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What do you believe your role is in helping the department to achieve its priorities and goals?

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Who do you believe are critical partners for the department/division?

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What should the the top strategic priority or goal be for the department/division over the next 1-5 years?

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Name the top one or two department or division successes over the past 2 years.

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Name the most critical area for improvement in the department/division over the next 1-5 years.

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What is the biggest threat to the department/division in achieving its goals over the next 1-5 years?

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What top challenges were faced as a department or division over the past 2 years?

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Better Promotion of Benefits of working at CCFD

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Better Promotion of Benefits of working at CCFD

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Need to market the benefits of working at CCFD - starting pay, better shifts, to demonstrate competitiveness with other comparable fire departments.

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1300 applicants, 900 active on the recruitment list. Would like to increase by several hundred to better assess existing pool. Competing with 3 other departments, need to be competitive with city fire departments.

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Assign recruits to Captains for mentoring, building relationship with fire station crew and Captain. Build skills, understand expectations and requirements, build relationships with crew to set up for success upon graduation.

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Challenge to build a formalized program and infrastructure to better support the recruitment process. Lack of resources (admin support), full team to attend recruitment events and expand outreach. Resource limitations make it difficult to implement new initiatives.

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Challenges applying county policies to fit and support recruitment of fire personnel. No ability to understand gaps in diversity without proper data to evaluate current state.

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Workload, budget and time to participate in community events that build relationships and find potential recruits.

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To make EMT/Paramedic positions more competitive, review pay structure and consider a bonus program to attract candidates.

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Challenge to seek out and attract potential recruits.

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Need to focus on promoting from within wherever possible, changes to training and recruitment requirements are needed to be able to cross promote between firefighters and paramedics.

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Once infrastructure is fully built, need to take a long-term view of recruitment strategy and invest in its success.

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1 - Test prep/interview prep/ physical prep/resume building/mentorship - provide recruits with a checklist of phases and requirements under each one.
2-Expand mentorship, station visits, physical workouts, standards, test prep for recruitment cycle (every 2 years)
3-Chief's interview, suitability assessment, pre-employment preparedness, textbooks, baseline workout (help them understand WHY requirements, procedures and processes are in place)
4-Upon graduation, mentees become mentors (pay it forward) to share experiences and prepare the next group of recruits. Develop mentors and mentees at each fire station.

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Every firefighter has an opportunity to be a mentor, instructor and support the next group of recruits.

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Treat each other as well as those we serve in the community as we would treat members of our own family.

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Important to ensure employees know WHY we do what we do, and build a culture of understanding the importance of each regulation, procedure, and policy in place.

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Candidate pool may not be sufficient to cover next several rookie schools. Lack of time and effort to conduct recruitment outreach in schools, etc.

Biggest threat is not moving away from status quo for how recruitments are conducted.

Funding to expand outreach efforts.

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Best candidates come from ages 25-30, but they are too old for Explorer Program. There is no mentoring program for this age group.

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Need a better mechanism to communicate with candidates so they know what is coming up and what the next steps are in the process. Lack of information can lead to lack of pursuing the process further. Communication can help them be better prepared recruits.

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Lead by example, support the mission and values of the department.  Embody what the mission and goals are. Be available and willing to participate in department endeavors. Have a positive response to challenges we deal with. Try to look at glass half full kind of person. Make lemonade out of lemons. Look for ways to make a positive impact every day. Set an example by doing best work every day. Look for solutions, work as a team to solve problems. Take recommendations from staff on improvements and support them. Be open minded to suggested improvements.

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Mental/Behavioral health has been made a high priority in the department. 1Oct and Pandemic exposed the need to heighten awareness and focus of mental health issues.

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Need to promote as much focus and priorities mental health as much as physical health of employees.

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CCSD
County HR
County Public Communications
CCFD Explorer and Volunteer Programs

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Need a dedicated budget to be able timely accomplish initiatives.

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Recruitment Division needs to be responsible for ALL aspects and steps in recruitment process within CCFD. Currently the process is fragmented between Admin, EMS and Recruitment, causing some communication gaps between divisions. At a minimum, Chief of Recruitment needs to be looped into discussions and decisions.