By Zachary Brown
One of the biggest issues combating the modern-day fire service is that of retention, with the decreasing numbers of departments across the nation that are offering “old-school” pension plans that tend to lock an employee in for 25 to 30 years. Many departments are going to a more modern 401(k) type retirement that models private industry retirement plans. However, like private industry, many departments are now finding that unless they offer top dollar, employees may only stay for a brief period before moving on in search of better pay or job satisfaction. This on top of many other complex issues has created a retention nightmare for many departments.
Whereas 20 years ago, a person may have to take dozens of civil service tests and wait for several years before getting the opportunity to become a firefighter, today a person in search of a career as a firefighter has a much easier time, often not having to wait much at all before getting an opportunity. The difference is that before, fire department tests often had thousands of applicants for a few spots; today, many departments are short staffed and can only find a few applicants.
So, how can departments fight retention and keep their employees onboard for more than a few years before they leave for greener pastures? Many people would say that it’s simply a pay problem: Pay firefighters better and they’ll stay. However, I strongly believe that there cannot be only one answer to the question. Here I will lay out several things that I believe can have a positive influence on retention within an organization. However, it must be noted that the powers that be must be willing to put changes in place to achieve a change. While these ideas are not all- inclusive, they are a good blueprint to work from.
First and foremost, a department must take care of its employees. While this seems self-explanatory, I think far too often departments have become lost in their mission statements. In the race to become all-hazards departments, they have unfortunately left the firefighters behind. They drag their employees through the muck and mire to ensure that the citizen gets a fire truck to their door for any “emergency” within a certain amount of time but have never stopped to ask the firefighters if they were okay or needed a break. It’s easy to forget that firefighters are people too, and we need to be taken care of just like any other employee. When firefighters feel that they no longer matter to their chain of command, retention suffers.
Perhaps it’s giving personnel an hour out of service to work out every shift or working with dispatch to ensure they aren’t sent to calls that don’t need a fire truck. It could be offering tuition assistance or investing in employees and giving them opportunities to attend conferences or training classes. Taking care of employees can take many forms; when firefighters feel valued, they will extend that into their work.
Artificial intelligence and technology company Workforce Logiq has come up with algorithms to measure retention. It has determined that among the majority of high-retention employers, company resilience and strong leadership were the strongest retention factors. I think that we could all agree that firefighters are some of the most resilient people around. There are not too many fire departments that capitulate or fail to run. Somehow, we always manage to scrape by, sometimes to our own detriment.
I think we could all agree as well that many fire service leaders are lacking in leadership skills, are weak leaders, or simply fail to lead so they don’t rock any boats and potentially lose their job or get demoted. Leadership, especially that of a fire department, requires people who can make the hard decisions when they are needed. They also must be willing to put their neck out for their people they serve. Yes, a true leader is a servant leader.
Strong leaders create a strong culture for their department and model that culture even when it’s hard or uncomfortable. They hold people accountable and are willing to be held accountable by those beneath them. Leadership is never easy, yet all too often in the fire service we see people who are promoted into leadership positions to escape hard jobs. Firefighters crave to be led by strong leaders; when it happens correctly, it bolsters retention.
Location Labs, a software and technology company based in California, boasts a 95% retention rate and is known as a company that keeps its employees for years and years. Its president, Joel Grossman, has talked many times about what he believes are key in his company’s ability to hire quality employees and retain them for a long time. First and foremost, he believes retention is directly linked to recruitment. If a company can recruit the right people who have the right mindset, they will be more likely to stay. He states that his company is not the highest paying, but he recruits people who are coming for the right reasons, not just for the highest paying job. He states that he also hires for potential, not for position fit. I feel that far too often, fire departments hire to fill seats, when, according to Grossman, perhaps they should hire based on who will serve the department the best in the long run, even if they don’t seem like the “ideal” candidates up front.
Grossman also directly ties referral rates to retention. At Location Labs, 40% of the workforce came in from referrals. If an employee wants to spread the love of a great company, it bodes well in terms of employees staying a long time and enjoying where they work. One could say that referral rates are predictive of retention–or lack thereof. When potential new hires come to interview with Location Labs, Grossman believes that the company culture needs to be communicated up front. Don’t attempt to lure new hires in on things that don’t represent your company, but rather embrace the culture of your company and be up front with it. If the culture isn’t one that you as a department head or company CEO is proud of, then be a strong leader and change it.
Solicit differing opinions. At Location Labs, prior to decisions being made, team leaders communicate all the facts via several channels, then solicit opposing viewpoints and ways of thinking. Grossman believes that soliciting opposing opinions and giving employees a say in decisions show that the company cares about every viewpoint and gives employees buy in. This creates a workplace where people want to work because they feel heard. However, once a decision is made, employees are expected to fall in line and go with that decision.
Grossman also believes that employees should have the means to have their voices heard, even up to the CEO. No one employee is too low or doesn’t have the right to be heard. Giving employees ways to reach out to their supervisor, up the chain of command even to the department head or CEO, says that you value the employees and want to hear what they have to say instead of shutting them in a box and not allowing people to talk. In the fire service, firefighters far too often feel that they’re in the dark, that they don’t know the course the command staff has plotted or how they plan to get there. Plus, any time they try to ask questions they are told to be quiet and just do their job. Retention is directly linked to how people feel; if they feel undervalued and unheard, then retention suffers.
The job must feel like a community. Grossman states that when employees are united personally and about the work, they have a better knowledge and understanding that their contributions matter. People need to feel rewarded and valued, and there’s no better way to foster that than transforming employees into family. The fire service is widely known as having a family type atmosphere, as we spend a great deal of time together and often hold each other’s lives in our hands. However, that feeling of community is becoming lost in many ways. Community and family can look many ways, but the fire service needs desperately to become the family it once was–whether that means having crew outings, department family days, or awards ceremonies that family can attend. Bringing and uniting people and allowing them to include their own families help to create that workplace community. People desperately want to be a part of a tribe. Thus, when they find that tribe, that gives them that sense of belonging; it bolsters retention.
Retention cannot be tied to one issue, nor is higher pay always the answer. However, if we bring the whole picture together, departments could start the war on retention. The war cannot be won overnight. However, with strong leaders in place who are willing to make the hard choices, the battle can be won.
BIO:
Zachary Brown is a captain and 13-year veteran of DeKalb County (GA) Fire Rescue. A 16-year veteran of the fire service, he is a paramedic and has been involved in his department’s technical rescue and dive teams as well as the Georgia Search and Rescue team.
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