Volunteer Fire Department Staffing, Recruitment, and Retention 2016 Survey Results. October 31, 2018

Transcription

1 Volunteer Fire Department Staffing, Recruitment, and Retention 2016 Survey Results October 31, 2018

2 Impetus Assess challenges facing the volunteer fire service Declining rural population as the result of urbanization Aging rural populations Commission was looking for another public safety topic

3 Impetus

4 Methodology Fire department survey was tested in May 2016 Administered to 841 departments (including career departments) in June through September Respondents had the option to complete online (Qualtrics.com) and by submitting paper surveys All paper surveys were entered using Qualtrics.com

5 Response Rates Overall response rate: 52% Approximate response rates by department type: Volunteer only: 269/643 = 42% Combination: 78/134 = 58% Career only: 53/63= 84%

6 Respondents Mostly Career, 4% Career Only, 13% Mostly Volunteer, 14% Volunteer Only, 69%

7 Respondents Volunteer only (n=264) Career only (n=49) Mostly volunteer (n=55) Mostly career (n=17)

8 Volunteer Staffing Average Firefighters Per Department Volunteer only (n=257) Mostly volunteer (n=55) Mostly career (n=17) Total (n=378)

9 Volunteer Staffing Staffing Gains/Losses and /16 100% 90% 80% 79% 90% 70% 60% 60% 64% 64% 55% 57% 55% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 36% 30% 27% 28% 23% 28% 18% 16% 15% 13% 10% 10% 9% 9% 3% 0% Net Loss Even Net Gain Net Loss Even Net Gain (estimated) (estimated) Volunteer only Mostly volunteer Mostly career Total

10 Volunteer Staffing Net Changes and / Net change by department Average joining per department Average leaving by department Net change by department (estimated) (estimated) Volunteer only Mostly volunteer Mostly career Total I I I I

11 Volunteer Recruitment Challenges 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 61% 60% 62% 61% 50% 40% 30% 28% 29% 31% 28% 20% 10% 0% 8% 10% 8% 8% 8% 3% 0% 2% Volunteer only Mostly volunteer Mostly career All volunteer-staffed Major Moderate Minor Not a Challenge at All

12 Volunteer Recruitment Challenges Time demands 94% Training expectations 87% Aging communities 48% Changes in community makeup 35% Higher cost of living 24% Cost of EMR/EMT certification 22% Increased call volume 20% Change in community expectations for services delivered 20% Opportunity for paid firefighter/ems positions 13% Leadership problems 8% Internal conflict within organization 7% Increased use of combo staffing 5% + Other 12%

13 Volunteer Retention Challenges 100% 90% 80% 70% 64% 60% 50% 46% 40% 36% 36% 35% 39% 35% 30% 20% 25% 19% 21% 23% 10% 0% 7% 4% 3% 0% 0% Volunteer only Mostly volunteer Mostly career All volunteer-staffed Major Moderate Minor Not a Challenge at All

14 Volunteer Retention Challenges Time demands 95% Training expectations 85% Increased call volume 36% Aging communities 35% Changes in community makeup 28% Change in community expectations for services delivered 28% Higher cost of living 24% Opportunity for paid firefighter/ems positions 21% Internal conflict within organization 20% Cost of EMR/EMT certification 18% Leadership problems 16% Increased use of combination staffing 9% + Other 10%

15 Other Staffing Challenges Median Firefighter Ages years old (Cadet) years old Between and years old Between and years old Between and years old and older Volunteer only (n=246) 2% 9% 3% 44% 5% 31% 1% 4% Mostly volunteer (n=47) 0% 8% 2% 48% 2% 35% 0% 2% Mostly career (n=15) 0% 7% 0% 47% 13% 33% 0% 0% All volunteer-staffed (n=312) 1% 9% 3% 45% 5% 32% 1% 4%

16 Other Staffing Challenges Availability by Time of Day Less than 4 average turnout by time of day Weekdays 8:00-4:00 pm 34% Weekdays 4:00 pm Midnight 7% (Mostly career departments 29%) Weekday Midnight -8:00 am 15% (Mostly career departments 29%) Weekends 6%

17 Other Staffing Challenges Completion of Annual Training Expectations Volunteer only 26% 39% 31% 5% Mostly volunteer 25% 31% 36% 7% Mostly career 12% 24% 47% 18% All volunteer staffed 25% 36% 32% 6% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 50% or less 51-75% 76-99% 100%

18 Related Challenges Funding

19 Responses to Challenges Paying Volunteers Volunteer only departments (n=94) Mostly volunteer departments (n=36) Mostly career departments (n=10) Total volunteerstaffed departments (n=140) Paid by call 44% 69% 60% 51% Paid by the hour 17% 36% 50% 24% Paid for training time 21% 47% 40% 29% Officer stipend 28% 28% 30% 28% Reward system 18% 19% 10% 18% Other - Pay by month, semi-annual, year 10% 0% 10% 7% Other-Other 14% 6% 10% 1%

20 Responses to Challenges Adding Full-or-Part-Time Staff Full-time career Part-time career Paid volunteer Unpaid volunteer Volunteer only (N=253) Mostly volunteer (N=56) Mostly career (N=17) Total volunteer staffed (N=326) N/A N/A 38% 66% 77% 50% 75% 32% 100% 47% 82% 29% 18% 11% 46% 58%

21 Responses to Challenges Average Staffing Full time career* Part Time career* Paid volunteer* Unpaid volunteer* Total Volunteer only N/A N/A Mostly volunteer Mostly career Total volunteer staffed

22 Responses to Challenges Volunteer/Career 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Volunteer only (n=264) Mostly volunteer (n=55) Career only (n=49) Mostly career (n=17)

23 Responses to Challenges Menu of Additional Options Interlocal cooperation Addressing training gaps Recruitment and retention Marketing Recruiting women and minorities Recruiting cadets and young adults Incentives tailored to target groups Using volunteers for other tasks (financial reports, fundraising, etc.) Personal invitations Recruitment and retention (cont.) Addressing fire department politics Rightsizing call outs (selective paging, etc.) Climate/exit surveys Communicating with stakeholders (elected officials, citizens) Effective membership committee Flexibility in timing of joining and commitment Good communication between officers and members

24 What Else? What s Next Volunteer report in early 2019 Also includes data about capabilities (training and equipment) Collected GIS data on service boundaries Maps Working to be able to share the data with IDHS Present other data Department types Career department data Independent EMS agencies data

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