it will take you to
the correct screen. If it does not take you to the tool (this may be the case
for the PDF version of the recruitment poster and employer supported
volunteerism brochure), then you will have to access the tool from the file on
the CD.
Once the document is open, you may edit as required. You will have to save your
edits and revisions onto your computer.
When you are done with the tool, click the back button on the toolbar at the top
right hand corner of the page to take you back to the most recent page. Note
that the tool template is still open at the bottom of your screen. To close it,
simply open it up and click on the X at the top right of the screen.
The following assessment is based on the Canadian Code for Volunteer
Involvement. It provides you with an overview of effective practices for
volunteer recruitment and retention. It will identify the strengths of your
program and provide you with ideas on how you can improve your efforts.
| Effective Practices | Click to find out more | ||||||||
| Overall Program | |||||||||
Does your department:
|
Volunteer Recruitment and Retention Program | ||||||||
| Pre Recruitment | |||||||||
Before recruiting, does your department
conduct assessments to determine:
|
Pre-Recruitment Strategies | ||||||||
| Recruitment | |||||||||
Does your department:
|
Recruitment Strategies | ||||||||
| Selection and Hiring | |||||||||
Does your department have selection and
hiring processes that reflect legislative requirements and includes:
|
Selection and Hiring | ||||||||
| Orientation, Probation And Advancement | |||||||||
Does your department:
|
Orientation, Probation and Advancement | ||||||||
| Ongoing Retention Efforts | |||||||||
Does your department:
|
Leadership | ||||||||
|
Empowerment, Involvement and Delegation | ||||||||
|
Training and Meetings | ||||||||
|
Recognition, Rewards and Incentives | ||||||||
|
Support and Assistance | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Exit Processes | |||||||||
Does your department have selection and
hiring processes that reflect legislative requirements and includes:
|
Exit Process | ||||||||
If you have identified that any of these practices are strengths in your department, give your leadership credit for the quality of its volunteer management efforts. Share your successful strategies with others. If you have identified that there are opportunities for improvement, identify priorities and continue to develop your program.
“Always have a plan and believe in it. Nothing happens by accident.” Chuck Knox
Establishing and using a recruitment and retention program will increase the
likelihood of finding and keeping the right people, for the right tasks, at the
right time.
Components of a volunteer recruitment and retention program include
documentation and processes that support the following:
The Benefits
A coordinated, organized program demonstrates:
It will help you to identify:
It will also allow you to plan for:
Responsibility for Recruitment
“Anybody could do it, everybody thought somebody would do it, and so nobody did
it.” Anonymous
Leaders in the fire service face many competing priorities. If responsibility
for recruitment and retention is not assigned to an individual or group, the
program could fall to the wayside. This may lead to reduced membership, reduced
emergency response capabilities, reduced fire prevention, inspection and public
education activities and a diminished pool of candidates to draw from.
Recruiting and retaining volunteers does take effort. Creating a committee,
training them and assigning specific tasks can alleviate some of the pressure on
the leadership to complete all of these tasks, as well as creating opportunities
for others to contribute to the growth of the department.
The Annual Plan
“Good plans make good decisions.” Lester R. Bettel
An annual recruitment and retention plan is a cyclic, ongoing process that will
assist you in planning and focusing your efforts. It should be a logical
consideration of the time of the year, changing commitments throughout the
seasons, weather, and psychological impact of seasons, milestones in the
department, annual events and other trends. This will prevent you from coming up
short in membership by not having good candidates to replace those leaving.
Other Resources
I use not only all of the brains I have, but all I can borrow. Woodrow Wilson.
Members of your community rely on the fire department to help them; they can do
the same for you. There are many individuals in the community that, while not
able to commit to long-term volunteerism, may want to share skills and knowledge
that can be useful to the recruitment and retention program.
Create a list of individuals in your community that could help with short-term
tasks. This list is limitless, but may include:
In order to draw from these resources, it is important to develop positive and collaborative relationships and maintain regular communications. Demonstrate the value and benefits of becoming involved with the fire department and encourage their contributions to the community. Most importantly, remember to thank them for their efforts personally and publicly.
Evaluation
Evaluation of your recruitment and retention program is necessary to identify
strengths and areas to improve. It provides useful feedback regarding your
efforts and identifies what you’ve done well, and where you would like to
improve. Don’t save your evaluation for the end of the year. It should be an
ongoing process, which is built into all the components of your program.
When developing your evaluation, consider not only your department’s needs, but
also those of the volunteers and the community. Questions could probe:
Methods for evaluation could include: SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats), community stakeholder consultation, volunteer satisfaction surveys and exit interviews.
