What do you do when side jobs interfere with department work?
Click here to read the solutions to the February Personnel Problem of the Month: Crews Control
Problem to Ponder
You’re a paramedic captain at a multi-company station that consists of an engine, ladder and ambulance. Each company has four members, and the ambo has two junior firefighters with less than two years on the job. You’ve worked on the ALS engine company for the past three years, and other than the ambulance crew, there have been no personnel changes at the station since you’ve been there.
Your engineer (driver/chauffer) is a completely annoying person, but he does a good job of maintaining his truck and is very competent at the pump panel (you have always gotten water when you need it and have never run out of water). His best friend, let’s call him Dan, is also a member of you crew. He is a paramedic firefighter with 14 years on the job. The other member of your crew is a BLS firefighter with eight years on the job, and he is pretty much your go-to guy.
Even though you’ve set a good example, Dan has a big problem. Dan is a realtor. Dan cares more about selling property than he does about anything else. This includes the other people in the station (except his engineer buddy), going on calls (they’re all BS to Dan unless something is burning), doing any of his station duties or serving the customers that pay his salary. Dan can’t sell or research land on the station computer if he is doing the job he gets paid to do. So Dan’s real side job is the fire department, not the other way around.
Dan started selling real estate about a year ago, and his problems have slowly evolved over the last 12 months. His engineer buddy still loves him, but everybody else at the station is sick of him (and your engineer) and now you’re hearing it. The other firefighter on your rig is also expressing disdain about Dan not being part of the crew or the station and is also upset about having to do all of his work and never being able to get on the computer to enter all the call data as required. This dissention is affecting calls, especially the ones where the whole station responds. A call can’t be over quickly enough to suit Dan; he needs to sell. How would you solve what is a pretty universal problem in the fire service.
Please e-mail your responses to FireRescue@FireRescue1.com, or e-mail your solution to frm.editor@elsevier.com. Please include your name, rank, department name and contact information. Although we will not print identifiable information without your consent, we must confirm your identity. We'll post reader responses here, as well as in the April issue of FireRescue.
Solutions to February's Personnel Problem of the Month: Crews Control
Last month's problem had you dealing with a solid veteran crew that didn't get into gear until mid-morning and, therefore, any early morning calls resembled a cluster (see "Crews Control, February FireRescue magazine, p. 194). It was problem requiring a leadership solution rather than a management solution. We got several responses from the readers. Let's take a look at a few of them.
The Reponses
1) “Begin slowly by tweaking the program ever so slightly. First, call a meeting at 0730 HRS on the next shift. Tell them at that time you would like to meet every morning at 0730 HRS to go over the day’s activities. At the first meeting, tell them you are damn happy to work with them and really appreciate their experience, ease of manner and professionalism. Tell them you hope you can live up to their expectations. Then tell them you would like them to start doing a few things: 1) Have all gear on the rig by 0700 HRS (or whatever time the shift starts); 2) perform consistent and thorough rig checks; and 3) develop a chore schedule.
Support your requests with information related to response delays and missing equipment and the problems they cause. If they are truly pros, the undisputable evidence will motivate them. Remind them it is our job to get to the scene asap with all of our gear together and functioning properly. These are “we” things, not “you guys” things.
Seriously, most of us vets can get in a rut. When you make yourself get into a positive change mode, other personally satisfying changes — perspective, discipline and increased professionalism — happen instantaneously.”
2) “I've dealt with this many times in my other profession as a manager for a high-tech firm. You have a senior crew that just needs a little motivation. Call all of them together and explain the situation, stressing the positives first: the experienced crew, great customer service, good teamwork, etc. Let them know you have concerns about their readiness to perform and put the ownership on them to come up with a solution. Appeal to their professionalism, delegate developing a solution, and follow up to ensure compliance. They are more likely to fix the problem if they understand it and agree on the solution.
This still allows you to take other steps later on, if needed. End the meeting on a positive note. Tell them you’re looking forward to their solution and how it will improve the team’s readiness. Note: Do not try to fix this by meeting with each person one on one as this will look like you are trying to divide and conquer. Keep it out in the open as a team issue with a team solution.”
3) “Because you have a good crew that performs well and you’re new at the station, don’t do anything until the next early morning call that goes badly. This will provide you with the opportunity to say something to your crew, and they will have their very recent poor performance to reflect upon, and they can’t blame you for addressing it. Don’t be a jerk when going over the call that didn’t go well; simply state that it is the result of their not being ready for these early morning calls, and we all need to get to the station early enough to be in a ready state at shift change so this kind of stuff never happens again.
You should back this up by setting a good example. Be the first one to the station every morning and take care of your area of responsibility right when you get there. You should also keep busy while your crew is checking things out in the morning. When you’re all ready for the shift, you should adjourn to the kitchen table for the proper morning ritual with the other shift and fellowship with your own crew.”
Feedback
All three responses are good. They would all solve the problem simply by addressing it. I wrote in my first article that at my department’s Management Training Center (MTC), we learned there is always more than one way to handle most problems. The solutions were pretty much based on the personality of the company officer. The most important thing is for the company officer to address the problem early enough to avoid bigger problems down the road. When dealing with any performance issue, it’s important to address them in a nice, corrective way that focuses on the problem and doesn’t get too personal.
That being said, let’s focus on response No. 3. I liked this one the best because it offered a “lead by example” solution. But the person’s solution was in the wrong order: Set a good example first, and then fix it. I suggest addressing this issue before letting another morning cluster occur. By waiting for another bad call, you’re doing two things: 1) You’re enabling your crew to keep exhibiting an unacceptable set of behaviors; and 2) You are possibly jeopardizing the safety of your customers as well as the safety and performance of your crew by not being prepared for your first run in the morning.
Leading by example does a lot for a supervisor. It shows the other crewmembers where you set the bar. By getting to work early and doing all of your morning checks, you show your crew what you expect of them without having to say a word. Most firefighters want to make their boss happy, and they know their roles and responsibilities. When they see their boss fulfilling their role and responsibilities, they tend to do the same thing.
Do this when you show up for the first shift at your new station. If the other guys don’t follow suit, then it’s time to have a talk with your crew. Responses 1 and 2 did a good job of describing how the meeting should go. I like the way response 3 said it, “Don’t be an jerk.” Tell them readiness is a big deal to you and the whole team needs to be ready as soon as possible after showing up to work. Once that’s done, socialize your butts off. If you tell your guys that you want them to relieve their counterpart, check out the truck and get into some kind of uniform (I was never really big on uniforms) right when they get to the station, you had better be doing the same thing.
You will avoid several (probably most) problems by setting a good example. Here are a few cases in point: When you’re polite and nice to the customers, it’s hard for your crew not to do the same thing. When you don’t yell at traffic while driving Code 3, it’s hard for your driver to yell at them. When you’re wearing your full PPE as required, your crew had better be wearing full PPE. When you’re mucking out the aftermath of a fire, your crew better be in there helping you.
Here are some examples of how to empower your crew to do stupid things because you’ve set the example: Bring lovely ladies back to your bunk room, and your crew will do the same thing. Talk on a cell phone all the time (sometimes on calls) and your crew will do the same thing. Say the truck looks pretty good and doesn’t need much polishing, and your crew will say the same thing even when it’s covered in mud.
If you set a good example, act professionally and have a good time at work, your crew will usually do the same thing. This takes us to this month’s personnel problem.
