SETTING RECRUITMENT STANDARDS
VOLUNTERS CORNER
REGARDLESS OF whether your department is career, paid-on-call, or volunteer, you will pay dearly for hiring mistakes. Selecting the wrong individual for the job costs an organization—in time, money, and training. Select a volunteer or on-call firelighter with as much care as you would a career firefighter.
Many volunteer departments are faced with a shortage of recruits. Therefore, they have a tendency to recruit only to maintain numbers. The rationale is that a “warm body” is better than no body at all. However, this is not a good way to build a stable, harmonious, quality organization.
In spite of the seeming shortage of qualified individuals available to staff volunteer and on-call fire departments, you must reevaluate and maintain standards to continue to provide quality service to the community. You cannot afford to take people who are unqualified or unlikely to succeed. Remember, discharging an individual, whether paid or not, is not always easy; consider, too, the expense of training those unlikely to succeed as firefighters. Having a sound procedure in place will help identify people who will make good firefighters and who are likely to remain with the department for a long time.
When selecting personnel, keep in mind that today’s firefighters are not the same as those of 20, 10, or even five years ago. Today’s recruits need more extensive training and must be willing to make a greater time commitment. Skills, knowledge, and abilities have changed with the advent of modem technology and the addition of services such as first responders, emergency medical service, and hazardous materials.
Besides the changes in firefighter responsibilities, the makeup of communities, and subsequently the labor force, has changed, as have the public’s expectations. Many people do not work in the community in which they live; your hiring practices must reflect changing demographics. Volunteer and on-call departments also must be aware of the political and legal issues involved with selection, such as nepotism and equal employment opportunity. Random selection and the “good old boy” network may not generate enough recruits and also may be illegal. Extending this concern further is the need to address minority and female recruitment in the fire service.
Generally, there are very few female or minority members in the volunteer or on-call services. Certainly, actively recruiting these groups can increase the labor pool. We should actively recruit all qualified candidates. We also must comply with all the legal aspects of recruitment. Standards may and should be changed to more adequately reflect the changing duties and job skills required of a firefighter. But standards ar£ just that —standards —and as such should never be reduced.
LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD FIREFIGHTERS
One quality to look for in new recruits is potential leadership capability, Today’s recruits are tomorrow’s leaders. You must develop methods to select individuals who can lead the fire service well into the future. You are not just selecting firefighters but future officers and maybe future chiefs. You should identify candidates’ leadership and management skills early on in the selection process.
Because of changing job requirements and public demands, potential recruits need better “people” and communication skills. Marketing and public relations can be very important to an organization. The fire service relies on public support, and the public must perceive the fire department as a profess sional organization that can effectively, provide service to the community.
The quality of department personnel” greatly affects your ability to recruit successfully. Personnel problems do not create a favorable atmosphere. If there is turmoil in an organization, or personnel act unprofessionally, qualified candidates will be reluctant to join. Would you want to join an organization with a bad reputation? On the other hand, good organizations have fewer problems recruiting.
Establish criteria and set entrance requirements. For example, group hirings are generally cost effective. If you hire a group, you can lecture, test, and train all candidates at once. Before hiring, begin with an organizational meeting. Explain the operation of your department and what you require of individuals. Be honest; let the candidates know that the fire service is not for everyone, and that membership requires a serious time commitment. This is the best opportunity to sift out nonserious candidates.
SETTING RECRUITMENT STANDARDS
After the meeting and after all the applications are completed, have a selection process in place that includes oral examinations, interviews, and some type of agility test. These tests are designed to meet the needs of the department and the job requirements. You should match skills testing to the job. Agility tests are controversial, so consider the legal issues. (Look at the most recent court decisions on what is a reasonable agility test to determine what you can and cannot expect of candidates.) Once individuals pass these tests, conduct background checks and investigations that include driving records and criminal checks. Also, check work, school, and personal references. While this information is not always helpful, it may reveal an undesirable quality of a candidate that will make you think twice about hiring him.
Next administer an extensive physical examination to recruits. This uncovers physical problems that might prohibit someone from properly discharging the duties of a firefighter. At this time you also can administer a drug, screen, which is perfectly legal to administer during the preemployment’ physical, the courts say. Do not take atx, unnecessary risk by hiring someone who tests positive for drugs.
If you are lucky, the candidate already^ may have some training. If not, you must provide it. Consider this part of the selection process and make sure the, candidate is aware that satisfactory completion of all recruit training is a necessary requirement.
The last part of the selection process is the probationary period. I recommend a minimum of 12 to 18 months probation to adequately assess the individual. During the probationary period,’ conduct periodic tests and evaluations. Document them and keep them on file. Give individuals adequate opportunity to improve, and provide all assistance necessary. If there is any indication of future problems, use the probationary’ period as an opportunity to discharge the individual. Dismissal becomes much more difficult later on.
The fire service is faced with a great challenge: recruiting adequate numbers of personnel to provide ever-expanding services. We must resist the temptation to allow just anyone to become a member. We must maintain our standards and make sure that these standards are applicable to the job and not arbitrary. Once we are sure that the requirements are justifiable, we must stand by them to provide the professional service the community expects.