Policies and Guidelines
Your fire service would benefit from having the necessary policies, procedures
and guidelines to ensure a safe, lawful, organized, empowering,
non-discriminatory environment for its volunteers. No matter how large or small
your department, they are essential management tools to set standards for
conduct and provide guidance.
Policies, procedures and guidelines establish your expectations, prevent
problems and boost morale. In order to be consistent, it is recommended that you
follow existing human resource policies that have been developed by your
municipality.
Policies should be developed and implemented only with full consideration of
your own fire department’s specific needs and after consulting qualified legal
advice. A broad range of polices and practices reflective of accepted human
resource management principles and relevant legislation that would contribute to
a successful program may include the following topics:
Equally important is that these policies are communicated and practiced consistently.
Records Management
The management of records involves organizing and controlling documents to
ensure that they are quickly and easily accessible, protected for
confidentiality, accessed by only those with authority and are archived or
disposed of when not necessary. Seek guidance from your municipal human resource
expert on existing policies to determine your records management practices.
To this end, identify records that must be maintained, where they are located
and who has access to them. The following information garnered during selection,
hiring and ongoing tenure may be kept in the volunteer’s personnel file:
If the individual was put on a waiting list, you may consider keeping the following:
Support From Your Municipal Council
An important consideration in your review and development of a volunteer
recruitment and retention program is the support of council. Providing these
decision makers with relevant information will assist them in making an informed
decision to support your recruitment and retention efforts.
Council may be required to support or endorse any number of strategies put forth
by your fire service including: providing resources or expertise for policy
development, determining the maximum number of volunteers retained by your
department, financing recruitment strategies, promoting employer supported
volunteerism, financing initial and ongoing training, and financing recognition
programs or incentives for volunteers and employers.
In order to demonstrate the benefits of current or proposed strategies, you may
need to build a business case to illustrate the public safety, social and
economic value of volunteerism.
The value of your fire service’s contribution to public safety can be
demonstrated through benchmarks such as inspection statistics, public education
program evaluations, and post incident analysis from emergency responses. You
can use this information to demonstrate how current volunteers are meeting the
public safety goals of the department and to enhance efforts through additional
membership.
The social value of volunteerism can be demonstrated through qualitative
measurement, such as annual volunteer satisfaction surveys. Providing a profile
of your department that describes how you have promoted and supported diversity
can illustrate how you have drawn on the talents available in your community to
meet the community’s unique needs. You can also demonstrate how you have
encouraged and promoted personal and professional development within your fire
service.
The economic value of volunteerism can be calculated by assigning a dollar value
to the hours that are contributed by your volunteers. You can then demonstrate
how these volunteer contributions have extended the fire service’s budget,
activities and service delivery. For more information on calculating the
economic value of volunteer activity, access the Knowledge Development Canada
website and work through the volunteer value calculator at
http://www.kdc-cdc.ca/vvc/eng/.
For instance, in some communities council has, with input from the fire chief,
determined the maximum number of fire fighters that they wish to have. The
reason may stem from economic issues, as there may be considerations such as
WSIB, life insurance and health taxes that must be budgeted for. It is important
to build a strong business case in which you demonstrate logical reasons for
expanding your volunteer force to include roles beyond traditional fire
suppression and rescue. In some communities, daytime response is a challenge.
One strategy to overcome this may be to encourage local employers to release
volunteer employees to respond to emergencies. In this instance, you may need to
solicit council’s agreement to provide incentives or recognition to employers
who support this initiative. In doing so, you may need to provide information
such as day time response statistics, projected enhancement to day time
responses if employers allow employee-volunteers to leave, relevant policies,
agreements and practices regarding employer supported volunteerism, and proposed
recognition or incentive programs.
Regardless of the reasons, providing council with relevant statistics and
information will assist them to make informed decisions and contribute to good
communications and relations between your fire service and your council.
Related Tools and Templates for the Overall Program
01-1 Recruitment
Responsibilities
01-2
Recruitment and Retention Plan
01-3 Satisfaction Survey
01-4 SWOT ANALYSIS
01-5 POLICY TEMPLATE
01-6 Personnel File Audit
01-7 Business Case Considerations
In order to be successful in recruiting the right people for the right job at
the right time, there are two questions to ask before you begin to recruit.
Why
are we recruiting? Who are we recruiting? Asking yourself these questions will
prepare you to focus your recruitment efforts and spend your time wisely.
Why?
Conduct an assessment to determine the needs of your fire department. This will
help you answer the question “Why?”
