Leadership Challenges In Todays Volunteer Emergency Services - - PDF document

Leadership Challenges

In Today’s Volunteer Emergency Services Organizations

Presented by: David W. Lewis Emergency Services Instructor

• Emergency services educator

– Maryland Fire & Rescue Institute (MFRI) – National Fire Academy – University of Maryland University College

• Fire/EMS Affiliations

– Odenton Volunteer Fire Co. – AA Co. Vol. Firefighters Assn. – Maryland State Firemen’s Assn. – National Volunteer Fire Council – Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen’s Association – IAFC/ED/IAFC/SHS – ISFSI

• Contact

– Email: DLewis533@comcast.net – Cell: 443-694-9113

About your Facilitator David W. Lewis

Session Objective

• Today’s volunteer emergency services leaders are

challenged with a variety of very complex issues.

• This session challenges you to interact with other

leaders of similar organizations for an open discussion

• f the challenges affecting the future of the volunteer

emergency services and your organization.

• Leave with new ideas and best practice solutions on

how to resolve your challenges and move you

• rganization forward towards a better tomorrow.

Let’s start with the question:

What are the leading challenges in your organization?

Are we really that much different?

Your FD Future FD LEADERSHIP FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT RECRUITMENT And RETENTION

Let’s take a journey toward the future . . . . .

HEALTH & SAFETY POLITICS AND LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

Being successful starts with

Leadership

• What is Leadership?
• What is your Leadership IQ?
• How do others perceive your Leadership?
• Are you leading the organization or being

chased by it?

Does your organization have a plan for the future?

• If you don’t have a plan, how do you know

where the path down the yellow brick road is?

• Strategic planning is a basic leadership

principle

– Define your service delivery requirements – Assess your organization’s capabilities – Conduct a SWOT analysis to determine gaps

Strategic planning begins with an assessment of the

• rganization’s:
• Mission
• Vision
• Values

Who will be your next leader?

• You won’t be king forever !!
• Are you working to develop your replacement?
• Succession planning

– Provide opportunities for leadership development – Identify opportunities for education and training – Recruit potential leaders (not every member needs to be a firefighter or EMT)

Retention and Recruitment

• How many people do you need?
• What skills?

– Operational – Administrative

• Where do you find them?
• What are you doing about it?

Today’s Fire Service

• Today’s fire service remains largely staffed

by volunteers

• There are 1,160,450 firefighters from 29,727

departments

• 30% (345,600) are career firefighters
• 70% (814,850) are volunteer firefighters

– (NFPA, 2015) Source: NFPA 2015

Trends in the Volunteer Fire Service

• In the last 25 years, volunteer membership has declined by 10-15%
• Increase in time demand for response, training, fundraising
• Fire calls are down, EMS calls are up
• Economic conditions to meet family needs
• Urbanization (don’t live and work in same community, higher response

needs)

• Aging of the membership without influx of younger members
• At same time, career firefighter numbers have increased by more than 50%
• Preservation of the volunteer emergency services is needed
• Cost savings to local governments exceeds $130B annually
• It is not cost effective to provide career service in many communities

Find the Fighter in You - PSA

What Motivates People to Volunteer?

• Considering the risk involved, we have to

ask why anyone would want to volunteer?

– Being part of the community – Sense of achievement – New experiences and interests – Learn or develop new skills – Meeting a diverse range of people

What Motivates People to Volunteer?

• Considering the risk involved, we have to

ask why anyone would want to volunteer?

– Positive signal to employer, friends, family – Family history – Need for excitement – Personal pride and self-esteem – Altruism (concern for others)

What Motivates People to Volunteer?

• Tangible benefits

– Retirement and pension plans – Pay per call or per hour – Tax exemptions, credits, and deductions – Insurance and liability coverages – Educational support – Housing assistance and live-in programs – Business discounts

Recruitment and Retention Challenges

• Why do we lose so many volunteers?

– Disappointment in department leadership – Commitments at full-time jobs – Family pressures or commitments – Excessive or meaningless training requirements – Excessive or lack of emergency response activity – Lack of recognition or rewards for positive behavior – Lack of compatibility with other members

Leading in a Multi-Generation Workplace

• Traditionalists – Born 1928 – 1945
• Baby boomers – Born 1946 – 1964
• Generation “X” – Born 1965 – 1976
• Generation “Y” - Born 1977 – 1995

– The Millennials

• Generation “Z” – Born since 1996

Five Generations in the Workforce

• Leaders must be able to understand,

communicate, motivate, train, and retain four

• r five different generations at the same time
• Does your workplace attract a

multigenerational team? Or is it primarily comprised of one generation? Why or why not?

