BY RICHARD B. GASAWAY
Ask your fire department membership to list what needs to be improved, and communication will be near the top of that list-regardless of whether the department is volunteer, combination, or career. Providing timely and accurate information is essential to top performance and good morale.
Communicating important information in an all-career department can be accomplished during morning shift briefings over the course of three to five days. But in departments with volunteers or paid on-call firefighters who don’t work scheduled shifts at the fire stations, getting information to the members quickly is a challenge. Personnel may be coming and going at all times of the day and night. Membership meetings are one way to get the information out, but there is a limit to how many meetings members will tolerate in a month. Moreover, the information may be too important or time-sensitive to wait until the next scheduled meeting, especially during times of significant change in the department.
Such was the case in Roseville, a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The Roseville Fire Department has three fire stations and 65 paid on-call members. Members work shifts on-duty in the fire stations and answer callbacks from home. The department experienced substantial changes in the past two years (e.g., a new chief, new officers, policy/procedure changes, and new standard operating guidelines). Communicating these changes and keeping the members updated on everyday events were overwhelming tasks. Some membership meetings lasted an agonizing four hours in an effort to keep members informed.
MODERNIZING SCHEDULING
In addition to improved communications, the department also needed to upgrade its antiquated firefighter shift scheduling system. The system featured a monthly calendar posted on a bulletin board. Members who needed to trade shifts would circle their names on the schedule, indicating they needed to trade or give away a shift. Another member could take the shift by crossing out the circled name and writing his name in its place on the schedule.
Anyone could make changes to the schedule at any time. Occasionally, a member’s name would be circled, scratched from the schedule, or added to the schedule without that mem-ber knowing it. The system lacked account-ability. Sometimes, this resulted in shifts running short because members were un-aware of schedule changes made, and some hard feelings resulted among the victims of this outdated scheduling system. A membership survey revealed scheduling was one of the most significant issues causing members anxiety, and the outdated system needed to be fixed.
We solved the problem by putting the schedule on a computer. Our city’s computers are networked, which makes it easy to keep the schedules on the station computers up-to-date.
Members could easily access the schedule using a shortcut on the desktop on each fire station computer, which takes the user to a portable data file created with AdobeT AcrobatT. All members can view the schedule and print a copy, but they cannot change it. To make changes, members must call the department administrative assistant and leave a voicemail message, so schedule changes can be left any time of the day or night.
As with any new way of doing things, it took several meetings with the membership to explain the changes, and a paper copy of the electronic schedule was posted in the stations for a month. Some members needed basic computer training on how to use the desktop shortcuts and how to print a document. Our training officers developed a very basic computer class for the members. In hindsight, we should have anticipated the need for this training and provided it in advance of the changes. This training problem was minimized, as the members experienced in using computers shared their knowledge with our “technologically challenged” members.
After a break-in period and an evaluation of the new system, we determined that electronic scheduling was a success. Member feedback was very supportive and noted how smoothly the new scheduling system was going.
KEEPING FIREFIGHTERS UP-TO-DATE
The next challenge was finding a way to keep the membership informed about all the events that were going on. Our department was (and still is) undergoing significant changes. The need to pass information along to the membership daily led to the expansion of the computer-based scheduling technology.
Just two months after the e-schedule was introduced, we implemented a computer-based intranet newsletter, FIRE WIRE. Actually, it’s more like an interactive newspaper, using hyperlinks to guide users to information, policies, meeting minutes, standard operating guidelines, and informative Web sites. For example, members can stay current on breaking news and information by clicking on the “WHAT’S NEW” hyperlink. We’ve also created a hyperlink to a telephone directory within which members can click another hyperlink to send any officer an e-mail or an alphanumeric page.
Since FIRE WIRE is on the network server and all the station computers have access to the network, updating the newsletter daily-and often several times a day-is easy. A network is not required to make a computer-based newsletter an effective communications tool, but it does make updating the newsletter easier. If station computers are not networked, the newsletter can be updated by saving changes to a disk and loading the information onto the hard drive in each personal computer. This method is a bit more cumbersome, but it takes only a few minutes and it’s time well spent.