When conducting your assessment, look beyond the traditional “fire suppression” perspective. The following roles (and many others) not only contribute to a fire department’s broader mission through better administration and logistical support, they can also enhance response capabilities, inspection programs and public education activities. This approach puts to use the rich resources that are available in your community.
In order to be clear regarding roles and the skills and knowledge that you are recruiting for develop a role description for each of them.
Who?
In order to answer this question, you may need to know and understand the
availability and characteristics of potential volunteers in your community. You
also need to know some facts about volunteers in general.
The following statistics garnered from the 2004 Canada Survey of Giving,
Volunteering and Participating1 provides the following profile of Canadian
volunteers.
Completing a similar profile of your community will help you define the
composition of your community and those most likely to volunteer. It can also
provide insight regarding your fire department’s success in attracting, using
that potential and maintaining commitment from your volunteers.
For instance, over 55% of youth between the ages of 15 and 24 years old
volunteer. Look at your department. How many members fit into this category? Is
there a role within your department for youth?
Consider as well the expectations of your department regarding hours. The
average number of hours contributed annually range from 139 to 245. How many
hours is the average volunteer expected to contribute to your department? If you
do training once per week for 3 hours, that’s 156 hours annually. This doesn’t
include expectations for calls, public education events or other requirements.
Are there individuals in your community who can commit to those requirements?
How can your fire department assist members to meet these expectations?
This information about the members of your community will assist you to
successfully recruit for volunteers that will meet both the department needs for
specific roles and the community’s need to connect and collaborate for the
common good.
You can also conduct a profile of the employers in the community to identify
potential employers that may support volunteerism and assist members to be able
to meet time commitments.
Reflect Your Community
Involving employees that work in your community, youth, older adults,
families, individuals with disabilities and various ethnic groups offers many
mutual benefits. The individuals are provided with opportunities to develop
skills, gain knowledge and contribute to their community in a meaningful way.
The department benefits by having a diverse and vibrant fund of resources,
knowledge, skills and perspectives that reflect the community, which in turn,
further strengthens the department.
In order to reap the benefits of these diverse populations, fire departments may
be required to adjust processes, accommodate the workplace or revise the manner
in which people view different populations and work with them. In the big
picture, the benefits of involving different populations far outweigh the costs
and serve to enhance the culture, work climate and capabilities of the
department.
For further information regarding diversity and specific populations, refer to
the Consideration for Specific Populations section of this resource.
Matching the Role and the Volunteer
Once you have the above information, it will be easier for you to plan
your recruitment. In order to effectively recruit volunteers, it may be
necessary to identify your target group. Targeting your recruitment may increase
your chances of success.
The following matching process illustrates how to do this.
Related Tools and Templates for Pre Recruitment
Planning
02-1 Planning and Targeting Recruitment
02-2 Role Descriptions Overview
02-3 Role Description TEMPLATE
02-4 Identify Your Community Assets
02-5 Brainstorming for Word of Mouth
02-6 Recruitment Needs Worksheet
02-7 Recruitment Preparation Checklist
When
you recruit for volunteers, you are competing with many other individual and
community interests. In fact, statistics garnered from the Canada Survey Of
Giving, Volunteering And Participating2, show that volunteering for fire and
emergency services is losing that competition. Figure 2.9 indicates that fire
and emergency services have attracted only 7% of the volunteer population.
This warrants closer examination. Why is it that such a low number of
individuals volunteer with the fire service? It may be that due to the
well-known dangers, physical and emotional demands of emergency response, many
individuals believe they may not have the physical skills or fortitude to be in
the fire service.
Look to the other, more successful volunteer activities. By expanding your fire
department to include roles in public education, prevention, fundraising,
maintenance, administration, support and logistics, you can demonstrate to
potential volunteers that they can employ their skills in similar activities
within the fire service.
The Message
Market your fire department in a manner that draws the attention of
potential volunteers and clearly communicates the department’s role in bringing
community members together and making the community stronger and safer.
Make the community aware of all the contributions that the fire department
makes. Let the volunteer nature of the fire department be known to the community
and let the community know their help is needed.
Current volunteers are a good source for marketing your department. If you
welcome them, support them and train them well, they will tell others. They are
the most likely to be able to explain the requirements (and benefits) of
joining.
However, relying solely on word of mouth can limit the number and variety of
individuals invited and involved in your department. To promote diversity and
involve volunteers with different skill sets, knowledge and perspectives, rely
on more than one method.
Communication strategies should be both attention-getting and informative. They
may be the first impression that a potential volunteer has of your department.
The strategy must demonstrate that the position is interesting, challenging and
beneficial to both the individual and the community.
