Skip to content

Archives for toolkits

See all posts in the network tagged with toolkits

I do solemnly swear

I had the pleasure of sharing my "Xbox Live" conversation with virtually the entire membership of the Brighton Fire District a few months ago and they revealed that they've never had a formal swearing-in ceremony for new members. No oath, no standing up in front of the group and raising your right hand. Nothing.

I told them how I've always thought that to demonstrate real brotherhood and to truly welcome a new member: have the new recruit stand up in front of the membership at their first meeting, raise their right hand and state their name — immediately after which the rest of the existing membership stands up, raises their right hand, states their names — and together the membership and their newest member(s) recite the oath of membership together. And in doing so, they rededicate themselves to the department and the people they serve.

What an awesome sight that would be. What an impression that could make on your new member.

Once in a while — an idea sticks.

My good friend, Brighton Capt. Rick Zicari just shared this photo of their entire membership reciting their new oath of membership for the very first time, together. And to top it all off, they had their Senator Joe Robach administer the oath. Truly a hallmark moment in the history of their great fire department. They get it.

Once in a while you have a chance to make a small impact. I'm confident that this was just as proud of a moment for them, as seeing this photo is for me. Thanks so much for sharing, Rick!

Do members of your volunteer fire department take an oath of membership? Do you recite the oath as individuals, or as a group as shown here? Send me a pic of your swearing in ceremony to tiger@tigerschmittendorf.com and I'll post it here.

Let me know how I can be of assistance to you and your fire department.

Stay safe. Train often.

— TigerSchmittendorf.com|FireRECRUITER.com
Author: "From the Xbox to the Box Alarm — Understanding, Motivating, Leading and Training Today's Firefighters"

View the photo: http://tigerschmittendorf.com/files/2013/10/Brighton-Swearing-in-Ceremony.jpg

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on October 14, 2013 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Clearinghouse, Command & Leadership, Public Relations, Public Relations, R&R Toolkits, R&R Toolkits, Training & Development • Tagged: Clearinghouse, fire department, fire service, firefighter, Generation Y, leadership, motivation, Public Relations, recruitment, retention, Tiger Schmittendorf, Training, volunteer, volunteering

Video Killed the Recruitment Star

In his February 17th Morning Lineup features (and updated on February 20th), FireGeezer.com's Bill Schumm discusses and demonstrates the effectiveness, or ineffectiveness, of using video as a recruitment tool. While his perspective on why we face the recruitment and retention challenges we do are certainly part of puzzle, the value of his commentary lies in the subliminal call to action that we need to be more creative in creating the solutions.

Certainly, a recruitment video with appropriate visuals and a good, solid message can be effective, but FireGeezer proposes that we need to do something about our culture, our society, to inspire and perpetuate volunteerism. I couldn't agree more.

As I've said before:

“Simply put, it’s my belief that the survival and success of the volunteer fire service relies on our ability to create more opportunities – for more people – to volunteer less time.

Our success depends on our ability to effectively plan for, lead and manage people; whether you don’t have enough – or you have more than you can handle.

The possibilities for their involvement are only limited by our imaginations.”
- Tiger Schmittendorf – From: "A New Pyramid Scheme for your Volunteer Fire Department"

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on February 20, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, Public Relations, R&R Toolkits, Technology & Communications, Videos • Tagged: campaign, FASNY, fire department, fire rescue magazine, fire service, firefighter, FirefighterNation.com, Generation Y, grant, marketing, motivation, practices, Public Relations, recruitment, SAFER, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteer, volunteering

@FireRECRUITER: Rise to the challenge

An article recently posted to FirefighterNation.com outlines the challenges faced by volunteer fire departments in Pennsylvania in recruiting and retaining their members. Although these types of articles are becoming all too frequent, this one in particular is better than most in that it focuses on the positives of being a volunteer firefighter — not all the negatives. I’ve cited many examples of what not to say if you’re actually looking to solve your R&R challenges in a previous post titled “Is this our best approach?” Too often, it seems that we hand a prospective candidate all of the reasons and excuses why they wouldn’t join on a silver platter.

I have to tip my helmet to the volunteer fire service in Pennsylvania who is no stranger to these challenges — or to innovative solutions to those challenges. I’ve previously mentioned them in “PA VFDs Dip Into Fountain of Youth” for potential solutions as well as I’ve applauded their efforts in the successful recruitment campaign: “Roll with It!” — the sexiest thing to come to volunteer recruitment I’ve ever seen. It rivals the GoArmy.com and NationalGuard.com campaigns.

