BY RICHARD MARINUCCI
If everyone is a good employee, why do you have problems?
The first day of a firefighter’s career is a great day. There is tremendous excitement as the firefighter starts what promises to be a long and prosperous career. The individual has gone through some sort of selection process that probably tested his skills relevant to the position and hopefully had a background check completed. The candidate was vetted by some system that indicated that he would be successful as a firefighter. The brand new firefighter wants to do a great job and make good on the commitment to be an outstanding employee for the duration of his career.
So what happens to a small minority of hires who eventually cause more than their fair share of problems? As a candidate, he may have told an interview panel that he is passionate, a team player, and willing to do whatever is necessary to be successful. Aside from a day-one deviant, who most likely won’t make it through a probationary period, the rookie firefighter not only will demonstrate progress in firefighting and EMS skills but will also comply with all the directions. He will gladly do whatever menial tasks are given, whether by senior firefighters or officers. If the probationary process is handled properly and the rookie gets off probation, it generally means that the organization has a good employee.
Something happens to some employees between that initial probationary period and retirement. A relatively small percentage will create more problems than would have been expected based on the hiring and probationary process. They were good people who somehow changed their approach to the job and are not working as the organization has expected. Their actions are not severe enough to warrant dismissal but create enough turmoil and extra work for others that it takes away from the ability of the organization to excel at its core mission.
Almost all organizations have individuals who take the use of sick leave to the limit. Consider the firefighter who has been healthy for a long time and suddenly starts to use sick time to the point where it is considered abuse. What changed in the firefighter’s mindset and ethics that now lets him rationalize that he has the “right” to use as much sick time as he likes and not be questioned?
Fire departments do their best to hire people with not only the skill set to be a firefighter but also strong moral fiber. Somewhere the good work ethic has left, and the individual gets an “I deserve it” attitude that is not good for the department or the fire service in general. What was once unthinkable by the employee has now become an entitlement.
If you asked a candidate when he thought it was okay to use sick leave, you would get the simple answer, “When you are sick!” During probation, employees don’t dare take time off because they probably haven’t earned any sick time, so they won’t get paid, and they also like their job and are very enthusiastic. They don’t want to miss anything. Yet, some employees, albeit only a few, change, and not for the better.
Sick time abuse is not the only problem created by some employees. It would be reasonable to suspect that if individuals are taking liberties with sick leave, they are probably stretching the limits of other rules and regulations. Although only sick time abuse is mentioned here, there are many more examples of problems created by employees who started off as the next shining stars of the department. Regardless of the problem, you can take action to minimize the chances that a good employee will create problems that would have seemed unthinkable earlier in the individual’s career.
Hiring and Probation
To have a good organization, regardless of your business, you need good people. Excellence cannot happen without people who have ability and strive to be great. Bad people rarely turn out good. Therefore, you need a good hiring process to increase the likelihood that you will select an individual with the right characteristics for your organization. If you don’t, you have little chance of ending up with a quality employee. You also need to have a sound probationary process. Although skill development and learning are important parts of the probationary period, learning the intangibles is even more important. Employees don’t improve their attitude and effort after they successfully complete their probation. Ideally, you want the good habits to continue throughout the career.
Training
It is hard to believe that the good people we hire (see above) would intentionally do something that would cause a problem that could get them in trouble. On some occasions, people make bad decisions because the organization did not provide adequate training to the person. Provide quality training to all of your employees throughout their career. Do things to maintain their skills, and offer programs to “stretch” their talents. Don’t forget to provide training in the “soft” skills such as human resource management, interpersonal dynamics, and leadership, as mistakes in these areas lead to problems.
Enforce Rules, Regulations, Policies, and Procedures
The rules and policies are the playbooks for your organization. Everyone needs to be on the same page. Employees need to know the culture of the organization as established by the rules, regulations, policies, and procedures. Not everyone thinks the same way. Given the freedom to make some decisions, they most likely will. Unfortunately, it may not be the decision that the department wants. Policies help to create the consistency needed in decision making. As you probably know, without enforcement, policies are ineffective.
Fair/Consistent Discipline
Mistakes will be made. Almost all are not malicious. Regardless, discipline must be used to correct behavior so that it is in accordance with the culture, practice, and policy of the organization. The discipline must be fair to those involved, but this does not necessarily mean that it will be equal. Extenuating circumstances come into play. The overall goal is constructive improvement for the individual and organization.
Good Leadership/Supervision
The same principles of new hires should apply to promotions. The right people, those with leadership skills and the ability to supervise, must be promoted. They need to be trained and educated. They must understand their role and accept the job responsibilities.
Minimize DownTime
My dad used to keep me busy as a child, as he knew I was less likely to get in trouble if I was busy. Most people in the fire service will tell you that the busy companies cause the fewest problems—with exceptions, of course. In today’s fire service, there is plenty for all to do. Added responsibilities have increased the workload. The need to be really good at the job should motivate all to train at every opportunity. Officers at all levels must keep everyone engaged in the department.
Keep the job fun
This is a great job. Keeping it fun should not be a problem. A challenge to all would be to make sure that every employee is just as excited about the job the day he retires as on the very first day. By fun, I mean enjoyable, which would translate into keeping the department a good place to work. Meaningful and challenging work will keep most employees motivated. Employees that are content perform better.
Remember the Mission
Sometimes firefighters forget that they are hired to take care of the problems of the citizens. When people are having a bad day and have nowhere else to turn, they dial 911. They are having an emergency, even though it might not seem so to us. The fire service has the responsibility to be the best it can on every call. Problems detract from the mission.
No new hire expects to become a problem for the fire department. Although it may appear that some are destined to create issues, the overwhelming majority want to do right. The organization accepts some of the responsibility when something goes wrong. There are things that can be done to minimize the chances of problems developing.
● RICHARD MARINUCCI has been chief in Northville Township, Michigan, since January 2009. Previously, he was chief in Farmington Hills (1984–2008), president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, and chief operating officer of the U.S. Fire Administration. He has bachelor degrees from Western Michigan University, Madonna University, and the University of Cincinnati.
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