In order to effectively communicate and demonstrate the value of volunteering
with your fire service, you may need to understand why people volunteer.
3Figure
2.11 shows the reasons why people volunteer.
When you recruit, you will need to clearly communicate how volunteering with
your fire services addresses those reasons. For instance, demonstrate how the
fire service allows people to contribute to the community (reason #1). Explain
how the diverse roles in the fire service, beyond fire suppression, provide
opportunity to use their skills and experience (reason #2).
If you are creative in your message, you will likely find a way to address all
of the reasons listed.
There are many recruiting strategies that your fire department can choose from.
When deciding on a strategy, ask yourself:
Interactive
|
Media
|
Networks & Other Sources
|
Accepting Applications and Follow Up
Make it easy for individuals to pursue their interest by having role
descriptions and application forms readily available. Follow up with interested
individuals or community volunteers.
If any member of your department has contact with someone interested in the fire
service, have them forward his or her name and phone number to the individual(s)
responsible for recruitment. Contact the interested party directly and provide
an application form.
Regardless of which method has brought the individual to your doorstep, ensure
that you follow up with any interested individuals who have completed the
application form. All applications should be promptly acknowledged. It may be a
poor reflection on the department when interested parties don’t know the status
of their application until the recruit training has started without them.
Ongoing Recruitment
Successful recruitment efforts are ongoing throughout the year. This will ensure
that you consistently have a number of interested individuals to draw from. You
may want to incorporate seasonal messages to draw the attention of potential
volunteers.
Related Tools and Templates for Recruitment
03-01 Template for Recruitment Ads
03-02 Open House Planning Sheet
03-03 What To Include
03-04 Recruitment Activity Tracking Sheet
03-05 Recruitment Poster
Legislation
It is important to understand that there is legislation that dictates the
gathering, disclosure and review of information required in the selection and
hiring of volunteers.
Human rights legislation protects individuals from discrimination due to age,
sexual orientation, marital status, ethnicity and other characteristics. In your
application and interview processes it is important to not ask for information
about characteristics among the prohibited ground of discrimination, as set out
by federal and provincial statutes.
This legislation also distinguishes between what can be asked prior to hiring
and what can be asked after hiring. Information requests allowed before a
volunteer is selected are much more restrictive than information requests
allowed after selection.
Privacy legislation protects individuals from the release or disclosure of
personal information without their consent. Health information legislation
protects individuals from the release or disclosure of personal health
information without their consent.
Once you receive information about an applicant, whether from the applicant,
doctor, police or other individual, the fire department becomes responsible for
that information and is then subject to legal requirements in terms of
confidentiality and access to information.
Consider the following:
Screening
Screening is a signal, in a very public way, that the fire department is serious
about protecting the public interest. Fire departments take great pride in the
service to their community. A screening process is essential for the fire
department to demonstrate that its volunteers serve the community’s best
interest.
Some of the screening tools may incur a cost. Your policies will have to
identify who will cover the cost of the screening. Options could include the
department paying for the costs up front as part of the overall recruitment
budget; the applicant being reimbursed upon successful hiring; the recruit being
reimbursed after successful probation; or, the recruit being reimbursed after
one year of continuous service.
It is also important to note that the individual must provide written consent,
detailing the type of information required and the purpose of the request, prior
to disclosure. Ensure that you document and file the results of these screening
tools.
Your fire department will have to decide which screening tools are appropriate
and necessary to ensure that individuals are the right fit for the role, and to
allow individuals an opportunity to determine that the department is the right
fit for them:
Application Forms
An application form collects basic information, name, address, experience, and
schooling. Ensure that the application form only asks for information related to
the requirements of the position. Using an application form signals the
seriousness of the fire department’s recruitment efforts. It also starts the
necessary paper trail.
Minimum Requirements
At a minimum, an applicant should possess the qualifications specified in the
ad. In addition, some preferred additional education, skill or experience could
further identify strengths and challenges relevant to the role. A simple
checklist on the application form may be sufficient.
Interviews
Interviews are an extremely important step in the screening process. They are a
two-way exchange of information, which gives the department enough information
to judge whether or not the applicant is best suited to the role. At the same
time, interviews allow the applicant to make judgment about the fire department.
The interview provides you with an opportunity to get to know the individual
better and find out information about his/her background, talents, skills,
interests and availability. It also allows you to clearly identify expectations
and convey the norms of the fire department, up front, to determine if the
individual is a right fit.
An effective interview is:
Interview Questions
Remember, job related tasks could be taught, but life skills take years to
develop.
