"We need to recruit more volunteers". "We need to growth the mandatory estimate of hours to get these shifts covered". "Can man Please cover Friday night"?
Does this sound like your service? Comments like these linger in the hallways and meeting rooms of agencies all across the country until ultimately a lone voice from the back asks, "Should we just hire some paid people?" What was determined a request destined to provoke bitter backlash now is becoming reality.
Veterans Benefits Assisted Living
Regardless of the relative success of the 1,000 Points of Light campaign in the early 90's or the resurgence of patriotism after the events of a fateful day in September, 2001, we have to face facts. In a great majority of fire and Ems agencies across this country the well of volunteerism is drying up.
Volunteers have long been the backbone of not-for-profit organizations all across the country. From ambulance services and fire departments to youth sports leagues, society sustain groups and even national agencies like the American Red Cross, recruiting and retaining motivated volunteers is a topic of noted importance.
I tell society leaders all across the country that a well-run, company oriented crisis assistance department staffed by as many volunteers as possible is the best business agreement on the planet. There is a slightly separate sense of pride, commitment to giving back to the society and of course, the lower operating costs due to the lack of requisite payroll.
That being said, when the response times, coverage of duty hours, increased belief on the goodwill of mutual aid or the capability of assistance begins to suffer it's time to assist, supplement or disband the agency.
Now that statement I am sure just outraged some readers. That's ok, man has to say it. crisis assistance agencies are entrusted with a special mission, protecting asset and saving lives. When man needs an ambulance or the Fire Department, regardless of where they are in the country, they don't care whether the responder is short, tall, male, female, paid or volunteer. They only want the buyer assistance mission [taking care of their emergency] to be finished in a timely, proficient and professional way. Protecting the sanctity of having a volunteer assistance is not noted to fulfilling the trust that the society places in us. If your department is having issues doing that, fix it.
The growing reality is the demands on duplicate working families, more citizen working out of town and numerous other things impacting our time, many organizations are beginning to 'fix' their problems by integrating paid staff. The goal is to insure coverage during qoute areas in operating schedules, typically during the daytime hours. (6am-6pm).
On the surface, this clarification appears to be the magic bullet for what ails the agency. The truth is that if the integration is not done properly there will be an entirely new set of issues created.
Morale problems, added decreases in volunteer participation, general hard feelings towards the spirit of volunteering, "this is no fun anymore, it's becoming a business"(heard that one lately), a 'them - vs. - us" mind set, as well as a host of other highly emotional issues that can bring an department to its knees. You don't have to go there. And, if you are already there, you can turn things around.
This article will discuss how to successfully merge paid personnel into your assosication while, if you so choose, retaining as many volunteers as possible.
It will also teach you how to Reset the law if it's already in trouble.
We've identified four main reasons why an assosication looks to hire paid staff:
Overall staffing shortages
Due to a lack of participation, attrition, retirement, morale problems or lackluster recruiting campaigns, your department is naturally short of the requisite estimate of trained personnel.
Increasing response times/service failures
Burnout, morale, corporal distance from the building and expanding call volumes all strain the organizations capability to respond. Unmotivated or overburdened personnel move slower when responding to the building. Over time, citizen relocate or build in new developments and now live farther away from the station.
Adding Als personnel
There is a shortage of Als personnel in most areas of the country. Very few Als personnel volunteer in the Als capacity. Fewer volunteers will submit to 1,000+ hours of paramedic training. In order to upgrade the level of service, hiring paid Als staff may be the only way.
Supervision of the service
Paperwork, Osha, Hipaa, Oems, billing all need time. Many agencies look towards hiring a paid supervisor/administrator who can deal with the operations responsibilities as well rehearse half of the crew.
Things to consider Before placing the Help Wanted Ad
Fair Labor Standards Act (Flsa) and Loss of Volunteer Staff
This is governmental legislation originally passed in 1938 and amended in 1985 which provides for fair working conditions for all employees. For our purposes, it basically identifies that an employer must pay an hourly wage that is at least minimum wage and it also prohibits us from volunteering for our 'employer'. This means that any volunteer member that makes the transition to a paid position, even for one shift, is lost to the department as a volunteer for other calls at other times.
