Methods of Motivating Fire and Rescue Service Colleagues - Research Paper Example

TOPIC: MOTIVATING COLLEAGUES IN FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE (NAME) (COURSE NAME) (INSTITUTIONS NAME) 9th NOVEMBER 2008 Introduction The occurrence of accidents caused by fire and other fire hazards pose a great danger and a continuous threat to property and life of the citizens in different states of the world. Severe damages, irreparable losses and untold miseries are some of the effects brought about by fire mishaps. In this view, effective and adequate protection not only from fire but also of property and life is quite vital and imperative need. The departments concerned with Fire and Rescue services takes pride in being well established organisations in the state and contribute most significantly in the control and prevention of hazards brought by fire. It is quite important to realize that the role of the fire and rescue services departments is not only restricted to rescuing property and life but it also deals with offering rescue and emergency relief to the victims of natural calamities and any other disaster that may occur such as collapse of buildings, bomb blasts, explosive accidents to mention but a few. Thus such departments perform the twin task of rescue operations and fire fighting. Being essentially a service department, the prime concern of the fire and rescue services departments in different countries of the world is to play the sole role of rescuing property and life from destruction and damage. Recent world’s renowned catastrophes such as Katrina, Tsunami and recent collapse of school buildings in Haiti are some of the devastating occurrences that call for the attention of the fire and rescue services in countries affected by such calamities. The role played by the Fire and Rescue services in such circumstances can not be overemphasized. The true calibre and mettle of the personnel that render yeoman service in the wake of such disasters require more than congratulation messages. Both the public and the media appreciate the work performed by the Fire and Rescue services departments in the wake of grave dangers and emergencies in their relief and rescue operations. The exemplary performance displayed by these departments is partly due to the planned motivations of the colleagues or personnel in the fire and rescue services departments and partly due to expansion and modernization of the departments which enables them to systematically undertake their operations with minimal difficulties. The topic attracts the attention of policy makers, agencies and other stake holders because of its underlying importance as the prime Disaster Management Agency which must be adequately equipped for the unforeseen tasks that are aimed at rescuing life and property. In this regard, the policy makers, agencies and other stakeholders strives to ensure that concrete measures are undertaken to enhance the department’s capabilities in handling simple as well as complex rescue operations. They contribute greatly to ensuring that updated equipment are procured and sanctioned and enough personnel are employed in order to ensure that any effects brought about by unforeseen disasters such as fire, earthquakes are minimised if not eliminated. For example, the business community is one of the stakeholders in the fire and rescue services and a direct beneficiary of the services offered by such departments in protecting business premises from fire destruction. They therefore help in raising the needed funds to purchase the required equipments. Agencies such as Disaster Management Authorities which are set up by the government perform the responsibility of training and formation of rescue and search teams which are integrated into the Fire and Rescue department with the main role of preparing and planning on how to tackle major disasters. As a result, the Fire and Rescue Services personnel perform their duties more efficiently when motivated. This is done through giving of awards and through welfare measures. The previous surveys conducted in various Fire and Rescue services departments in several countries indicates that motivation of the personnel in such departments elevates their performance putting in mind the fact that they also endanger their lives trying to rescue other people’s property and lives. Among 21 personnel sampled and interviewed on the effects of motivation in their lives 2/3 or 14 personnel indicated that motivation not only boosted their morale but made them go a step further in their own initiatives to save lives and property during the most dangerous disasters. The rest of this paper looks at the methods used in carrying out the above research where issues such as methods used to collect the required information, description of samples as well as problems encountered during the research and how they were overcome will be discussed. In addition, the paper will also involve presentation of the results as well as analysis of the results. Methodology In order to determine the methods of motivating Fire and Rescue