December 2012
The Recruitment Retention Network meeting was held on Friday December 7, 2012 at the Ashland Volunteer Fire Department in Ashland, Virginia. The guest speaker was Dena Reynolds, Public Relations Consultant. Dena provided critical information on how to create a positive image and public relations through a variety of strategies.
Dena provided valuable information when marketing your agency message –
Keep a list of 10 key facts about your agency by the agency telephone and computer – this will be a reminder to provide important agency info to callers.
When providing information about your agency always include data on what impact your agency has on the community - by providing:
Repeat your core information 3 times in a message. Many people need to hear something 3 times before they remember!
Invest in a relationship with one of the local reporters – contact them each time you have some agency news (public awareness classes – CPR, child safety seat checks. Also , fall festivals, open house). They will remember you and contact you when they needed a filler news story.
Agency staff must be knowledgeable about the next event whether it is a toy drive, messages about Christmas safety. Communicate with agency staff so they will know the current message.
Advertisement tips
Pick specific target audience – teens, parents, retired – figure out how/what is the best way to reach the group?Ads at gym, daycare, grocery stores, restaurants – partner with local businesses to get word out about your organization!
Ads on Facebook are inexpensive
www.denareynolds.org/Public_Relations_Consultant/Home.html
February 2013
The network met on February 22, 2013 at the Virginia Fire Chief's Association Mid-Atlantic Expo and Symposium in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The main speaker was Stephen Boensel, Program Coordinator-Volunteer Workforce Solutions. The Volunteer Workforce Solutions is a recruitment and retention program for fire department, that is being offered through the International Fire Chief's Association and the Virginia Fire Chiefs Association.
http://www.vfca.info/documents/VWS%20Informational%20Flyer.pdf
The program is being funded by a SAFER grant.
The data is inconclusive to determine if the traditional method of recruitment is any different than using the GIS method.
The personal "ask" is the key to recruitment.
GIS method helps to target the right places and types of people to "ask."
The top three (3) primary recruitment occupations are: students, healthcare, and military.
Top three (3) motivators individuals indicated that influenced their decision to volunteer with FD: (17%) service to community, (14%) EMS Response, and (12%) Fire Response. It is interesting to note that more people were motivated and lured to the FD to run EMS calls than Fire calls.
Why do individuals leave the Fire Service: lack of leadership, poor fit with others (cliques), and political issues within departments.
Phase II will begin shortly and run until Oct. 2014. They are seeking 20 departments to participate in the study using the GIS method. Some Phase I departments will continue into Phase II. Leadership workshops will be offered during the next 18 months.
April 2013
Recruitment and Retention Network met again on April 12, 2013 at the Dumfries Triangle Rescue Squad in northern Virginia. Carol Morrow, OEMS Technical Assistance Coordinator provided the group with an overview of the Standards of Excellence (SoE) program.
Carol explained that the Standards of Excellence (SoE) program is an EMS agency self-evaluation program for struggling agencies to identify areas in which they may need assistance and can improve in the following areas:
Areas of Excellence
The SoE program has seven Areas of Excellence, or areas of EMS system "concentration" to be reviewed:
There is a self-evaluation survey for each of these areas.
After the self-evaluation survey is completed, the agency (if they chose) may submit their surveys to OEMS for review and identification of resources and information that will assist them to improve their areas of weakness.. Hands- on assistance is also be available (if requested) during this improvement process, from the SoE Technical Assistance Teams, the regional EMS councils and subject matter experts
A lively discussion took place on the value of the program and several suggestions were made for improvement:
Provide a scoring mechanism for each survey – allowing the agencies to see how they stack-up
Provide some indication of which items are the most important.
These suggestions will be taken to the SoE sub-committee of the EMS Workfforce Development Committee for consideration. Members of the R&R Network were invited to participate in the sub-committee and/or provide further suggestions or comments by e-mail.
Carol also gave information on the Recruitment and Retention class that was taught in the Central Shenandoah Regional Council area in March.
The March 2013 class expressed a general concern that the in-fighting and drama in their agencies was hurting retention as well as not making their agency a very welcoming place to join. Options for improving the atmosphere at their agency was discussed.
In addition to the information offered during the workshop – suggestions were given to the EMS council director – Chad Blosser to enhance EMS recruitment in the area:
A: Produce a regional template for flyers, posters, media announcements to recruit EMS providers
B: Produce a recruitment video that "tells the story" of EMS in the area
C: Produce a standard Power Point presentation for use by all agencies
2013 Tentative Meeting Schedule
Meeting schedule for VA R&R Network Meeting is as follows:
| April | Prince William County |
| June 21 | Forest View Volunteer Rescue Squad |
| August | In conjunction with the Virginia Volunteer Fire Fighters Association Annual Convention |
| October | Central Shenandoah EMS Council |
| December | Hanover County |