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on November 29, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Command & Leadership, Funding & Staffing, Public Relations, Public Relations, R&R Toolkits, R&R Toolkits, Videos • Tagged: campaign, fire department, firefighter, firefighternation, FirefighterNation.com, leadership, marketing, motivation, practices, public information officer, Public Relations, recruitment, retention, SAFER, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteering

Void Space

Firefighter, officer, chief—these are the titles of the jobs we sign up for. But just like “bingo chairman,” “corresponding secretary” or “roads and grounds committee member,” the title of “leader” is not something at the top of our list of “I want to be that guy” jobs that we strive for when we first join the volunteer fire department.

Although almost everyone who joins the fire service dreams of being chief one day, they probably don’t dream of being a “fire service leader”; that is, it’s not necessarily an inherent thought process to connect the title of “chief” with “leader.” And while the title of fire chief may conjure up images of flashing lights and standing in front of a burning building barking orders into a portable radio, as we know all too well, being a “fire service leader” requires a lot more preparation and hard work than that.

There is much discussion going on in the fire service today about this "void space" created by the potentially damaging collision of retiring experience and the growing lack of experience of today's firefighters and officers. When I say growing, I'm referring to the fact that as our fire load goes down (that's a good thing), so does our experience level, accordingly (that's a bad thing). Thus we end up with a "growing" lack of experience.

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on April 19, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, R&R Toolkits, Training & Development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: Backstep Firefighter, Bill Carey, Chief Jack Snook, Chief Jeff Johnson, fire service, firefighter, firefighternation, FirefighterNation.com, Generation Y, leadership, motivation, Paul Hasenmeier, recruitment, retention, Tiger Schmittendorf, Training, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, volunteer

Bunk-in or just “bunk”?

Photo courtesy of www.RaisingLaddersPhotography.com

I stumbled across a new resource recently that caught my attention: FDLiveIn.com

The concept of fire station live-ins or bunk-ins, depending on what you call them, has been around for quite some time and with quite a bit of success. Different departments run their programs in different ways but the common theme is that the firefighter lives in the fire station “rent-free” in return for volunteer service. Most live-ins are students but not all, and in some departments entire families live in the fire station.

For whatever reasons, the concept has not caught on in my area of Erie County NY and I’ve always wondered why. I’ve written three articles in the past month on the live-in/bunk-in concept and it’s gaining quite a bit of attention as a potential solution to recruitment and retention challenges in the volunteer fire service.

The program has intrigued me so much that later this week I’m traveling to Hyattsville MD — home to one of the longest standing and most successful bunk in programs in the fire service — and home to the X-Box Firefighters who created FDLiveIn.com. And to get a better understanding and appreciation for the program, I’ll be bunking in the station Friday night and they’ve arranged a tour of several live-in fire stations for Saturday.

Stay tuned here, at FireRECRUITER.com, on Twitter and Facebook as I report back on my experiences. My goal is to provide you with enough photos, information and stories to allow your volunteer fire department to consider whether a bunk-in program is right for you — or if the whole concept is just ”bunk.”

PS — Doc Moltrup, Chief Emeritus of Hyattsville VFD and one of the founder’s of their now-famous bunk-in program, will be my guest on my Internet Radio Show: Firefighter Storytellers – live from FDIC in Indianapolis the week of March 22-26, 2011. Watch Storytellers for the formal announcement of time and date of the show.

Related links:

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on February 7, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, R&R Toolkits, Training & Development, training-fire-rescue-topics

@FireRECRUITER: Are you flush or flushing?

As I do with much in life, I take new experiences and new information and compare it to other aspects of my life in emergency services. Whenever it’s the least bit relevant – I try to apply it to the business I love: the fire service.

Such was the case this past week when I completed a National Fire Academy on Safety Operations and Management. I applied the process and premise of managing safety in our organizations and applied it to recruitment and retention.

While the resulting article may raise more questions than it provides answers, I hope you’ll ask yourself these same questions to assess whether or not your volunteer fire department is taking the right steps to be flush with volunteers — or needlessly flushing them and their experience away.

Click this article to read more at www.FireRECRUITER.com.

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on February 5, 2011 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, R&R Toolkits, Training & Development • Tagged: fire department, fire service, leadership, motivation, recruitment, Safety, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteering

@FireRECRUITER: Make the Right Investments

The following article tells of a small city that is threatening to stop collecting a voluntary public donation that has brought thousands and thousands of dollars in mission-critical equipment to their combination (paid/volunteer) fire department.