Service colleagues the personnel department was extensively involved in the research where both the senior officers and the personnel officers in the Fire and Rescue Service Departments were involved. The questionnaires with well designed questions were used to collect the required information. (Joyce, 2000). The use of questionnaires was seen as the best method in such busy environments because it only involved answering already set questions. It was also appropriate because it involved samples far away where other methods of collecting information would be quite expensive hence questionnaire method was appropriate to use because the costs involved were minimal. The sampling technique involved choosing a sample of 20 Fire and Rescue services personnel from 5 Fire and Rescue service departments including senior officers in those departments. Random sampling was used to pick the personnel who would be included into the sample. (Helrth, 2003). To avoid bias in choosing the sample, paper method was used where numbers (1-9) were indicated and papers folded for the personnel officers to pick. Those who picked even numbers automatically qualified to be in the sample. Hence four personnel officers from every Fire and Rescue service Departments were chosen. (Jenny, 2005) After designing the questionnaires, they were dispatched to various departments where follow ups were carried out in conjunction with senior officers in those departments who ensured that the questionnaires were answered and mailed back to the research centre. However, it is vital to note that the senior officers were not required to influence answers given by their junior officers as this would mean that the results of the research study would not reflect the truth about motivation of Fire and Rescue service colleagues. Ensuring that the questionnaires reached the desired audience was the main problem experienced but the problem was overcome through working in conjunction with the senior officers in the Fire and Rescue Service departments. The other problem was lack of adequate funds to be used in communicating with participants in the sample to remind them of the need to fill the questionnaires. Making follow ups in some departments proved hard because personnel officers were all in the field either performing rescue operations tasks or undertaking their training. (David, 2004) However, to overcome the above problems my friends contributed significantly in ensuring that I raised enough funds to carry out the research. Proper timing especially very early in the morning proved the best time to reach the Fire and Rescue Service Personnel before the officers went out for their routine tasks. (Susan, 2004) Questionnaire 1. Are there challenges faced by the Fire and Rescue services personnel? Yes 20 No 0 2. Do you think the above challenges are life threatening or they are just normal challenges. Yes 15 No 5 3. Do you think there is any need of extrinsic motivation for the Fire and Rescue service personnel or should they be left to depend on their intrinsic motivation? Yes 20 No 0 4. Do you think that extrinsic motivation you get helps you face the above life threatening challenges when carrying out your tasks? Yes 18 No 2 5. Are awards more important ways of motivating the Fire and Rescue Service personnel? Yes 12 No 8 6. Are welfare measures such as fire and Rescue benevolent fund, family benefit fund scheme, ex-gratia payment, group insurance scheme, food subsidy scheme and construction of quarters the best method of motivating the Fire and Rescue Service personnel? Yes 20 No 0 7. Do you think that the communities appreciate the work you perform as Fire and Rescue Service personnel? Yes 10 No10 8. Does the government participate accordingly in ensuring that the needed equipments are available for your safety and faster response to disasters? Yes 16 No 4 9. Would you desire to continue with this job or would you desire to change your career and perform other tasks rather than being a Fire and Rescue service personnel? Yes 13 No 7 10. Do you think that the equipments you have give you courage and motivate you to rescue lives and property in the most dangerous disasters? Yes 20 No 0 Presentation of Results The use of tables was regarded as the most effective way of presenting results because tables are easy to make and easy to understand. They are also clear and interpretation can be done easily and simply by looking at different columns and rows. (Terry, 2001) Questions Results Reasons Yes No 1.Presence of challenges 20 0 Yes. It involves natural calamities which are not friendly to human life 2. Life threatening or normal challenges 15 5 Yes. It involves disasters such as earthquakes, floods and others which are very dangerous to life. No. Normal challenges because all challenges are equal and only methods of handling them differ 3. Need for extrinsic motivation 20 0 It energizes an officer to perform rescue operations tasks whole heartedly. 4. Does motivation contribute significantly to facing life threatening challenges 18 2 Yes. It enables a personnel officer feel appreciated in venturing into the most dangerous areas to rescue property and lives No. It hampers the self will of personnel officers. 