Would you rather spend your time teaching someone how to put out a fire, or
spend it putting out the fires he/she has created because of poor interpersonal
skills?
While education, physical prowess and task related skills provide you with an
indication of the individual’s potential, questions should explore work,
volunteer and life experience.
Identify the qualities and attributes that you’d like to see in your volunteers,
and ensure you look for them in an applicant. Framing your questions in this
manner will provide you with an indication of applicant’s crisis management
skills, problem solving ability, work ethic, ability to work with others and
values. Scenario based questions could shed light on these qualities.
Medical Checks
From a risk management perspective, to prevent injury and assist the volunteer
to cope with some of the physical and emotional demands of the volunteer
position, having some information about the individual’s health status is
important.
When developing a process and policy for medical clearance, you may want to
consider risk management practices. These practices should reflect requirements
for due diligence according to the Occupational Health and Safety Act. That is
to say that you identify the risks and demands associated with the position and
mitigate those risks by ensuring that the individuals performing such tasks are
physically and medically capable of doing them safely, without risk to
themselves or others.
Depending on role requirements, size and financial resources of your fire
department, this can be as simple as a doctor’s note that says the individual is
in good enough health to meet role responsibilities, to a standard medical exam
(for driver’s license) to more complex physical and medical exams.
To assess risk, tasks requirements for the position should be based on the Role
Description and broken down into physical, medical or psychological demands.
NFPA 1582 is the standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire
Departments. It is a very detailed and comprehensive document and may be used as
a reference (or model). It identifies the responsibility of the Fire Department,
Medical Physician and Candidates. It also breaks down the essential job tasks
through a physical demands analysis (i.e. climbing six or more flights of stairs
while wearing fire protective ensemble weighing at least 50lb or more and
carrying equipment/tools weighing an additional 20 to 40 lbs).
The role description, physical demands analysis and information sheets should to
go the physician, who should review the requirements to determine if the
individual is fit to complete those tasks and provide written confirmation of
his or her findings.
In determining the need for regular or annual medical clearance, the
municipality may want to assess if the risk warrants annual review, or if it is
done on hiring and conducted when there is a perceived or potential risk. You
may also consider the cost and who would pay for it.
In the event that the individual is not fit for the essential job tasks, you may
want to determine if workplace accommodation is possible, or if it would cause
undue hardship. If you can safely and realistically accommodate or modify work,
you may want to consider it. Otherwise, you may want to consider offering other
tasks or roles that the individual is capable of.
The bottom line is that you are trying to demonstrate due diligence and risk
management. Ensure that you consult with your own municipal policies, human
resource expert, municipal solicitor and the Human Rights Commission rights to
ensure that your policy and practices do not discriminate.
Physical and Agility Tests
There are a variety of physical and agility tests to choose from. Depending on
the role requirements, size and financial resources of your fire department,
your physical and agility testing could be simple (obstacle course and a
doctor’s note) or thorough (medical with complex tests). Regardless of the test
you choose, you want to be confident that the individual is capable of the
physical requirements of the job.
Driver’s Abstracts
For insurance and risk management reasons, completing a driver’s abstract,
available at your local Ministry of Transportation office, is imperative,
particularly if individuals are going to be using expensive, big, heavy,
complicated emergency vehicles. This is a requirement of some insurance
companies.
Role Specific Tests
To ensure the right fit for specific roles, you may want to consider simple
tests for verbal/written communication, or cognitive and perceptual tests.
For instance you may want to give:
Criminal Records Checks
According to a recent Leger Marketing Opinion Poll4, firefighters rank amongst
Canada’s most trusted occupations. Without doubt, this is a perception that your
fire department wants to maintain. For that reason, it is important that you are
made aware of any criminal involvement. It will be necessary to use a release
form that states the agreement of the volunteer to permit the criminal records
check.
To be proactive, you may want to consider having a written policy concerning
whether or not to select individuals with criminal records. Considerations
should include the nature of the role, the potential risk involved and the fire
department’s ethical and legal. A policy reflecting municipal hiring practices
will assist you in making these difficult decisions.
Criminal records checks are only valid at the time they are issued. Again, to be
proactive, you may want to consider doing checks on an ongoing basis throughout
the volunteer’s tenure. This could be in the form of an annual declaration from
the volunteer to indicate he or she has not been convicted of a criminal offence
during the year.
Reference Checks
A reference check is a useful screening step during the hiring process, as the
references will confirm the background and skills of the applicant and how they
might relate to the position. It is suggested that you conduct more than one
reference check. Prepare a list of questions before hand. These questions should
describe the relevant responsibilities involved in the position and ask about
the applicant’s skill and suitability for the tasks. Remember, as with all
requests for information, ensure that you receive written consent to speak with
the references.
