What's in a name?

In an age of self, identity politics, and recognition that the mental health crisis is at least partly predicated on a concomitant meaning criss in the West, it can be argued that we need both individual agency and a recognition of our common humanity in order to come together and tackle these challenges which are happening inside and outside the Fire and Rescue Sector. This article considers how the disparate names we use to describe On-call firefighters, globally, detracts from a need to cohere our sense of Brotherhood, Sisterhood, and combined camaraderie. Like families, a shared name can cultivate inclusion, and engender coherence more than conflict. Is it time we connected the dots and recognise ‘What - power - is in a name’.

Research published in the International Journal of Emergency Services in 2020 by Emelie Lantz & Marcus Runefors entitled Recruitment, retention and resignation among Non-Career Firefighters[1] reviewed 27 pieces of literature from the fire & rescue sector and demonstrated that disparate nomenclature is used internationally to describe what is effectively the same job/role. That is, what in the United Kingdom (UK) are invariably referred to as either ‘retained’[2] or ‘on-call’ firefighters (OCFFs) other countries refer to as ‘volunteer’ and ‘non-career-firefighters’ most of whom are invariably paid a nominal ‘attendance’ wage relative to that in the UK, either as a salary (retainer) or other incentives such as medical insurance and tax benefits (where non-paid volunteers are used this is typically made clear in research/ reports).

Likewise, research conducted by Elbers et al at the Brandweeracadamie (Fire Academy) in the Netherlands which asked as one of three primary research questions ‘What is the definition of a volunteer in European fire services?’[3] established that whilst different terms are used, broadly speaking the systems for FRS volunteering are all very similar and those internationally can often be considered analogous to OCFFs working within a Retained Duty System (RDS). That is, whilst there are considerable differences between international fire service policies, politics, procedures, approaches and roles, the terms, ‘non-career firefighters’, ‘retained firefighters’ and ‘volunteer firefighters’ are all terms used in the broader literature to describe the same roles: ‘personnel contracted to be available for agreed periods of time for firefighting purposes, but who could have alternative full-time employment.’[4]

This use of disparate terms for what is essentially the same role may not on the surface be a cause for concern, however, as we have seen recently online, and on social media, many people, including local members of the public and OCFFs themselves, are often confused by these terms. This not only has implications for identify, and thereby culture, it can adversely affect recruitment, as future prospects are deterred from applying for a role which from the outset is not clearly understood, especially as the recruitment process is also already confusing for some if only as it differs across services even within the same country.

Moreover, and most importantly for what follows in this post, and most definitely for what follows in future articles, this idea that OCFFs are in many ways akin to volunteers has implications for leadership. Research suggests that whilst OCFFs are paid, management may be served more successfully by approaches which recognise that in many ways the workforce are akin to volunteers. Volunteers need managing differently from full time employees (that is less scrutiny, more flexibility, more empathy, and more parity, recognising that volunteers are working, as the term suggests ‘voluntarily’; on a goodwill basis), and that the practices and behaviours of OCFFs reflect ideas and ideals often associated with volunteerism (like giving up free time to help others), values (caring for others is a valuable endeavour), and beliefs, that is their culture. As we dive-deep into what research can tell us about fire service culture generally, and on-call culture specifically, in the coming weeks, this distinction will be vital, and was something we discussed in detail when re-enkindle’s founder appeared on The Firefighters Podcast to discuss this and other topics in detail.

(a lack of) Research

In addition to this confusing landscape in which different terms are used for firefighters doing the same role, as identified by Lantz & Runefors, there is very little published research outside the United States or Australia which considers the Three Rs, of Recruitment, Retention, and Resignation in detail. Notably there was no research emanating from the United Kingdom. Indeed, ‘To the authors' knowledge’ their recent study in 2020 was ‘the first systematic review to synthesize such evidence about non-career firefighters.’ This dearth has inevitably not only represented a significant and noteworthy limitation of all preceding reviews and reports that have hitherto sought to address issues with on-call availability, it highlights the imperative for UK-based research focussed on the on-call, and more broadly, a smarter use of data and research within the sector. Indeed, the fire service white paper earlier in March, signalled precisely this by advocating for the inauguration of a ‘College of Fire’ which we discussed in a preceding blog post which looked at the on-call landscape in detail.

To surmount this limitation of a lack of research which can be used by services to guide strategy, inform evidence-based approaches, and let data guide their decision making, re-enkindle has been one of the first research endeavours that has already supported a number of project’s across England, producing a portfolio of work which was expanded to have an international scope. This is why our work considers many other factors from communication and culture to strategic workforce planning and skills. Doing so has led to innovations such as new means by which to calculate FRSs on-call stations widest possible pool of recruits and their diversity, it has led to invaluable insights. For example, both data analysed by re-enkindle, and research from across the world, including that which was conducted by the Fire and Rescue Services Association in 2017 which surveyed 4000 OCFFs, shows that one of the primary causes of unavailable on-call fire engines is a lack of Incident Commanders, and Emergency Response Drivers, rather than merely a matter of a lack of OCFFs, and so more a matter of skills and retention of them than recruitment.

