We all have very similar or even the same volunteer issues across the country. Whether they be related to department structure or the firefighters themselves, it's fair for me to say after six years of writing on the topic that these difficulties are universal.
But departments tend to have different solutions for the same problems — and that is where we can learn from each other. The challenge is that we do not share these solutions as we think each of our issues are different and we try to keep our dirty laundry at home.
The sooner we realize that we all have the same problems and there is nothing to be ashamed of, the sooner we can find true solutions. Every department has or have had issues with recruitment and retention, funding, training and overall management of the organization. We may be in different physical locations, but just as fire is the same everywhere, managing a professional volunteer department is the same, too.
This realization may require a culture shift at all levels to one of sharing and collaborative problem solving, but this helps not only your fire service but the fire service as a whole.
One way to identify and share our difficulties is to develop a member exchange program. Schools have been doing these for years to help share culture across countries, but this type of sharing could occur across departments. I am not suggesting you should trade one of your members with a department in France; I am talking about a neighboring department.
While this may be difficult for rural departments in distant counties, most departments have some other department that are within responding distance or that their members are near. I have yet to see a department try this, but here is how the program would work:
1. Identify a member (preferably an officer) from each department that is willing to be "traded" to your neighboring department for a period of three months.
2. Develop a set of objectives or focus areas for the membership exchange.
3. Assure that exchanged members have comparable training between departments.
4. Encourage regular feedback both to the host and original department by the members.
5. Debrief with the exchanged members and identify key learning opportunities.
6. Utilize the information found to make changes within your own department.
If this sounds difficult, it could well be — but it is well worth the price. The hardest part may be in picking the right member as departments might be tempted to "turf off" a problem member in this program. But I would suggest sending one of your best members, preferably an officer. What type of member would you want the other department to send to you? Ideally you should exchange someone who is open to outside information, change and works well with others.
Objectives do not need to be rigid or formal, but you do need to get an understanding of what your department and membership would like to get out of the exchange. For example, are you most interested in their retention program, fundraising or response systems? These objectives or focus areas should be agreed upon in advance so that both the exchanged member and the host department realize what is expected.
Debriefing the exchanged members and utilizing the information is essential to making the program a success. This is not a time to tell dirty secrets, but a time to learn the differences and similarities between the departments and ways to learn from each other. Just because the other department does something a different way does not mean it is right or wrong, but it is a point that should be looked at. The reason behind a program like this would be to find new solutions to old problems.
An exchange program is a chance to inject new blood into your department and plant the seeds of change. You could be amazed by how much can be learned both as a host department and exchange member.