5. Are awards important than welfare measures? 12 8 Yes. They are meant to lift the morale of personnel officers No. They make others feel as though they do not perform their tasks as required. 6. Are welfare measures more important than awards 20 0 Yes. Welfare measures are equally distributed which makes all personnel feel appreciated. 7. Do communities appreciate your work? 10 10 Yes. Some believe that we do a great job by saving their lives and property. No. Other feel that we delay in undertaking our duties hence causing massive losses of lives and property. 8.Participation of the government 16 4 Yes. It provides necessary equipments to undertake the duties with minimal difficulties No. some policies formed by the government are not flexible enough to allow for faster response to disasters. 9. Desire of the Fire and Rescue Service job 13 7 Yes. It gives satisfaction to save lives and property No. It exposes one to dangerous situations which can affect the health or cause loss of lives. 10. Equipments and motivation 15 5 Yes. They ensure safety of personnel officers during rescue operations No. They can have defects which can affect greatly the rescue operations to the extent of causing deaths. Analysis Analysis of the above results gives a clear picture of the importance of motivation to the Fire and Rescue Services personnel. 20/20 personnel officers in the sample agreed that there are numerous challenges that they face in their dangerous tasks of rescuing lives and property. The presence of challenges was indicated as resulting from the fact that most disasters such as earthquakes and floods are natural and very unfriendly to human lives. The magnitude of such disasters alone is scary and measures taken to rescue people trapped in debris and those caught up in the midst of heavy floods is not only an uphill task but also a challenging task that requires careful manoeuvre of every skill that ensures both the safety of the victim and the rescuer. (Bogil, 2001) 15/20 of the personnel indicated that the challenges are life threatening because they sometimes involve looking for victims in the most dangerous areas even if there may be no victims trapped in such places. 5/20 of the personnel indicated that the challenges faced are just normal to other challenges faced in life and they should not be regarded any different from other challenges. However, all the Fire and Rescue Service personnel in the sample indicated that they appreciate the role played by extrinsic motivation measures in energizing personnel officers to perform their duties. Most of the personnel officers thought that welfare measures as a method of motivating Fire and Rescue Service personnel was more important than awards because awards leaned on a few officers and the criteria used to arrive at who is to be awarded raised concerns. (Tommy, 2006) However, welfare measures of motivating the Fire and Rescue Service officers were regarded as the most appropriate as they ensured equal opportunities for all. The first welfare measure in motivating the Fire and Rescue Service personnel is through the formation of a Fire and Rescue benevolent Fund. The fund renders financial help to the distressed Fire and Rescue members’ in order to promote their welfare. (Camily, 1995) The fund serves the following purposes; meeting the cost of higher education for the children, purchasing nutritious food for their dependents and themselves especially those who have chronic diseases such as Leprosy, Tuberculosis and Cancer. It also serves the purpose of providing relief to the deceased family members as well as meeting the funeral expenses in case of death of one of the members. (Peter, 2003) The second welfare measure which is perceived as another important way of motivating the Fire and Rescue Service personnel is through the creation of a Family Benefit Fund Scheme which is an amount that the government sets aside from the scheme to the Fire and Rescue Service personnel who die in harness. (Rudy, 1997) The third welfare measure is the Ex-gratia Payment for the Fire and Rescue Service personnel who die while on duty or in harness or those who suffer disabilities that are permanent while on duty. It is also a welfare payment that goes to those who suffer minor and major injuries while on duty. The Group Insurance Scheme is the fourth type of welfare measure that should be used to motivate the Fire and Rescue Service personnel in order to encourage them perform their duties effectively and more efficiently. The scheme is aimed at offering relief to the deceased family if one member of the team dies while on duty. (Siyad, 2007) The fifth welfare measure for motivating the Fire and Rescue service personnel is the Food Subsidy Scheme which involves the supply of food articles such as wheat, rava, rice, black gramdal and toordal to the Fire and Rescue Services personnel at subsidised rates. (Emmanuel, 2005) Construction of quarters is also another welfare measure