Family and Employers
There is no question that the fire department will expect a great deal from its
volunteers. Understandably, being an active member competes with many priorities
in an individual’s life. Two of those priorities are family and employment.
It is important to ensure that families are aware of the expectations,
commitments and psychological impact that are involved in volunteering with the
fire department. Information nights, handouts and meetings are ways to provide
family or significant others with the knowledge they need to support the
individual.
For these same reasons, it is also beneficial for the volunteer to have an
informed and understanding employer. Some departments provide an information
sheet that the employer signs to indicate that they are aware of the obligations
of the volunteer and would support him/her in any manner possible.
Related Tools and Templates for Screening
04-01 Screening Documentation
04-02 Criteria Handout
04-03 Application Form
04-04 Interview Questions
04-05 Interview Questions 2
04-06 Interview Screening
04-07 Reference Consent
04-08 Reference Check Questions
04-09 Simple Medical Form
04-10 Letter To Move On
04-11 Physical Agility Test
The Offer Letter
Those individuals selected to volunteer with your fire department require
timely notification and information regarding orientation, training and other
expectations of the fire department. You can do so through a telephone
conversation, followed by a written offer letter.
Unsuccessful Applicants and Waiting Lists
A prompt and tactfully worded letter to unsuccessful applicants is not
only their due, but also contributes to effective public relations.
In the event that you are still interested in an individual, but were limited to
the number of new recruits, develop a waiting list. Having a waiting list is a
good measure to ensure that you have a pool of interested individuals to draw
from during recruitment. If you do keep a waiting list, it would be wise to
confirm every three months that the individuals are still interested and that
their information will remain on record. If, when questioned, the individual is
no longer interested, destroy any information you have on file about that
individual.
Related Tools and Templates for Hiring
Documentation
05-01 Offer
05-02 Waiting List
05-03 Follow Up Waiting List
05-04 Letter To Unsuccessful Applicant
Your fire department will benefit from having an organized system to orient,
train and advance new volunteers. Though the initial training will take time and
resources, at the end of the training, you will have safe, informed, and
competent volunteers.
One of the most successful and safe approaches for developing volunteers and
establishing a commitment is to initially offer them specific tasks that allow
them to become involved in a limited way. Later, offer opportunities to grow
into roles with more responsibilities. Depending on the role this can range from
three to six months of progressive training, assignments and responsibilities.
Besides the tasks involved in orientation and initial training, consider how to
socially integrate the individual into the department. Involve other department
members in training. Identify a contact “go to” person or mentor.
Initiating a mentorship program can address the need of the new volunteer to
make a connection. Another benefit is that it will serve to recognize the
knowledge, skill and leadership qualities of the more experienced department
members.
The following are milestones in recruit development:
For each of these milestones in this system consider:
Orientation
Conducting an orientation session is an important means of welcoming new
volunteers. It is also an opportunity to give clear direction regarding
departmental operations and clarify any misunderstandings right up front. It can
be helpful in providing an introduction to existing policies, programs and
operating guidelines.
Joining a new organization and starting a new role can be overwhelming. Most
people remember only a portion of the information received. For this reason,
there are several principles to consider when developing your orientation.
At a minimum, orientations cover:
As part of the induction paperwork, you can include a Volunteer Service
Agreement, or Oath of Commitment. To ensure that expectations are clearly
understand, it is critical to formalize expectations and get an agreement from
the volunteer regarding commitment. A Volunteer Service Agreement is an example
of such an agreement. It serves to confirm in writing the expectations both of
the volunteer and of the fire department, which were identified during
recruitment, interviews, orientation and other communications.
Initial Training
Initial training is not limited to the front line suppression recruit training.
It covers a more broad based context that includes preliminary training for all
types of volunteer positions. It is critical in preparing new volunteers to
deliver quality services to the community safely, skillfully and professionally.
This training prepares individuals to perform duties as outlined in their
respective role descriptions. A comprehensive training program would include
human skills and role specific technical skills.
Human skills:
Behaviour is an expression of an individual’s values and ethics. Such is the
same for your fire department’s values and ethics. Your training program should
create an environment that educates and encourages volunteers to act in the
manner that allows them to succeed.
Simply stated, you want to develop motivated, responsible and accountable
individuals, who are committed to goals, work and learning. You will want them
to demonstrate this by the manner in which they communicate, resolve conflict,
and manage stress and work within the team.
