HIRING PRACTICES IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT

Hiring Practices in the Fire Department

Hiring Practices in the Fire Department

Introduction

A major organizational concern today is the hiring or promoting of the best-qualified people while still meeting all regulatory requirements and neutralizing or reducing the legal opportunists. On the other hand, the real concern of the hiring or promotion candidate is fairness and equality of opportunity to be selected. The purpose of this case study is to present a method which addresses all these issues. The selection model and process reported here can be generalized and replicated in any organization, but particularly those organizations which select from a large number of candidates for the same entrance position, such as firefighters and police officers. However, this is equally applicable to promotions within an organization, such as from firefighter to captain or from supervisor to manager or from manager to executive.

Hiring Practices in the Fire Department

The Director and Co-ordinator for the Phoenix Fire Department recruit selection project was Chief Van Summers. This is a case study of an already innovative and nationally recognized outstanding organization that wanted to do better and which was already doing well. This organization, the Phoenix Fire Department, is nationally recognized for maintaining excellence and quality service to the customer - saving people, saving property and warding off harm.

The Phoenix Fire Department wanted to improve its selection method for the firefighter recruit position. Minority group members and females wanted a more level playing field that ensured fairness and equality of opportunity in the selection process.

Outcome Objectives

The following is the list of the outcome objectives or goals that the selection process was designed to address:

* To select the firefighter recruit candidate on the basis of who they are rather than who they know or what they did prior to the interview process to influence selection board members.

* To select for ultimate success on the job and not only for success in training.

* To select against criteria regarding what current successful firefighters believe the characteristics, attitudes and behaviours of the Phoenix firefighter should be.

* To select against criteria concerning current successful firefighters' orientations and characteristics.

* To select according to the current PFD Way[6] “expert opinion” of what the Phoenix firefighter is.

* To remove secrecy and mystique from the selection process.

* To have the oral interview process be open and representative of what the Phoenix Fire Department is and how it operates.

* To have a cross-section of the Phoenix Fire Department members on the oral boards, not just chiefs or long-term members. To have a cross-section by years of service, areas of specialization, levels of position and total diversity mix within the department.

* To have question items and content developed by a cross-sectional group from the currently employed Phoenix Fire Department members.

* To create questions based on content and construct validity and inter-judge reliability.

* To design data collection to address pertinent concerns that has been raised by previous years' selection and interview process.

* To design data collection to compare oral boards both between and within ...