Sharing the Foundation of Our Work
re-enkindle was created as part of a continued commitment to identify and usefully articulate research-led, data-driven insights to help cultivate optimal On-call performance in an On-call context which is complex, and filled with uncertainties.
Driving Innovation
Innovation emanates from the exchange of ideas. When fire services share their experiences, challenges, and solutions, it sparks new thinking and cultivates creative approaches to persistent problems.
Common Goals
Many Fire and Rescue Service’s have already leveraged evidence-driven insights & real-world experience, and cut-through the complexities of the On-call landscape, optimise On-call resources and maximise On-call fire engine availability. But there are so many more and so little time…
Oversubscribed
Research, articles, and journals have been instrumental in shaping our understanding of On-call contexts. Only capacity - being oversubscribed - has prevented us from sharing more of the content that forms the professional bedrock of this work. Until now.
Sharing Research and Resources Matters
As recent figures show further declines in the OCFF workforce, declines in On-call availability, and fire stations, whilst incidents are again on the rise, it simply seems imperative to share our knowledge base.
A Collective Effort for a Common Goal
The challenge of on-call fire engine availability is a complex one, but it’s not insurmountable. Whether it's streamlining workforce planning and improving On-call cost-efficiency using SaaS, enhancing On-call communication strategies, optimizing recruitment and retention approaches, or cultivating an On-call culture of inclusivity and excellence, our insights aligned to a robust repository of On-call related research has made evidence-based decision-making more accessible, well-defined, and achievable for FRSs seeking solutions to perennial problems.
By sharing the resources below we hope to spark new ideas, foster discussions in departments and Fire and Rescue Services we are yet to reach, and ultimately, drive even more innovations, collaborations, and solutions.
(N.B. Wherever possible we have provided direct links. When it is not clear from the research/article title what the document contains we have added a brief summary.)
The Three Rs
Re-enkindle Recruitment, Retention and Resignation
Recruitment
Here’s an overview of more than 20 papers covering OCFF related material from across the world: Recruitment, retention and resignation among Non-Career Firefighters - This raises the question of is there enough research being done about OCFFs? And how do FRSs across the world define and describe what we in the UK call an ‘On-call firefighter’ (formerly known as a Retained Firefighter). It also provides some great reference material for further reading.
The key to a Service’s success at recruiting (and retaining) is to have a ‘precise understanding of its target group’: OCFFs, volunteers, and non-career firefighters - This paper by Bussell and Forbes Bussel, H & Forbes, D. (2006) uses Understanding the volunteer market: the what, where, who and why of volunteering which can be usefully applied to the context of an OCFF.
Recruitment & Retention
Understanding OCFFs motivations to join, remain, and leave the Service is crucial. This is why Retention survey’s are so important:
Here’s a paper and study from the Netherlands, University Twente which applies a logistical regression analysis and the Theory of Planned Behaviour to identify Dutch volunteer firefighters intentions to remain in role. If you wanted to create a robust retention survey or indeed Exit interview you’d not go far wrong by using a similar methodology to establish with a degree of statistical significance your OCFFs intentions to remain.
Interested in a a study closer to home? This ‘Study of the Firefighters Behind the On-call System in Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service’ is an undergraduate thesis from Finlay James Wilshart - an erstwhile OCFF, academic and now wholetime FF. ItItss another fantastic place to start.
Numerous papers from across the world consider the primary motivations of volunteers and OCFFs in other useful ways. Here are just a few notable papers to look at:
Pride and Respect as primary motivators - Boezeman, E.J. and Ellemers, N. (2008), “Pride and respect in volunteers' organizational commitment”.
A contract about more than just pay - Guest, D. and Mackenzie Davey, K. (1994) “The psychological contract-what is it and why does it matter?”
Volunteers: The Organizational Behaviour of Unpaid Workers.
On-call firefighting as ‘Serious leisure’?? “Who is answering the call? Volunteer firefighting as serious leisure” An interesting take on volunteer firefighting.
What CFOs in the US think about the perennial problem: “Volunteer fire chiefs' perceptions of retention and recruitment challenges in rural fire departments: The case of North Dakota, USA”.
With more FRSs coming under the auspices of the PCC what might the sectors learn from each other about using OCFF and Specials: “Effective organisation and management of public sector volunteer workers: police special constables”
A study of ‘Volunteer Management Practices and Retention of Volunteers’
The volunteer stages and transitions model: Organizational socialization of volunteers is a tremendously useful way to understand why OCFFs leave at particular times for particular reasons (spoiler alert after circa 3 years or after circa 8 years)
What difference does age make when it comes to recruitment and retention? “Emergency service volunteers: a comparison of age, motives and values”
Retention
Research suggests that good retention can be fostered by a FIRES culture: cultivating Flexibility, Inclusivity, Recognition, Empathy, and Support. The paper below echoes this sentiment showing how fostering flexibility through management, and leadership with a loose-reigned fair approach conducted by those with an intimate understanding of the RDS and its unique Ways of Working improves outcomes for On-call availability:
The view from Oz. “Recruitment and retention of volunteers in emergency services” is based on in-depth interviews to gin insights into what works and what doesn't. The research shows that the strongest inducement to join emergency services is based on mobilising personal relationships and that issues around retention are manifested at a personal level, where the relationships in the team are vital, organisational factors also have an impact on turnover.