The fire department’s Code of Conduct and other guidelines that identify
expected behaviour and interactions would be emphasized in this component. These
topics would be addressed to the general population of recruits, regardless of
their designated positions.
Role Specific Technical Skills:
While each position within your department has training requirements that
are distinctive to the tasks involved, answering these general questions will
assist you in developing specific training. The best sources of information for
this are role descriptions, Ontario Fire Service Standards, Section 21 Guidance
notes and any training curriculum that is recognized as an industry standard.
Relevancy:
Safety:
Probation
During the probationary period, it is imperative that the new volunteers receive
ongoing supervision and coaching to ensure that they are safe and that the
operations are running efficiently.
Tasks assigned should be congruent with the knowledge and skills displayed by
the individuals. As they continue to gain knowledge, skills and experience,
begin to introduce them to more challenging tasks and responsibilities.
A probationary period gives you an excellent opportunity to assess that the
volunteer is suited to the position and the fire department.
If you must dismiss an individual during the probationary period:
Recognition as a Regular Member of the Fire
Department
Completing the initial training and probationary period involves a great
deal of time, physical and emotional commitment. As such, individuals should be
recognized formally for their efforts.
Some type of recognition such as certificates or graduation ceremonies will go a
long way in motivating individuals to continue their efforts. It will also
signify another level of integration and acceptance in your department.
Related Tools and Templates for Orientation and
Advancement
06-01 Orientation Agenda
06-02 Induction Paperwork
06-03 Volunteer Service Agreement
06-04 Equipment Sign Off Sheet
06-05 Code of Ethics Sample
“We the willing, led by the unknowing
Are doing the impossible, for the ungrateful.
We have done so much, for so long, with so little,
We are now qualified to do anything, with nothing.”
Anonymous
Don’t let this be the motto of your department!
Recruiting and training new volunteers is just the beginning. The long-term
challenge will be to create an environment in which individuals want to stay
because they continue to be motivated, interested, challenged and supported as
valued members of the team.
Leadership
The tools and templates in this resource provide you with some basic
leadership practices that support retention efforts. They are not intended to
replace the need to develop leadership practices and operating guidelines on a
broader scale.
By being a proactive, involved and present leader you can put a different
meaning to the above quote.
Motivate your volunteers, and they will be willing.
Lead them to achieve your fire department mission and goals and you will
be knowing.
Train and challenge them to make tasks possible.
Recognize their efforts and show you are grateful.
Give them responsibility and provide them with the tools to do the tasks.
This way they can be qualified to do everything, to the
best of their ability.
Mission and Values
“Tell me and I'll forget. Show me and I'll remember.
Involve me and I'll understand.”
Confucius
When developing your fire department’s mission, goals and objectives, involve
your membership. Communicate these often in writing and in speech. By being
involved and informed, they are more able to assist you in achieving goals and
fulfilling the mission.
Demonstrate your belief and commitment to the values through your words and
actions. Identify your expectations, set high standards and communicate them
clearly so that the volunteers can do the same.
Fostering Diversity and a Respectful Environment
As noted previously, in order to enhance your department by utilizing the
skills and talents of a diverse population, you may have brought in individuals
from different backgrounds, genders, age and abilities.
Regardless of whether the diversity is a result of gender, age, ethnicity or
disability, it would benefit your department and the volunteer to consider
accommodations that are necessary and suitable. These may include making
physical facilities accessible, modifying work areas, restructuring tasks and
providing assistance as required.
To involve your membership and support a diverse workplace consider the
following:
Conflict Resolution
Where there is difference, therein may lay conflict. This conflict may come in
many forms, from a simple difference of opinion to a disagreement or a more
complicated interpersonal conflict. In some cases this interpersonal conflict
could escalate to harassment. In any case, having clear guidelines and
expectations will assist both the leaders and the members involved to resolve
the conflict in a fair, respectful and timely manner.
When developing policies, guidelines and processes for conflict resolution,
consider the following principles. As with any policy or practices regarding
human resources, ensure that you seek legal counsel and that they are reflective
of existing municipal principles and policies.
Interpersonal Conflict
It is important to ensure that the policies and practices regarding
interpersonal conflict are communicated and followed consistently. This will
demonstrate a fair, respectful and proactive approach to resolving interpersonal
conflict. Provide supervisors and volunteers with training and education
regarding policies and steps involved. Consider emphasizing ownership and
personal accountability, mutual respect, open communication and a willingness to
resolve conflict.
Steps to consider when developing a conflict resolution process may include:
Harassment
To demonstrate a fair, respectful, supportive and proactive approach to
conflicts that involve harassment, it is important to ensure that the policies
and practices regarding harassment are communicated and followed consistently.