Our research shows that to some extent this skills shortage can be surmounted by in the long term reducing barriers to entry, removing any arbitrary limits at each station, and incentivising up-skilling in ways allowed by the National Joint Council and Grey Book terms and conditions which determine pay in England, whilst in the short term ensuring software is sophisticated enough to strategically workforce plan in SMART ways, mobilise skills to station in cost-effective ways, and ways which engender a flexible workforce.

Doing so has created Impact in a number of services, and recently been shortlisted for the Excellence in Fire & Emergency Awards 2022 in part by looking for best practice not just in literature, but in fire and rescue service case studies from across the world, in the wider volunteer sector globally, and those reported in the HMICFRS inspection reports conducted since its re—inauguration in 2018. This approach has allowed re-enkindle’s research to take in relevant insights from within the sector and then combine them with those from analogous domains and disciplines. For example, it has sought to learn what sociology and psychology, their theories and practices, can tell us about fire service culture, especially the local culture at the on-call’s core which is conducive to the goodwill upon which good availability is often contingent (this concept of goodwill will be explored, quantified and qualified in a future post), and how best to understand its workforce’s primary motivations using theories such as the Theory of Planned Behaviour, Group Cohesion, and Social Identity Theory.

As we discussed in the on-call landscape, outside the fire sector, the wider world of big business similarly grapples with recruitment and retention challenges in the midst of the Great Realization precipitated by COVID (if you do nothing else after reading this, why not check out this short, informative yet inspirational poem which went viral during COVID). Their work highlights the importance of ensuring all roles become increasingly flexible. For the fire service this is especially necessary, so OCFFs can continue to combine their commitments to their FRS and the public, whilst meeting their commitments to family, friends, and primary employers.

From the World Economic Forum’s prediction earlier this year that 20% of the world’s population will resign this year as part of The Great Resignation and those such as Forbes suggestions why this may be so (lack of flexibility, meaning and sense of purpose) which they coined The Great Re-prioritisation to the Bank of England’s proposition that soaring house prices in rural locations at least partly reflect the Race for Space, suggest that whilst the road ahead for recruitment within the on-call landscape looks gloomy, the fire service is at the vanguard of a social revolution, as it already provides such employment opportunities for those seeking more meaningful work, or to make a difference in their community. Yet, research also suggests that it is flexibility which is the missing component within the on-call model at present. Nonetheless, with some changes to working conditions, some SMART uses of data, and some even smarter technology with flexibility embedded at it core, fire and rescue services are in prime position to surmount its challenges by capitalising on this social revolution.

The value of data, and the data on value

Like this article, and re-enkindle’s research, as far back as 2013, Sir Ken Knight in his seminal fire service review highlighted the reality that OCFFs have a tremendous amount in common with their counterparts elsewhere, despite them going by different names. Indeed, he recognised that across Europe, and increasingly in the UK, it is OCFFs who cover the majority of the landmass, occupy the majority of the fire stations, and make the most sense from an operational response time, and economic perspective in rural areas. Sir Ken stated that:

‘Many authorities in England might find this hard to imagine. However, international models show that our configuration is not the norm across Europe; many countries have almost entirely volunteer-staffed fire and rescue services, and others that use on-call or part-time staff have higher proportions of them. What this illustration and analysis has to be, therefore, is a challenge to authorities to consider how on-call can work for them.’'[5]

Other international research and interdisciplinary literature confirms these findings.  A meta-analysis of case study data from 14 FRSs across Europe showed that on average 78.1% of the FRS workforce in Europe consists of volunteer firefighters (Elbers, 2019).

This same research highlighted that against an unfavourable backdrop across the sector and the world for recruitment, a number of services (Austria, Belgium and Germany) cited that high recruitment and retention rates were a direct product of the value placed upon the role of a firefighter from the local culture rather than salary. (Elbers, 2019, pp.52-54) This, plus empirical evidence from elsewhere - such as Ireland where retained firefighters receive salaries ranging from £15000 - £35,000 - suggests that spending on increasing salaries is perhaps not as prudent, and in the long term does not behove recruitment and retention as much as many may suppose. Instead, spending on community projects in a way which re-enfranchises the FRS in its local communities, in making fire stations community hubs, re-invigorating schemes such as the fire cadets, supporting projects such as the NFCC’s Economic & Social Value project, spending on data analysis to better understand recruitment prospects and diversity, as per the edicts of the NFCC and the CIPD, and to understand demand and availability is perhaps the way to surmount these largely social, economic, and cultural challenges faced by us all, and to ensure the right people (OCFFs) with the right skills (ERD/ICs) are in the right place (available) at the right time (when an incident occurs).

