A VOLUNTEER INCENTIVE PROGRAM
VOLUNTEERS CORNER
Many volunteer organizations in the United States are experiencing a reduction in personnel. For many reasons it is increasingly difficult to attract and retain dedicated members. To improve our membership rate, the Ponderosa Volunteer Fire Department in Harris County, Texas adopted several methods of enhancing our visibility in the community, including the development of the Ponderosa Volunteer Incentive Program (P-VIP).
A PLAN FOR EVERYONE
The objective of any incentive program is to improve an individual’s dedication and commitment. We examined several programs, including retirement, longevity, and participation rate rewards, with regard to their suitability for our members and system. Retirement didn’t interest the younger members —they weren’t thinking about .30 years from now— and long-term members basically are with us “no matter what.” Today’s people want immediate returns on their commitment. Longevity programs addressed the short-term benefits to a degree, but we still needed a reward system that would be equitable to the high, medium, and low performers. The volunteer service has a mix of performers, and we need them all. We finally settled on the PV1P, a combination program that addresses longevity and performance.
The objective of the P-VIP is to encourage participation in training, meetings, and emergency responses, enabling the PVFI) to provide the public with more experienced, dedicated, and professionally trained firefighters.
Our membership played an active role in developing the P-VIP program. We established goals and parameters to make the program attractive and affordable. We developed a computer spreadsheet to track five years of participation data for current and past members in terms of attendance at meetings and fires and training hours. When we saw how many people had passed through our organization, we wondered: What if we could keep them longer?
The spreadsheet design demonstrated several scenarios to indicate the benefits and costs. We decided that first-year start-up costs would be S 10,000. supplied from the operating budget. In subsequent years, SB,500 would be allotted; this is in addition to income received from an annual membership fee of S50, which is mandatory for P-VIP participants.
The membership fee is deducted front the annual incentive checks, which are distributed at the annual PVFD Christmas party. New members must pay the fee no later than March 31 of the following year. Candidates who join front April through September are charged on a sliding scale but still qualify for benefits. It is conceivable that a top-performing firefighter candidate can meet the requirements of the P-VIP early in his career.
ACCUMULATING BONUS POINTS
Benefits are based on a point system that awards one point for each qualified emergency response, each regularly scheduled training meeting, and each hour of training recorded by the training officer. Excused absences from sessions do not apply, once again stressing performance. The value of each point is determined by the P-VIP committee.
We set a minimum basic performance requirement of 150 points last year. It was increased to 200 points for 1991. Members who do not meet the minimum forfeit the credits earned.
The committee arrives at the minimum performance requirement using the following criteria: the median performance levels of members for the previous year, the number of points earned by the entire department, and the dollars (budget allotment and membership fees) available. Rosters showing the number of points earned by members are posted monthly.
The incentive plan also includes a longevity bonus of S200 for every’ three years of acceptable participation. A S300 bonus is given to those who already have accumulated 10 or more years with the department. Additional bonuses are given to members for donating blood, taking CPR courses, and participating in publiceducation projects.
Members may nominate special projects for awards. Each project is evaluated and aw arded points according to its value to the department or the community and the amount of available funds. For example, the base team that coordinated an SCBA replacement project was awarded P-VIP bonus points.
Reimbursement also is offered for one-half of the subscription costs of approved magazines, fees of successfully completed EMS courses, and costs associated with the State of Texas Volunteer Certification Program.