Apparently, the threat is in response to a dwindling number of volunteer firefighters in their department, between 5 and 10, as the article points out. Without a lot of volunteers, they apparently don’t feel it’s appropriate to collect a donation on behalf of the volunteer side of their fire department. This situation seems to be causing quite a riff in the department.

Is it just me, or does any one else smell opportunity?

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on May 24, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Clearinghouse, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, Public Relations, R&R Toolkits • Tagged: campaign, fire department, fire service, firefighter, leadership, marketing, motivation, public information officer, Public Relations, recruit, recruitment, retention, Tiger Schmittendorf, tweets, twitter, volunteer

@FireRECRUITER: It’s EMS Week – Roll With It!

From www.FireRECRUITER.com:

In honor of EMS Week-2010, I thought I’d promote the (dare I say) sexiest video I’ve ever seen come to volunteer recruitment and retention.

“Roll With It!” is a part music video, part movie trailer — full-on high energy – high impact web site for the recruitment of fire and EMS personnel.

Celebrate EMS Week in style: “Roll With It!”

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on May 19, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Clearinghouse, Command & Leadership, EMS Health & Safety, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, News, Patient Management, Public Relations • Tagged: campaign, CFR, Clearinghouse, emergency medical services, ems, EMT, fire department, fire rescue magazine, fire service, firefighter, Generation Y, leadership, marketing, motivation, Paramedic, Pennsylvania, public information officer, Public Relations, recruit, recruitment, Roll With It, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteer, volunteering, www.rollwithit.com

The FDIC Experience: Returning Home

Alex, Laurie and Kathleen

Alex, Laurie and Kathleen

My goal is to chronicle, as best I can, some of the many great experiences I had last week at FDIC-2010 in Indianapolis, Indiana. There’s so many of them flowing through my brain, some of them are short snippets while others I remember as full-length features, and I plan to present them accordingly.

My FDIC-2010 experience ranks up there with some of the greatest memories of my career and life. Full of laughs (my stomach still hurts), meeting good people (and John and Rhett too!), going on “adventures” together and most importantly, sharing the brotherhood that few other professions enjoy.

So, with the intent of eventually sharing all of these experiences, I thought I would start with the end of the trip instead of the beginning; for in the end, in a very unexpected way, the value of my trip to FDIC and the importance of my returning home became very apparent to me.

You’ll see why in just a little bit. (more…)

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on April 25, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, Public Relations, R&R Toolkits, Training & Development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: 16 life safety initiatives, Brotherhood, facebook, FDIC, fire critic, fire daily, fire department, fire department instructors conference, fire rescue magazine, fire service, fire-ems blogs, fire-rescue, firecritic, firedaily, firefighter, firefighter netcast, firefighternation, FirefighterNation.com, Generation Y, kids, leadership, make-a-wish foundation, motivation, run to the curb, Tiger Schmittendorf, Training, tweets, twitter, volunteer, volunteering

FireRECRUITER: The Art of Speed-Recruiting

If you had just 30 seconds to convince someone why they should join your volunteer fire department, what would you say?

What would your message be? Do you have a standard sales pitch that you use for just such occasions? Can you even say hello in 30 seconds?

I recently had the opportunity to coach and practice some speed-recruiting exercises with the Doyle Hose Co. 1 in Cheektowaga NY. They had been invited to be a part of career day at the local high school in their response area and they invited me to join them.

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on March 18, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, R&R Toolkits, R&R Toolkits, Training & Development • Tagged: billboard, campaign, Clearinghouse, fire department, fire service, firefighter, Generation Y, leadership, marketing, motivation, public information officer, Public Relations, recruit, recruitment, retention, run to the curb, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteer, volunteering

Re-Enlist.

EDITOR’S NOTE: I’m posting this blog literally minutes after completing my first NetCast on the topic of volunteer recruitment and retention, compliments of FireCritic and FireDaily at www.firefighternetcast.com. What a tremendous opportunity that was to connect with so many people via the live chat and simultaneous telephone call-ins.

My helmet is off to those two gentlemen for harnessing that technology to accomplish something that they may not even realize they’re doing: Telling Stories.

Storytelling is important to the survival and success of the fire service. Very important. As I wrote in my article: “Saving Stories,” in this month’s edition of Fire-Rescue Magazine, storytelling “passes on our traditions, conveys our values and protects the rich heritage of the fire service.” Thanks to Rhett and John for doing just that through the tales shared on FirefighterNetcast.com.