Provide supervisors and all members with training and education regarding the
policy and steps involved.
To provide clarity, define what harassment is according to the
Ontario Human Rights Code. Define the behaviours
that constitute harassment.
Consider as well providing information to members who may be accused of
harassment. For instance, he or she may want to consider the necessity to stop
the offending behaviour, how he or she would respond to accusations and
documenting incidents or conversations.
Steps to consider when developing a policy or process regarding harassment may
include:
Your responsibility as a leader is not only to react appropriately to
harassment complaints. You also have an obligation to prevent harassment from
occurring in the first place. You can do this by ensuring that volunteers are
aware of polices and are educated about what harassment is and is not. Ensure
that you have a complaint procedure in place to allow the volunteer to feel
comfortable about bringing forward any concerns.
Performance Management and Supervision
Provide volunteers with opportunity to learn, grow and lead through
relevant training, progressive responsibilities and challenges. Motivate them.
Coach them. Continue to challenge them.
A fair, firm and flexible approach to informal and formal performance evaluation
provides volunteers with meaningful information about the work they do. View it
as an opportunity for the volunteers to know where they stand relative to the
goals and objectives of their roles, and of the department. In doing so, you can
challenge your volunteers to continually improve performance and personal
effectiveness.
In order to provide adequate and ethical supervision, those responsible should
be provided with the necessary tools and training to do so effectively.
Discipline
Generally, the need for discipline is a result of an individual behaving
in a way that contravenes a policy, guideline or direction. It is necessary for
you, as the leader to ensure that the individual acts in the manner prescribed.
Therefore you must use discipline.
This aspect of leadership is likely the most difficult, as discipline usually
has negative emotions involved. However, the word “discipline” is derived from
the Latin word disciplina meaning teaching or
learning. Rather than viewing discipline as a negative task, consider it in a
more positive light, in that you are providing an opportunity for the individual
to learn the right way of doing things.
Focus on the behaviour rather than the individual. View it as an opportunity to
teach the individual to act in a different way. If you must discipline
volunteers, do so evenly and fairly. Having a fair discipline policy that is
reflective of municipal policies and applying it consistently will assist both
the leadership and the membership in achieving positive outcomes.
Empowerment, Involvement and Delegation
Sharing and Distributing the Workload
If you have ever attended a session in stress, time or quality management, you
may have heard of the Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 Principle. In some fire
departments, this principle can be applied in two ways.
Often leaders in the fire service feel that they spend 80% of their time
completing 20% of the tasks. Unfortunately, it is often those tasks that they
feel are not the most important, or are tedious, or they spend their time
running from one crisis to another (most of which are not emergency response
type). This may lead to frustration.
Another application of this principle that may be seen in the fire service is
the perception that 80% of the work is only done by 20% of the people. Again,
this may lead to frustration. In some cases frustration from the 20% who are
perceived as doing the work, and in some cases, frustration from others who
would like to be more involved but who haven’t been given the opportunity.
There are several positive and proactive ways to tip the balance on this
principle. If you have conducted a needs assessment for your department during
pre-recruitment planning, you have already begun to identify tasks and roles
that need to be filled in order to further enhance the efforts of the
department. Look within your department to determine if any willing individuals
have the skills and knowledge required to complete the tasks. If not, look
externally and recruit for that purpose.
Once you have identified the tasks and the individuals assigned, then delegate
the work, ensuring that you are communicating relevant expectations, timelines,
authority and accountability.
In this way, you can distribute the work so that each member is contributing in
a meaningful way to the goals of the department, and that each member is
accountable for his or her part in achieving those results.
By tipping the balance, you have met a number of needs. You, as the leader, can
focus your attention to the tasks that are most imperative. Members who may have
felt they were in the 20% doing 80% of the work might feel relief. Members, who
wished to be more involved, are more involved.
Operational Guidelines Review and Development
To foster continued growth and organizational success of the fire
department, encourage creativity, innovation and evaluation. Recognize that
volunteers are often in the best position to identify strengths and areas for
improvement. Constantly review your practices and operational guidelines (OG’s)
to identify strategies that will allow volunteers to contribute to the
department meaningful and constructive ways.
You may want to consider assigning the research and development of OG’s to
individuals who have the knowledge, skills and experience necessary to create an
accurate and relevant document. Ensure that when you delegate the tasks, you are
also communicating your expectations, as well as accountability and
responsibility.
When developing your OG’s and practices, confirm that they reflect:
Communication and Problem Solving
Open communication practi