Solutions & Strength in Solidarity

What this brief look at a few pieces of research and some data have hopefully highlighted is that as straightforward as such suggestions may first appear to make the availability of on-call fire engines more sustainable and work well – such as simply recruiting the requisite OCFFs despite an unfavourable backdrop for recruitment across the world post-COVID and mid-Great Resignation – the problem has evidently endured for many services, partly as the causes that lay behind this perennial problem extend far beyond mere matters of recruitment.

As we saw in the On-call landscape they reflect fluctuating socioeconomic trends, such as changes to employment, to pay, and to places of work, borne in part from financial crisis; they reflect societal changes including increased individualism which adversely affects opportunities for recruitment, and social upheavals precipitated by unprecedented pandemics, which adversely affect retention; and they reflect political factors, such as variable levels and sources of funding, profound changes to political structures borne from the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, and changes to emergency services governance, nationally and locally.[7]

Such complexities not only demand smarter uses of data, and re-enkindled uses of research, as we have seen, they partly originate in the very names by which we refer to those serving their communities in these valuable roles. This article asked at the outset ‘What’s in a name?’ Hopefully it has shown that whether on-call, non-career, volunteer or part-time, the similarities far outweigh the differences. As with every other area of life, and particularly when we face challenges which require togetherness, solidarity, and innovative solutions, whilst diversity is a definite strength, we would also make favourable outcomes more likely by focussing far more on how much we have in common, on genuinely sharing common denominators of success as best practice, and on remembering the importance of wherever and whenever possible cultivating inclusivity. As this article has shown, tackling together the intractable issues facing the sector is made harder by the use of disparate terms to describe what are analogous workforces.

With our focus on sharing best practice, innovation, and inclusivity, re-enkindle’s mission is to use research and data to support joined up approaches across the world, to facilitate best practice sharing with an unbiased, objective approach, and use articles like this to help avoid public confusion about the role. Perhaps most importantly, it is our hope that we can draw attention to the fact that whatever term may be employed, on-call, retained, volunteer, or non-career, the role of an OCFF is indicative of ordinary people giving extraordinary levels of commitment and time, to perform extraordinary operational activities for others. This provides tremendous value to the taxpayer, serves a vital and valuable function now more than ever, and can offer prospective recruits a role in society and in their local communities which reflects altruism, is meaningful, satisfying, and rewarding, enhances a sense of belonging, community, and camaraderie, and fulfils a deep human desire to help others, at times when they are at their most vunerable.

If you are a firefighter, please share this article as a celebration of the fantastic work you do. If you are leader, please consider contacting us to support your endeavours with research and data solutions.

Next up…next week…’How to retain a retainer’

[1] Emelie Lantz and Marcus Runefors (2020) "Recruitment, retention and resignation among Non-Career Firefighters", International Journal of Emergency Services <https://doi.org/10.1108/IJES-02-2020-0009>

[2] This term reflects the Retained Duty System (RDS) used to administer and regulate part of the FRS workforce in England. Whilst it is still in widespread use informally, formally it has since been superseded by 'on-call firefighters' largely as a result of a national campaign to augment public awareness of the job role and thereby potentially improve overall recruitment of on-call firefighters.

[3] M. J. Elbers (2019). Recruitment and retention of volunteers in European Fire Services. Google Scholar <https://www.ifv.nl/kennisplein/Documents/20191001-BA-Recruitment-and-retention-of-volunteers-in-European-Fire-Services_phase%201.pdf>[accessed on 3 Feb 2022], p.8

[4] West, D. and Murphy, P. (2016) "Managerial and leadership implications of the retained duty system in English fire and rescue services: An exploratory study", International Journal of Emergency Services, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 184-198. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJES-09-2016-0018.

[5] Sir Ken Knight (2013) Facing the Future: Findings from the review of efficiencies and operations in fire and rescue authorities in England<https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/200092/FINAL_Facing_the_Future__3_md.pdf> p.7 & fig. 16.

[6] HMICFRS (2018/19) State of Fire and Rescue: Annual Assessment of the Fire and Rescue Service in 2018/19<https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/wp-content/uploads/state-of-fire-and-rescue-2019-single-page-format.pdf>[accessed on 1 Mar 2022], p8.

[7] PFCCs Making a Difference: Fire and Rescue Governance in Focus< https://www.apccs.police.uk/media/6497/fire-and-rescue-governance-in-focus.pdf>[accessed on 10 May 2022].

[8] Court of Justice of the European Union Matzak ruling (2018) <https://www.cesi.org/the-matzak-ruling-of-the-court-of-justice-of-the-european-union-a-positive-development-regarding-the-concept-of-working-time/> [accessed on 18 Feb 2022].

[9]Local Government Association (LGA, Mar, 2021) Advisory Bulletin: Employment Law Update, March 2021 - 689.pdf, pp.3-9.