At the end of the Netcast, I let the cat out of the bag about a new partnership I created between our volunteer fire service and the National Guard. Look for more info on that coming soon. In the meantime, the following is a story that is a little bit about my love for my father, my passion for the fire service and my appreciation for the military men and women who protect our freedom every day. (more…)

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on March 11, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, Public Relations, R&R Toolkits • Tagged: Brotherhood, fire department, fire service, firefighter, Generation Y, leadership, marketing, motivation, public information officer, Public Relations, recruitment, retention, run to the curb, Tiger Schmittendorf, Training, volunteer, volunteering

LIVE: Casting a Net over Recruitment and Retention Challenges

I was in Texas for Advanced Unified Incident Command training last week (which I’ll tell you about soon), so I’m late getting this out.

I’ve been asked by FireCritic and FireDaily to join them as their special guest on this week’s edition of Firefighter NetCast.

Naturally, we’ll be discussing volunteer recruitment and retention along with an overview of my presentation “From the X-Box to the Box Alarm” at FDIC (Thursday-April 22nd at 10:30am) and my cover story in the March edition of Fire-Rescue Magazine featuring my storytelling project: Run-to-the-Curb.com.

I hope you can join us at 9pm ET this Wednesday-March 10, 2010 at Firefighter Netcast for a lively discussion of challenges and solutions to the volunteer fire service’s survival and success.

Stay safe. Train often.

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on March 8, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, News, Public Relations, R&R Toolkits, Training & Development • Tagged: Brotherhood, campaign, Clearinghouse, fire department, fire service, firefighter, Generation Y, leadership, marketing, motivation, public information officer, Public Relations, recruitment, retention, run to the curb, Tiger Schmittendorf, Training, volunteer, volunteering

@FireRECRUITER: Big Win for the Youngins’

The Volunteer and Combination Officers Section of the IAFC recently released a new and long overdue guideline focusing on the proper and safe operation of fire department youth programs.

It holds something for everyone including chief officers, youth leaders, fire department administration, parents, support liaisons and the youth themselves.

Read more at FireRecruiter.com>>>

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on February 21, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Clearinghouse, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighting Operations, Funding & Staffing, News, Public Relations, R&R Toolkits • Tagged: Brotherhood, Clearinghouse, fire department, fire service, firefighter, Generation Y, leadership, marketing, motivation, Public Relations, recruitment, retention, Tiger Schmittendorf, Training, volunteer, volunteering

@FireRECRUITER: 10 Step Guide to Volunteering

I feel that overall, the guide offers valuable insight into the world of volunteer firefighting and any effort to draw attention to the opportunities available to serve your community — are good efforts.

The guide outlines 10 individual tips for preparing to join our ranks. (more…)

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on January 4, 2010 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, R&R Toolkits, R&R Toolkits, Training & Development • Tagged: Clearinghouse, fire department, fire service, firefighter, FireRECRUITER.com, Generation Y, marketing, motivation, public information officer, Public Relations, recruitment, retention, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteer, volunteering

@FireRECRUITER: SAFER App Period Extended

DHS has revisited the existing policy on supplanting for the 2009 SAFER funding cycle. The Secretary has decided that DHS will consider petitions for waivers on supplanting from 2009 grantees on a case-by-case basis and under certain conditions.

In order for all potential applicants to have sufficient time to consider this revised policy guidance, DHS will extend the 2009 SAFER application period. The new application deadline will be 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, Friday, January 15, 2010.

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on December 18, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Clearinghouse, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, News, R&R Toolkits, R&R Toolkits, Training & Development • Tagged: campaign, Clearinghouse, erie county, FASNY, fire department, firefighter, Generation Y, grant, leadership, marketing, motivation, public information officer, Public Relations, recruitment, retention, SAFER, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteer, volunteering

@FireRECRUITER: VFDs Get Creative About Recruiting

I applaud their efforts to diversify their membership, both in age and in function. Fire Explorers, Junior Firefighters, and FireCorps members are a great way to expand your work force.

Allowing interested candidates to specialize as fire police or pump operators is a great way to spread the work load. As the article says, not everyone needs to be the person running into the burning building as all the sane people are running out. (more…)

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on December 15, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Command & Leadership, Funding & Staffing, News, Public Relations, R&R Toolkits • Tagged: campaign, Clearinghouse, fire department, fire service, firefighter, Generation Y, grant, leadership, marketing, motivation, practices, Public Relations, recruitment, retention, SAFER, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteer, volunteering

Fountain of Youth or Flood of Problems?

