Tactics

As we discussed in my netcast on recruitment and retention last night at www.firefighternetcast.com, programs like Venturing, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Brownies, Cub Scouts, Boys & Girls Clubs and certainly Explorers and Junior Firefighters, etc. are all breeding grounds and a feeder system for youth development into the fire service.

The FireRECRUITER joins FireCritic and FireDaily as their special guest on this week’s edition of Firefighter NetCast.

I took particular interest in the sample best practice document titled "Pledge to My Peers" that frankly, is appropriate to "kids of all ages" in our fire departments.

And while I think the author is right on the mark that prospective candidates should do their homework before signing on the dotted line, I disagree with emphasizing and entering fundraising into the conversation so early. There are too many other positive parts of our business that could be used to highlight the benefits of volunteering. Fundraising is one of those functions that some volunteers must do when they're not doing what they signed up to do -- fighting fires and providing emergency services.

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.

Here’s a link to a news story on FirefighterNation.com about some volunteer fire departments in Pennsylvania who are teaming up to reach out to local high school students for new recruits. Managed, trained and nurtured properly, Explorers and Junior Firefighters can be ...

Here’s a creative charity fundraiser. We did a similar gig with a local ice cream shop several years ago. It only takes a little imagination… Tip-A-Firefighter Proceeds to Benefit the Connecticut Burns Care Camp December 2nd and 3rd 2009 5:00 ...

MediaPost - a completely non-fire related web site - offers blogs and newsletters for marketing your ideas and opportunities to Hispanics, young kids, teens, Moms and even old kids - the Boomer generation. I bet if we really opened our minds and hearts, we could learn a lot from these outside resources and apply it to benefit virtually every part of our business. Imagine that!

The purpose of the Prospective Member Guide is to give the candidate a clear and fair understanding of what they're getting into. If it helps them realize it's not for them - it has done it's job and it only cost you a few pennies worth of paper.

"Run to the Curb!" 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.