Volunteer Recruitment & Retention Plan COMMENTS FROM EARLYSVILLE

Transcription

1 Volunteer Recruitment & Retention Plan COMMENTS FROM EARLYSVILLE County of Albemarle Department of Fire and Rescue Suggested Revisions Proposed by the membership of the Earlysville Volunteer Fire Company

2 April, 2004 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3. Mission Statement 4. Introduction 5. Recruitment & Retention Committee 6. Plan Review 7. Data Collection and Analysis 8. Relationship Building 9. Networking 10. Volunteer Application and Orientation Process 11. Volunteer Recognition 12. Marketing and Advertising 13. Funding and Support

3 MISSION STATEMENT Deleted: Page 2 of 3 The Recruitment and Retention Committee coordinates all system-wide fire, rescue, and emergency medical services (EMS) recruitment and retention and public relations initiatives. Through regular meetings, programs will be implemented to assure recruitment and retention programs meet the needs of our fire, rescue, and EMS volunteers.

4 INTRODUCTION Deleted: Page 3 of 4 The fire, rescue, and EMS volunteers of Albemarle County provide great benefits to the community. In turn, being a volunteer is rewarding for those involved. Recruiting and retaining volunteers can be a challenge; however, in order for volunteers to continue to be an integral part of the emergency services system in Albemarle County, the volunteer experience must be efficient, organized, and positive for everyone involved. This document outlines general concepts and strategies to promote the future success of volunteer involvement in the emergency services system of Albemarle County. The goal of the Volunteer Recruitment and Retention Plan is to develop a comprehensive blueprint to outline a recruitment plan to assist independent and autonomous companies with attracting volunteers, to design a more dynamic process of managing the total volunteer program, and to increase retention of existing volunteers. The plan is integrally coupled with an aggressive training program. Deleted: stations The objectives of the recruitment and retention plan are: Help recruit more volunteers for each individual company; Ensure that new volunteers feel welcome and have a positive experience with their individual volunteer company; Ensure that all volunteers find value in donating their time and energy to their respective company; and To increase community awareness and support. The Department of Fire and Rescue (or department) refers to the career component of the combination volunteer-career emergency services system, which also includes the volunteers companies, agencies, and organizations that provide fire, rescue, or emergency services to Albemarle County. Deleted: Streamline the volunteer application, recruitment, and orientation process; Deleted: the Albemarle County Department of Fire and Rescue and Deleted: respective station Deleted: department Deleted: the stations

5 Deleted: RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION COMMITTEE The Recruitment and Retention Committee, a committee of the Albemarle County Fire and Rescue Advisory Board, plays a vital role in the volunteer recruitment and retention process. The Committee includes the volunteer membership coordinator/chair/director, recruitment and retention coordinator, or similar person from each company. The committee is open to anyone who has the desire to participate in the recruitment and retention of volunteers. The committee meets monthly or as needed. Deleted: Page 4 of 5 Deleted: station

6 PLAN REVIEW Deleted: Page 5 of 6 This plan will be reviewed and updated annually by the Recruitment and Retention Committee and the Albemarle County Fire and Rescue Advisory Board (ACFRAB). The review will occur in May of each calendar year. Subsequent changes and revisions will be published and made available to interested parties.

7 DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Deleted: Page 6 of 7 In order to determine the effectiveness of recruitment and retention efforts, we must be able to measure and quantify those efforts. Presently, we are not able to determine the number of volunteers who join our system; we do not know how many leave or why. We must move to a data-driven method of tracking volunteers to make sound decisions regarding recruitment and retention; otherwise, we will continue to be unable to measure the effectiveness of our recruitment and retention strategies. To accomplish this task, we should utilize FireRMS (SunPro) for personnel tracking and data collection in addition to fire and EMS incident reporting. Utilizing FireEMS for personnel data management should enable us to: 1. Maintain a central database of volunteers; 2. Maintain up-to-date records of volunteers in the Circuit Court Clerk s Office; 3. Refer potential recruits to individual companies; 4. Evaluate the effectiveness of advertising and marketing campaigns; 5. Ensure that new volunteers are offered training program; 6. Coordinate a wide-ranging photo identification program; 7. Send correspondence, training, announcements, reminders, and newsletters directly to the volunteer companies; 8. Determine training needs based on the individual company s by-law and/or procedures requirements. Deleted: <#>Determine individual station needs; Follow up more effectively with Formatted: Bullets and Numbering Deleted: <#>Determine a prospective volunteer s needs and expectations; Deleted: involved in the orientation Deleted: personnel Deleted: on incoming recruits, and provide recruits with ample training opportunities; Deleted: <#>Provide for the timely issuance of personal protective equipment, uniforms, and gear; and <#>Conduct exit interviews to determine why volunteers leave the system.

8 Deleted: RELATIONSHIP BUILDING AND COMMUNICATIONS Deleted: Page 7 of 8 Relationship building is the single most important communications and customer service tool available. To be an effective combination volunteer-career emergency services system, we must commit to building the trust necessary to work together. To facilitate positive working relationships: 1. A website should be established and utilized to promote good communications and awareness of events, opportunities, and efforts. The website should include discussion forums, documents, updates, etc; 2. Quarterly newsletters should be published to include company news, upcoming events, training opportunities, department updates, etc. The newsletter should be made available in print and online; 3. Annual recruitment and retention surveys/swot analyses should be prepared and distributed to provide all personnel with an opportunity to provide input; 4. Monthly calendars of events should be compiled based on information provided by companies and made available online; 5. A retreat should be planned each year for volunteer leaders and county personnel to address strategic planning, contentious topics and issues, and to build working relationships; and Deleted: station Deleted: stations Deleted: <#>Attendance by county fire and rescue personnel at station events, functions, drills, duty, etc. should be facilitated to encourage more open and direct communications; Formatted: Bullets and Numbering Deleted: <#>Issue alphanumeric pagers or other technology medium tools to all volunteers in order to receive departmentwide announcements, meetings, events, incidents, etc.