This means that if you are not careful, by solving the daytime staffing qoute you may originate a void in other areas since the personnel would be lost as volunteers when their shift was over.
As Attorney Allison Bloom wrote in an article for the Wisconsin Emt Association, "The follow of the Flsa on volunteer Ems is not to be taken lightly. The penalties alone can put just about any assistance out of business".
Make sure that your hiring plan takes into inventory the requisite budget for hourly wages, overtime, if applicable, benefits if you're hiring full time. One of the most coarse problems with hiring paid staff is under estimating the budget.
Full time vs. Per diem vs. Leased employees
Before you hire, organize a staffing plan. This sounds like silly advice but sadly the reality is that most organizations have not identified the hours to be staffed, added them up to nothing else but conclude how many citizen they need to hire.
Do you want the continuity of a few full time employees? This means benefits, supervision, the need to be able to cover vacations and sick time, etc.
How about a large group of per diem staff? Greater flexibility need to purchase more uniforms, no need to provide benefits, less continuity and potentially less loyalty to the shift if overtime came along at their full time job.
A new concept: leasing employees. Actually, the conception is not new, company and other healthcare groups have been using temporary help services for years. A company in Connecticut called Vintech ( www.vintechems.com ) has done just that. They have created, to this author's knowledge, the first ever temporary help firm specializing in Ems personnel.
Vintech's founder Vinny Wheeler is quick to point out the value of leasing employees. "You can outsource the headaches. Hiring, firing, handling book-offs, paying workers recompense premiums on the paid staff and having a small depth of personnel. You naturally identify the hours to be staffed, the level of certification you want and write the check, we do the rest".
They also are quick to point out the biggest benefit, which might go unnoticed, is that this type of arrangement does not violate Flsa. Your department is able to sustain your volunteers. If members of your staff work for an department like Vintech, while on duty, even in your station, they are the agency's employees. Not yours. This means that when these same citizen are off duty, they can still be your volunteers.
Hiring process
If you pick to hire your own employees, which many organizations do, make sure that you have a reasonably stringent hiring process. Remember you are hiring citizen and creating jobs, make the job one worth having. Candidates should work for them.
We propose a five part process:
1) Application with resume
This allows a recapitulate of applications. All candidates, even internal candidates, apply for these new positions in the same manner. I would propose a member in good standing that applies be granted a 5 point bonus to their score as a gesture of goodwill.
Anyone meeting the written minimum study and certification standards on paper makes it to the next phase.
2) Written Emt or Paramedic exam
A basic knowledge exam consisting of maybe 50 questions. Ask your Ems Coordinator or Regional Training man for help or purchase a test bank and organize a test of your own. identify the minimum passing grade in the written invitation letter. We propose 80% as the passing mark. Those that pass make it to the next phase.
3 & 4) Oral Interview and Practical skills station
Conduct a 20-minute interview with a list of pre-written questions. Use the same list for every candidate. Ask scenario based questions that need longer answers.
Halfway straight through the interview stop, escort the candidate into someone else room and present them with a healing or trauma practical station. Score them with a appropriate estimate sheet. At the conclusion of the practical evolution, escort them back and end the oral interview.
5) Documentation
At the conclusion of the interview hand them a blank run article and ask them to document the care they gave in the practical station.
Rationale for this system:
· The application process weeds out initially unqualified candidates based on certifications and distance of service.
· The test weeds citizen with weaker book knowledge.
· The oral/practical test their capability to communicate, evaluates their medicine skills and also their capability to switch gears.
· The documentation process done this way tests their capability to remember and accurately chart events under stress. When was the last time a run article was done immediately after a call?
I have used this law for years and when the scoring is done, the best, well-rounded candidates have all the time risen to the top.
I was reading this Ambulance, Ems, Fire agency - Paid Vs Volunteer, a Look at Staffing Issues
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