that can be used to motivate the personnel. Construction of quarters does not only help in quick mobilisation of personnel during the fire and other emergencies but it also helps in maintaining operational efficiency. Thus the personnel are motivated to work together in unison which reduces the time taken to reach the place of disasters. (Andrew, 2001). A part from awards and welfare measures used in motivation of personnel, provision of adequate equipments were also cited as other methods that can be used to motivate the Fire and Rescue Service personnel. (Job, 2000) Modern equipments that ensure the safety of the rescuer or a fire fighter are a great source of motivation. These equipments include, fire fighting and rescue operation vehicles. Vehicles include ambulances, water tenders, emergence rescue tenders and small foam tenders. Others include, hydraulic platform, hose laying tender, Water Lorries, Turn Table Ladder, Mobile Repair Vans, Hydraulic Platform-cum-Turn Table Ladders, High Range Portable pumps, Wrecker, High Range Portable pumps and other support vehicles that have wireless equipments such as buses, motor cycles and jeeps. (Lenny, 2005) Felix 2000 observed that other most important equipments that raise the motivation of the personnel include Smoke Exhausters, Lifting Bags, Generators and other Combi-tools, Poisonous Gas Detectors, Mechanised Fibre Boats, Hand-held Thermal Imaging Cameras, inflatable boats for use during floods and cyclones, Helmet Type Thermal Imaging Camera, Life Detectors, Fire- Entry Suits, Multigas Monitors, heat resistant gloves and Protective Suits. (Finel, 2007) Communication equipments and gadgets are also important equipments that are used in rescue operations. All these equipments are useful during rescue operations as they minimize the risks of injuries and deaths to the rescuers thus motivating them to carry out their rescue operations even in the most dangerous scenes. (Manny, 1998) Conclusion Results comparison Comparing the number of personnel who agitated for motivation with those who indicated otherwise it is quite evident from the above results that motivation of the Fire and Rescue Service personnel is quite significant. However, how to motivate the personnel seemed to be unison with all the participants in the research indicating that welfare measures explained above are more suitable ways in which the personnel can be motivated instead of relying on awards. Because of the nature of the work done by fire and rescue service personnel most respondents expressed their desire that welfare measures would be important because as compared to other ways of motivating the personnel this would last for quite along time unlike money awards that would just last for quite a short time. The community seemed to hold different opinions regarding the work done by the fire and rescue service personnel. 50% percent of the respondents showed that their services are appreciated only when disasters strike but since disasters such as fire outbreak do not occur quite often, then communities harbour the believe that the personnel in fire and rescue service earn their salaries without doing anything constructive. However, 50% of the respondents expressed their satisfaction with the support thy get from the community especially when the members of the community remember the role played by fire and rescue service personnel in past disasters. Most of the respondents also expressed their satisfaction about the support fire and rescue service departments get from the government in terms of equipment provision. Results analysis From the above results analysis, it is also evident that the rescue operation tasks bestowed on the Fire and Rescue Service personnel are challenging and life threatening. As a result long term motivational techniques and methods should be used to motivate the personnel instead of short term motivational ways such as issue of awards. Since the rescue operations involves moving into dangerous environments and circumstances the lives of the rescue officers are also put at stake and hence they should be appreciated the more. Strengths and weaknesses The above research study has its own strength and weaknesses. First, the information collected was representative as it involved Fire and Rescue service personnel from different departments spread on a wide geographical area. However, the information was collected on a small sample which represented the entire population of the Fire and Rescue Service personnel which means that it might have some minimal level of biasness. Implication The results above implies that the policy makers, agencies and other stakeholders should participate more in providing the Fire and Rescue Service personnel with measures aimed at motivating them. REFERENCES Jenny, L. (2005), issues related to fire and rescue services, (New York, New York Press) Peter, K. (2003), motivational challenges for Fire and Rescue Service personnel, (Oxford, Oxford University Press) Lenny, Y. (2005), what are the stakeholder’s roles in Fire and Rescue Services, (Oxford, Oxford University