9 NETWORKING Deleted: Deleted: Page 8 of 9 Networking is one of the most successful ways o project a positive image to the community. It is also an effective way to spark the interest of new recruits. Options for networking include: 1. Community Events coordinate attendance at community events, activities, meetings, and fairs in coordination with other organizations including the Jefferson Country Fire and Rescue Association (JCFRA); 2. Established Opportunities utilize Fire Prevention Week, EMS Week, and other established opportunities to coordinate recruitment efforts coupled with other responsibilities; 3. Community Contacts establish community contacts and include them when sending s, newsletters, invitations, etc.; 4. Vocational/Technical Education Program develop and offer a cooperative EMT and Firefighter Training Program at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Technical Education Center (CATEC) for high school students, and encourage potential volunteers to visit each volunteer company; 5. Recruit Teams provide specialized sales and recruit training to select volunteers; 6. Word-of-Mouth Recruiting existing volunteers are the best source for recruiting new volunteers. Educate current volunteers on the importance and effectiveness of word-of-mouth recruiting; 7. Speakers Bureau A speaker s bureau is an effective way to communicate directly with community organizations. The bureau can serve as a way to gather support and interest with the individual volunteer companies Deleted: <#>Recruitment Incentive Program current volunteers should be rewarded for recruiting volunteers. For every new recruit that completes the membership process, the recruiter should receive a reward; and Formatted: Bullets and Numbering Deleted: Department of Fire and Rescue

10 Deleted: Deleted: Page 9 of 10 VOLUNTEER APPLICATION AND ORIENTATION PROCESS We must do our part to keep volunteers interested and involved with the Department of Fire and Rescue due to the tremendous time, effort, and expense required in the recruitment and training of volunteers. Each volunteer should find value in donating their time and energy to the department. If a prospective volunteer experiences unnecessary problems in the application and orientation process, he or she may become disinterested or frustrated. To prevent this from happening, we should employ some of the same principles that businesses use in providing good customer service. To ensure that each volunteer has a rewarding experience, we should do the following: <#>Establish and maintain a recruitment hotline for marketing and promote the number through internal and external recruitment tactics; <#>Consolidate all individual station applications into a standard countywide volunteer service application; <#>Establish a standard countywide volunteer orientation process to be held twice monthly; <#>Provide new volunteers with a standard volunteer welcome packet; and <#>Establish a station membership process and volunteer job descriptions to simplify the volunteer application process for prospective recruits.

11 Deleted: Deleted: Page 10 of 11 VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION Volunteers need to be shown how important their efforts are to the emergency services system. Volunteers can be recognized through a variety of means: 1. Recognize a volunteer s training accomplishments with a formal graduation ceremony and program following each academy; 2. Continue to provide volunteers with Hepatitis-B vaccinations; 3. Continue to provide free use of local recreational facilities; 4. Continue tax incentives including the $250 reduction on personal property taxes and the free vehicle decal; 5. Provide influenza vaccinations for volunteers; 6. Recognize volunteers and their families with an annual appreciation day and picnic; 7. Celebrate milestones, achievements, and accomplishments at an annual recognition banquet; Deleted: <#>Celebrate birthdays, special events, and service anniversaries with volunteer personnel; Formatted: Bullets and Numbering Deleted: <#>Develop an awards program for volunteer personnel; and <#>Provide volunteers with a reimbursement/stipend per call.

12 MARKETING AND ADVERTISING Deleted: Page 11 of 12 An informed public is key to a successful volunteer-based emergency services system. Positive public marketing and advertising boosts recruitment, retention, financial support, and reduces system abuse. Marketing is the bridge between potential volunteers and the department; however, advertising and marketing will fall short if it is not coupled with the understanding that aggressive recruitment must accompany it. Marketing and advertising should include: 1. Radio radio advertising campaigns should run continually; 2. Newspaper Advertising newspaper advertising should be utilized to highlight special events, training opportunities, and volunteer opportunities; 3. Brochures and Pamphlets recruitment brochures and pamphlets should be prepared, produced, and provided for use throughout the region, using images of actual volunteers; 4. Newspaper Inserts a special newspaper insert should be completed annually to highlight the work of each volunteer company; 5. Television one television campaign should be conducted annually, using actual volunteers; Deleted: <#>Water and Sewer Bill Inserts 0 recruitment inserts should be included with water and sewer bills at least twice annually; Formatted: Bullets and Numbering Deleted: <#>Flyers recruitment flyers should be provided for stations, events, and functions; Deleted: <#>Regional Recruitment Campaigns the department should participate in regional and state recruitment campaigns; Deleted: the department Deleted: <#>Property Transfer Records new residents should receive a new resident awareness package based on property transfer records; and <#>Professional Advertising Firm a professional advertising firm should be utilized to conduct a multi-facet marketing campaign every year.

13 Deleted: Page 12 of 13 FUNDING AND SUPPORT Volunteers have a certain amount of time he or she can commit to volunteer efforts. This time should be used to focus on training and emergency response. Volunteers can allow the county to support them in many facets: <#>The county should provide leadership and management training for volunteers; <#>Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) funding should be provided for all volunteer stations; <#>Basic operational funding should be provided because financial support for volunteer stations has not kept pace with the cost of doing business; and <#>The county should provide standard personal protective equipment gear and uniforms for all personnel. Deleted:

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