1. Provide tools

Make sure your employees have everything they need to do their jobs. Ask each staff member, “Do you have everything you need to be as productive and successful as you can be?” Be willing to act on worthwhile responses. Be willing to reconsider any policies they consider counterproductive.

2. Set expectations

Clearly communicate what’s expected of employees, what the company’s values are, and how the company defines success. Employees need to understand their roles, where they fit in the big picture, and how they can make the company more successful.

3. Share information

Provide as much information as possible about the company. Explain where it’s making money, where it’s losing money, how its products are doing in the marketplace, what new initiatives are being considered and why, and how employees can contribute. Even when the news is not encouraging, people will appreciate your openness.

4. Get personal

Take the time to get to know your employees, especially their goals. Without prying, show a genuine interest in your team.

5. Commit to training

Most people like to learn, to grow, and to improve their marketability, and the more education and training you provide, the happier and more engaged they will feel. Cross-train employees in a variety of jobs when possible. This not only improves productivity, it builds cooperation and appreciation when team members understand the challenges of other positions. Also, be sure employees are trained in problem solving and conflict resolution skills. These critical skills will help them communicate better with you, their coworkers, customers and suppliers.

6. Be inclusive

Include your employees in planning and decision making. Facts “on the ground” may differ from perceptions at 30,000 feet. They may see issues differently and offer ideas for working smarter. If you need to create a more efficient delivery system, ask your delivery staff how they would improve the current system. Use their ideas, and give them credit to them.

7. Reward and recognize

Personally thank an employee for a job well-done. Specify what was good about it and why you appreciate it. For example, say: “Thank you for organizing that project so well. You made it very clear what should happen, when and why.” Remember to celebrate effort as well as accomplishment, to give employees working on long-term goals a boost.

Quick and Easy Ways to Recognize Employees

Take care of your employees, and they will take care of your customers. Here are a few inexpensive ways to make staff feel valued.

8. Free time
• Let everyone leave early to miss rush-hour traffic.
• Give an afternoon off to employees who have exceeded expectations for a particular customer.

9. Free food
• Sponsor a free lunch or breakfast for hardworking teams.
• Subsidize the price of food in vending machines.

10. More ways to say thanks
• Creating an events committee to plan fun outings, such as trips to a sporting event, a picnic, a holiday party.
• Say thank you with a hand-written note.

Following these strategies will help employees feel valued and enthusiastic about their jobs. Not only is this more fun, it’s good for business, improves retention, and reduces burn out.

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Many new officers say that finding this balance point in relating to the crew is the most difficult part of the new position. In some ways, nothing has changed — you’re still living together in the same space, eating meals together, watching TV after hours, and working on projects. In other ways, everything has changed. Now you are responsible — if something goes wrong, it falls back to you whether you’re on an emergency scene or just hanging around in the station.

This sense of responsibility can make some officers overreact. They separate themselves entirely from the crew, holing up in their offices or sleeping quarters, avoiding most social contact. This is a big mistake. Not only is being part of the crew an important aspect of the officer’s job but a company officer who is isolated will not know what is going on and cannot react quickly to situations that may be problematic or escalating.

Excessive isolation can also lead to a lack of trust among crew members. Firefighters want to know their officers — they want to understand that person, how he or she thinks and reacts to things. This is different than being friends. Crew members should know each other well as members of the team. Such knowledge makes a crew much more effective on an emergency scene and more comfortable and congenial during non-emergency duties. Friendship is a separate thing that may or may not develop over time.

On the other hand, being too much “one of the guys” can lead to serious problems. Whenever there is a story in the news about firefighters behaving badly as a group, one always has to ask, “what was the officer doing when this was going on?” In nearly every instance, the officer was an active participant, if not a leader of the inappropriate behavior.

Officers that just go along with whatever the crew finds entertaining in the moment are not doing their job. It is the officer’s responsibility to keep the crew safe under all circumstances, and this includes preventing the group mentality from getting out of control and involving otherwise decent individuals in inappropriate acts. It is the officer who needs to stand up and say, “all right, that’s enough. Time to do something else. This is going too far.”

One of the ways that an officer can tread that difficult middle ground is by setting clear expectations from the start. Crew members want to know what is expected of them, not only in terms of emergency response, but also during more casual interaction around the station. What kind of language will not be tolerated? What subjects are dangerous? What lines cannot be crossed? These standards can be put out there by the officer not only in words but primarily through example. The worst thing a company officer can do is live by the “do as I say but not as I do” standard. This example not only undermines the officer’s credibility but also does nothing to set real standards for others.

Some officers are afraid of being the bad guy. They want their crews to like them so they never stand up and set limits. Everyone wants to be liked, but it is far more important as an officer to be respected. Firefighters want officers to set standards — to define desired behavior and to model professionalism. This is what leadership is all about.

Officers who achieve that delicate balance in being one of the crew and also standing apart in a leadership capacity can achieve amazing results. Such officers can take a diverse group and truly make it into a team that is not only highly functional in a technical sense, but is also committed to the success and safety of all others within the crew. Such teams provide great service, are fun to be part of, and only make the news as a credit to their departments and the fire service as a whole. Performance like this is not accidental—it is always a result of good leadership.

www.firerescue1.com/cod-company-officer-development/articles

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