The FFN WebTeam recently posted a news article about some Pennsylvania fire departments going into the high schools to recruit future firefighters. (http://www.firefighternation.com/forum/topics/pennsylvania-volunteer?xg_source=activity&id=889755%3ATopic%3A4414468&)

A day later, one participant on the FirefighterNation.com noted that there has been an inordinate number of blogs and discussions related to Junior Firefighters and Fire Explorers. (http://www.firefighternation.com/forum/topics/what-is-up-with-all-these-jr)

In my opinion, both discussions have pretty much turned into Junior/Explorer bashing.

I have very strong feelings on the subject but before I share my thoughts, I’d like you to go to FireRecruiter.com and weigh in on the subject: http://firerecruiter.wordpress.com/2009/12/10/survey-says-fd-youth-programs/

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on December 10, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, Funding & Staffing, R&R Toolkits, Training & Development • Tagged: Brotherhood, explorers, fire department, fire explorers, fire service, firefighter, Generation Y, junior firefighters, leadership, marketing, motivation, Public Relations, recruitment, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteer, volunteering, youth programs

“Run to the Curb” Kids

Getzville Firefighter Ryan Russell with two appreciative fans

Getzville Firefighter Ryan Russell with two very appreciative fans

You’ve read my previous references to “Run to the Curb” type kids in “Fortune Tellers” and in my other writings. Now I’ve created a whole new web site just for telling my stories and to give you a place to share your stories too.

Run to the Curb.com is a work-in-progress blog I just created and a possible online book project too. There I’ll share my experiences, my stories and my thoughts on our need to be better story tellers.

And, I want to hear your stories too. You can share your childhood experiences and your connections to the fire service and in doing so, share the brotherhood, history and traditions of the fire service with fellow firefighters — and those who wish they were.

Check back often as more stories are added and we build this legacy document together.

Run to the curb. Tell your story. Tell your fortune. We can’t wait to hear it.

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on November 30, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, News, Public Relations, R&R Toolkits • Tagged: adventure, Brotherhood, fire department, fire service, firefighter, Generation Y, leadership, marketing, motivation, practices, Public Relations, recruitment, retention, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteer, volunteering

Creating a Clearinghouse

Patience is some times not one of my better virtues. I’ve been kicking around the idea of creating an online clearinghouse of recruitment and retention resources for quite some time.

Needless to say, it’s an area of the fire service that I’m quite absorbed in but I’ve always waited for someone else to create such a thing. Sure, there’s the National Volunteer Fire Council and VolunteerFD.org, which does a more than formidable job of compiling resources for the volunteer fire service, but I still felt there was something lacking. I needed more. We need more.

I identified a gap, an opportunity to create a single source for everything related to how we market to, recruit, indoctrinate, treat and retain the single most important resource in the fire service: our people.

Finally, I couldn’t wait any longer. I registered and published: FireRECRUITER.com – a single site dedicated to ensuring the survival and success of the volunteer fire service across our nation. (more…)

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on November 27, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Clearinghouse, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, News, Public Relations, R&R Toolkits, Training & Development • Tagged: campaign, Clearinghouse, fire department, fire service, firefighter, leadership, marketing, motivation, practices, Public Relations, recruit, recruitment, SAFER, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteer, volunteering

It’s Time to get SAFER!

This article is one in a series of toolkits focusing on recruitment, retention, fire service marketing and leadership.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Are you SAFER than you were last year?

That is, did you submit a grant application under the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) “Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response” program for recruitment and retention?

If you didn’t, you missed out on a great opportunity to better your fire department, or in our case, the entire volunteer fire service in our region.

Here’s the good news. You get another chance. DHS just announced that the application period for the 2009 SAFER grants opens November 16, 2009. (more…)

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on November 1, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Clearinghouse, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Prevention & Education, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Funding & Staffing, News, Public Relations, R&R Toolkits, Training & Development • Tagged: campaign, Clearinghouse, Public Relations, recruitment, retention, SAFER, Tiger Schmittendorf, volunteer, volunteering

Listen Up: Recruitment Radio

I recently had the opportunity to tape a radio show titled: “Sound Magazine” with Carl Russo of 97Rock.

The segment focused on the recruitment of volunteer firefighters and will air on several Citadel Broadcasting affiliates in the Buffalo area.

Carl is a long-standing afternoon jock on 97Rock and is also a volunteer firefighter with the East Seneca Volunteer Fire Company in West Seneca NY. Carl isn’t just a firefighter, he’s also president of the fire company and a commissioner in the fire district.