Resignations
The Three Ss
Re-enkindle up-Skilling and Strategic Workforce Planning
The Three ‘Big’ Reviews:
Bain, G. (2002) The Future of the Fire Service: reducing risk, saving lives. Government publication - shortages of skills first signalled by Professor Sir George Bain. Evidence and data now demonstrate a lack of ICs and ERDs is now the number one threat to On-call fire engine availability in the UK.
Knight, K. (2013) Facing the Future: Findings from the review of efficiencies and operations in fire and rescue authorities in England - Strategic Workforce planning can increase efficiencies by at least 10%.
Thomas, A. (2015) Independent review of conditions of service for fire and rescue staff in England - suggestions for segmented/banded salary approaches preceding the recent changes to the Grey Book (see link below) and an edict that each and every On-call fire station should understand what its widest possible pool of recruits are before drawing conclusions about their challenges for recruitment.
Important government-led RDS reports:
Department for Communities and Local Government (2007) The Retained Duty System: A survey of local employers.
House of Commons, ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee (2023) The Fire Service - A report informed by the Bain review and detailing the shortfall in pay and numbers of OCFFs over two decades ago.
Department for Communities and Local Government (2005) The Fire and Rescue Service Retained Duty System: A Review of the Recruitment and Retention Challenges.
Department for Communities and Local Government (2007) The Primary Employment Status of Retained Duty System Firefighters: Findings from a survey in England and Wales.
Department for Communities and Local Government (2008): A survey of current and ex-firefighters in England: Fire Research Technical Report 8/2008.
Department of Communities and Local Government (2010) “Leading a lean and efficient fire and rescue service” - This is Fire Minister Bob Neill’s speech to Fire and Rescue 2010 Conference, Department of Communities and Local Government, Harrogate.
Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG, 2015) Fire and Rescue; Operational Statistics Bulletin for England 2014-2015, TSO, London.
Some context from Scotland - “Retained, auxiliary and volunteer firefighters in the Scottish fire service”.
Fire Futures (2010) - An independent review into the fire and rescue service looking at its role, efficiency, accountability & work with other emergency services.
Fire Research Report (4/2011) <www.communities.gov.uk> This paper focuses on the importance of flexible approaches to managing OCFFs.
Union reports
Fire Brigades Union (2004) Off The Run: Recruitment and Retention of Retained Firefighters
Fire Brigades Union (2004) Alerter: Fighting for firefighters working the retained duty system
SKILLS
Incident Commanders and Emergency Response Drivers
FRSA (2017) - Recruitment & Retention of Retained Firefighters - a great survey with a tremendous indicative response rate (circa 4000 OCFFs) from FRSs all across England and again data demonstrating and evidence emphasising that a lack of ERDs and ICs is the major challenge.
Ensuring the right people (OCFFs) with the right skills (ERDS) are in the right place (available) at the right time (when demand is high) is key.
Is availability a useful measure of success?
Public Services Management Handbook
Here’s some further thoughts on availability as a measure of success
As are these…ONS (2019) ‘Activities, spending and productivity in the Fire and Rescue Services since 2009’ - How the Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) have changed since 2009 and whether there is evidence of productivity improvement.
Salary
The Three Cs
Re-enkindle Crewing, Communication,and (multiple) Cultures
Perhaps the most important aspect of improving On-call fire engine availability is culture: creating an On-call culture conducive to performance and well-being. Doing so implicates local cultures, and software. It is operationalised by crews and its leadership, and it is perpetuated by communication.
Culture
Starters for ten - Want a fantastic definition of culture in the FRS: Organizational Culture in the Fire Service
Multiple cultures exist within the fire and rescue service. This includes WT/On-call; grey book/ green book; Operational/Organisational. What is for certain, for success we need to ensure they cohere more than they conflict:
Social Identity Theory and group cohesion methods to cohere multiple cultures, cultivate inclusivity, and create conditions conducive to keeping on-call, volunteer, and non-career firefighters fire engines available.
“The effects of recognition and group need on volunteerism: a social norm perspective”
Multiple cultures make leadership and management challenging.
Culture is what happens when no-one else is looking.
Cultural symbols (fire bells, kit, fire engines) and Watch culture are important aspects:
Watching the Watch: The UK Fire Service and its Impact on Sexual Minorities in the Workplace
The Significance of Fire Service Culture as an Impediment to Effective Leadership
COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE COMBINED
Want to create concerted communication campaigns for recruitment and for current on-call staff who require concise, easily accessible, easily digestible communications - Take a look at Grice’s Maxims - Grice, P. (1989) Studies in the Way of Words, Harvard University Press.
This Insights paper from the Home Office can help you integrate social media campaigns and the latest software to support your communications team to produce locally focussed yet nationally guided communications which augment recruitment, improve retention, and reduce OCFF resignations.
Crewing
NFCC’s Oncallfire campaign and material containing lots of useful guidance and material
Dual Contracts - a good example of multiple cultures
Case studies on alternative crewing models:
Some examples of change
Fire and Rescue Services: Going the Extra Mile
“A slow-burning flame? Organisational change and industrial relations in the fire service”