When using the downloading method, you should establish a schedule for updating the newsletter (e.g., every Monday). Members will look forward to reading the updates much as they look forward to reading their favorite magazine.
A great advantage to an on-line newsletter is that it provides a way to address rumors and hearsay head-on. How many times do fire officers hear fire station gossip and rumors and wish they could nip it in the bud and provide accurate and timely information to all the members?
The newsletter can include a “Questions and Answers” section to address this problem. When someone hears gossip or hearsay, the member can click on a hyperlink to the chief’s e-mail and raise the question. The question and the answer are posted in the Questions and Answers section of the newsletter for everyone to see.
Sharing timely and accurate information becomes especially critical when the department is experiencing significant changes. Always discuss complex changes during department meetings or drills and informally with the members. In volunteer and combination departments, there are always members who will have a scheduling conflict and will be unable to attend a particular meeting or drill where some important topic will be discussed. The newsletter can provide accurate firsthand information about a topic, eliminating the possibility of members learning about changes secondhand (often accompanied with a large dose of opinion). Hyperlinks refer the reader to meeting minutes and committee-provided progress reports.
Digital photographs and scanned documents are easily incorporated in an on-line newsletter for promoting special events or recognizing members who are making a difference through their dedication. Photos of members at a training session or working a fund-raiser, coupled with text messages that show appreciation for participation, are motivational. A picture showing members having some fun during an open house might show members who did not participate what they missed and motivate them to participate more in the future.
If, while surfing the Web, you come across an article or information on the Internet that would be of interest to your members, put a hyperlink in the newsletter that takes the member to that Web site. We have links to the National Fire Academy, state and federal agencies, and other fire departments. This helps expand members’ exposure to new fire service information and trends. Members might also see that some of the changes in your department are similar to those of other fire departments nationwide. As a newsletter is expanded, it can include features on building preplans, incident summaries, and video links providing personal messages to the members by officers and city staff.
Since its inception, our newsletter has been available only on the computers in the fire stations. Its popularity has far exceeded our expectations. To better serve our members, we recently moved the newsletter from a network computer to a Web server. Now, members can access our newsletter from home. Because of the sensitive nature of some of the information in our newsletter, we added a user ID and password to restrict access to members only. Now members can stay in touch with what’s happening and check the work schedules 24 hours a day from the comfort of their home.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS
Here are some tips on how to make your on-line newsletter a success.
Interactive communication is key. Unless members can respond and provide feedback, a computer-based newsletter allows only one-way communication.
Personal interaction and face-to-face contact are still essential. The newsletter does not eliminate the need for quality face-to-face communications with members. Membership, officer, and committee meetings and-most importantly-personal interaction are still needed.
Maintain anonymity and confidentiality. If using the newsletter for rumor control, do not reveal the name of the member who reported the rumor. There’s no need to list the names of the members who are posing the questions. Other members may see the person asking a question as a trouble maker or a snitch. Also, members may stop asking questions.
Don’t kill the messenger. If using the newsletter to quash a rumor, don’t take your frustrations out on the person who reported it. Praise the person for having the guts to raise the question. If he didn’t bring the rumor to your attention, it would still be circulating, misleading members.
Don’t use the newsletter as a personal forum for your opinions. Hold your emotions in check regarding what and how you write about topics in the newsletter. This is sometimes hard, especially if you’re addressing a rumor that is way out in left field or, worse, involves you personally. Don’t use the newsletter as your personal forum for your opinions.
Provide honest, accurate information. Remember, since this is a written document, it can be printed and saved and can come back to haunt you for a long, long time. If you don’t know the answer to a question or if you’re not able to give a complete answer, say so. The members will appreciate your honesty.
RICHARD B. GASAWAY is a 21-year veteran of the fire service and chief of the Roseville (MN) Fire Department. He has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in business administration and is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program.