It offered me the opportunity to talk about being a kid who “ran to the curb” whenever I heard a fire siren and all of the great things that come with being a volunteer firefighter.

This was the second installment of “Sound Magazine” that focused on volunteer recruitment and more are planned for the future.

Click here to listen to “Sound Magazine” VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER RECRUITMENTSept 09

Let me know what you think.

Share on Facebook

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Posted by tiger on September 15, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Brotherhood, Clearinghouse, Command & Leadership, Featured, Funding & Staffing, News, Public Relations, R&R Toolkits, Training & Development, Videos

From X-Box to the Box Alarm

As I travel around the country talking with other firefighters, a commonly recurring theme of our chat is the future of the volunteer fire service.

The conversation always comes around to the topic of today’s firefighters and the next generation of firefighters. Some “more experienced” firefighters (notice I didn’t use the term older) share that they don’t understand the “kids” coming into the fire service today. (more…)

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on June 21, 2009 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Clearinghouse, Command & Leadership, Featured, Firefighter Safety & Health, Funding & Staffing, R&R Toolkits, Safety, Training & Development • Tagged: Generation Y, recruitment, retention

Part 3: Rockland County

This article is one in a series of toolkits focusing on recruitment, retention, fire service marketing and leadership.

Earlier in our discussion of the clearinghouse approach to recruitment and retention, I outlined my theory that there are three levels of recruitment activities I’ve identified as “The Clearinghouse”; “T&E: Training and Education”; and lastly the “Trench Work.”

In discussing the clearinghouse concept, I stated my feelings that the role and responsibility of building awareness as to the need for volunteers falls on regional, state and federal fire service organizations or government itself.

So far we’ve discussed Pennsylvania’s revolutionary tactic to recruit new volunteers with www.rollwithit.com – their in-your-face movie trailer/music video targeting the next generation of first responders; and Erie County’s innovative efforts to ensure the survival and success of their 94 volunteer fire companies.

We’ve discussed some very creative approaches to addressing the recruitment and retention challenges of the volunteer fire service and what better way to continue this talk than to introduce you to Rockland County’s “Creative Approach to the Volunteer Fire Service” Committee. (more…)

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on November 11, 2008 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Clearinghouse, EMS Topics, Fire Prevention & Education, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, R&R Toolkits • Tagged: Clearinghouse, recruitment, retention, rockland county

Part 2: Samples of Success

This article is one in a series of toolkits focusing on recruitment, retention, fire service marketing and leadership.

In Part 1 of our discussion of the clearinghouse approach to recruitment and retention, I outlined my theory that there are three levels of recruitment activities, three distinct angles of attack, if you will. I identified them as “The Clearinghouse”; “T&E: Training and Education”; and lastly the “Trench Work.”

In discussing the clearinghouse concept, I stated my feelings that the role and responsibility of building awareness as to the need for volunteers falls on regional, state and federal fire service organizations or government itself.

I introduced you to a revolutionary approach to recruiting new volunteers with www.rollwithit.com – the State of Pennsylvania’s high-tech, in-your-face movie trailer/music video targeting the next generation of EMS providers and first responders.

Here, I’ll introduce you to a few other successful campaigns in an effort to further demonstrate the value of attacking the R&R challenge at the highest level – the clearinghouse. (more…)

Share on Facebook

Posted by tiger on November 11, 2008 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Clearinghouse, EMS Topics, Fire Prevention & Education, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, R&R Toolkits • Tagged: Clearinghouse, erie county, recruitment, retention

Part 1: What’s a Clearinghouse?

In previous articles, I’ve attempted to present the fire service with real tools to use in improving their membership process and documentation including annual reports, prospective member guides and the interview process.

Recently, I’ve been working with a group of some 30 fire service leaders to offer solutions to the recruitment and retention challenges of their county’s fire service.

As part of that process, I’ve developed a three-tiered model to address what I call “recruitment and retention rescue and recovery operations.”

I call them “The Clearinghouse”; “T&E: Training and Education”; and lastly the “Trench Work” – where the hand-to-hand combat of recruitment and retention is won and lost.

For now, we’ll start to take a look at the bigger picture of recruitment and retention (R&R) problems and solutions. Here, we’ll talk about the top tier: the recruitment clearinghouse. (more…)

Share on Facebook

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Posted by tiger on November 11, 2008 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, All Blogs, Clearinghouse, EMS Topics, Fire Prevention & Education, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, R&R Toolkits • Tagged: Clearinghouse, recruitment, retention

© Copyright Tiger Schmittendorf 2011. All rights reserved.