Diversity in the Workforce

• Today’s fire service remains

white male dominated

– Female - 85,100 (7.3%)

• Career 3.7%
• Volunteer 8.9%

– Caucasian (white) firefighters – 82%

• Increases recruitment

challenges to reflect the community served

Portal.nvfc.org

Make Me A Firefighter:

• National R&R Campaign to assist

departments

• Customizable materials
• Research-based messaging and

tactics

• Interactive web site

MakeMeAFirefighter.org

NVFC Make Me A Firefighter

Best Practices in Retention

• Many departments focus on recruitment and

ignore the need for retention efforts

• Without a good retention program, departments

waste a lot of time, money, and resources training a revolving door of volunteers

• Creating a work environment where people want

to be a part of is key to successful retention and recruitment

Best Practices in Retention

Building a successful retention program: – Motivation as a Retention Tool – Teambuilding – Individual Recognition – Need for Fun and Family – Help With Individual Challenges

Best Practices in Retention

Building a successful retention program:

– Leadership role in retention – Communication – Department image – Tangible benefits – Non-operational roles

Planning for future staffing needs

• SAFER grant program

– Identify R&R program – Hire paid employees

• Transition approaches to a combination

service

– IAFC/VCOS Ribbon reports

• VCOS Silver Ribbon Report: Guidelines and Best Practices for a

Successful Youth Fire Service Program

• VCOS Orange Ribbon Report: Leading and Managing EMS in

Volunteer and Combination Fire Departments

• VCOS White Ribbon Report : Managing the Business of the Fire

Department

• VCOS Red Ribbon Report: Leading the Transition in Volunteer and

Combination Fire Departments

• VCOS Blue Ribbon Report: Preserving and Improving the Future of the

Volunteer Fire Service

IAFC/VCOS Ribbon reports

Managing the Finances

• How much does it cost to operate a

volunteer fire or EMS company?

• Do you have a budget?
• What are you doing to plan for future capital

expenditures (apparatus, facilities, etc.)?

Where does your money come from?

• Government sources ?
• Community support ?

– Fund raising – Donations

• Grants ?
• Loans ?
• Money tree ?

Looking for the Money Tree?

• Grant opportunities

– Assistance to Firefighters Grant – Fire Prevention and Safety – SAFER

• Corporate grants

– Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, ???? – Firehouse Subs

Taking care of people

The Way It Used To Be

• No physicals for volunteers
• Rough call – have a beer (no CISM)
• Respond until you drop
• SCBA was optional
• PPE last a lifetime

Looking forward

• Personal health is monitored
• Mental health is a concern
• Cancer is a concern
• PPE is cleaned regularly
• SCBA is mandatory
• Knowing when you’ve had enough

Behavioral and Mental Health

• Serving as a volunteer firefighter or EMS provider

can be emotionally exhausting

– Exposure to trauma, death, injuries – Destruction of lives and property

• Add personal lives to the stress

– Marital/family issues – Financial issues – Job related stress

• Provide a recipe for stress-related illness or

disorders

Fire and EMS Responder Suicides

FBHA, 2017

Recognizing Mental Health Issues

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Substance Abuse
• Post-Traumatic Stress
• Suicide

Recognition and Support Mechanisms

• Leadership needs to

understand red flag behaviors

• Critical incident stress

programs are needed

• Employee Assistance

Programs should be made available

• NVFC “Share the Load”

Understanding Cancer Risks

• Cancer is killing firefighters at two to three

times the rate that it kills civilians

• Hundreds of toxic chemicals are being

absorbed, ingested, and inhaled by firefighters.

• Every fire scene should be considered a

Hazmat incident.

Cancer Prevention Measures

• Decontaminate PPE on scene
• Wash PPE at least once a year and more often

if exposed to fire

• If you carry PPE in your POV, use a gear bag

and never in the passenger area

• No PPE in living quarters of the station
• Carry baby wipes on apparatus
• Wash seats and inside of apparatus after a fire

Cancer Prevention Measures

• Wear SCBA until the fire is cold and there is no

smoke

• Have two hoods; clean them regularly
• When you go to rehab, don’t keep your hood

around your neck

• Shower after return to station/home
• Include cancer screening as part of annual

physicals

• Consider “No Smoking” policy for all members

Surviving in the Political Jungle

• What measures are you taking to engage

with your local political leadership ?

• … With your community leadership?
• What are you doing to maintain or improve

your community image?

Addressing the Global media

• Developing and maintaining a good

community image

• Reputation management
• Control of social media
• What to do with bad actors

Breaking down the confusion

• ver social media
• Social media can be a powerful tool for

community engagement

• Used wrong, social media can be a means

for poor community relations

• Your department should develop and enforce

a social media policy

Liability and the Fire Service

• Lawsuits are common in today’s society
• The best prevention is to have standard
• perating practices and policies
• And, live by them!
• When in doubt, do the right thing
• Ethical issues must be promptly addressed

Confront each challenge Head-on Else be destroyed by them.

View each challenge as an opportunity

Contact

Email: DLewis533@comcast.net Cell: 443-694-9113

Thank you !!!