Press) Bogil, T. (2001), importance of Fire and Rescue Department, (New York, McGraw Hill) Terry, I. (2001), role of employee motivation, (New York, Macmillan Publishers) Susan, D (2004), should Fire departments be Politicised? New York, New York Press) Helrth, Y. (2003), intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in the Fire and Rescue Service departments, (New York, New York Press Release) Tommy, J. (2006), the role of Fire and Rescue Services in rescue operations, (New York, Macmillan Publishers) David, G. (2004), Tsunami and Katrina: role played by Fire and Rescue Service personnel, (New Delhi, Limpo Publishers) Shemir, Y. (2005), response to natural catastrophes, (Oxford, Oxford University Press) Finel, P. (2007), getting right equipments for rescue operations, (New York, New York Press) Emmanuel, T. (2005), lessons from Katrina, (New Jersey, New Jersey Press) Job, K. (2000), future ways of disaster management, (Oxford, Oxford University Press) Manny, H. (1998), welfare measures for motivating Fire and Rescue Service personnel, (New York, New York Press) Siyad, L. (2007), how to manage the effects of continuous bomb blast disasters, (Oxford, Oxford University Press) Camily, G. (1995), role of equipments in motivating rescue personnel, (New York, New York Press) Joyce, R. (2000), research methodologies, (New York, McGraw Hill) Andrew, T. (2001), indicators of motivation in Fire and Rescue Services departments, (Cape Town, Cape Town Press) Felix, H. (2000), comparing awards and welfare methods of motivation in Fire and Rescue Service, (Kentucky, Kentruck Press) Rudy, J. (1997), how Fire and Rescue Service departments should be managed and motivated, (New York, Davidson Publishers) Appendices 1 Questionnaire about motivation in Fire and Rescue Service departments Questionnaire 11. Are there challenges faced by the Fire and Rescue services personnel? Yes 20 No 0 12. Do you think the above challenges are life threatening or they are just normal challenges. Yes 15 No 5 13. Do you think there is any need of extrinsic motivation for the Fire and Rescue service personnel or should they be left to depend on their intrinsic motivation? Yes 20 No 0 14. Do you think that extrinsic motivation you get helps you face the above life threatening challenges when carrying out your tasks? Yes 18 No 2 15. Are awards more important ways of motivating the Fire and Rescue Service personnel? Yes 12 No 8 16. Are welfare measures such as fire and Rescue benevolent fund, family benefit fund scheme, ex-gratia payment, group insurance scheme, food subsidy scheme and construction of quarters the best method of motivating the Fire and Rescue Service personnel? Yes 20 No 0 17. Do you think that the communities appreciate the work you perform as Fire and Rescue Service personnel? Yes 10 No10 18. Does the government participate accordingly in ensuring that the needed equipments are available for your safety and faster response to disasters? Yes 16 No 4 19. Would you desire to continue with this job or would you desire to change your career and perform other tasks rather than being a Fire and Rescue service personnel? Yes 13 No 7 20. Do you think that the equipments you have give you courage and motivate you to rescue lives and property in the most dangerous disasters? Yes 20 No 0 Appendices 2 The table that represents the results from the questionnaires Questions Results Reasons Yes No 1.Presence of challenges 20 0 Yes. It involves natural calamities which are not friendly to human life 2. Life threatening or normal challenges 15 5 Yes. It involves disasters such as earthquakes, floods and others which are very dangerous to life. No. Normal challenges because all challenges are equal and only methods of handling them differ 3. Need for extrinsic motivation 20 0 It energizes an officer to perform rescue operations tasks whole heartedly. 4. Does motivation contribute significantly to facing life threatening challenges 18 2 Yes. It enables a personnel officer feel appreciated in venturing into the most dangerous areas to rescue property and lives No. It hampers the self will of personnel officers. 5. Are awards important than welfare measures? 12 8 Yes. They are meant to lift the morale of personnel officers No. They make others feel as though they do not perform their tasks as required. 6. Are welfare measures more important than awards 20 0 Yes. Welfare measures are equally distributed which makes all personnel feel appreciated. 7. Do communities appreciate your work? 10 10 Yes. Some believe that we do a great job by saving their lives and property. No. Other feel that we delay in undertaking our duties hence causing massive losses of lives and property. 8.Participation of the government 16 4 Yes. It provides necessary equipments to undertake the duties with minimal difficulties No. some policies formed by the government are not flexible enough to allow for faster response to disasters. 9. Desire of the Fire and Rescue Service job 13 7 Yes. It gives satisfaction to save lives and property No. It exposes one to dangerous situations which can affect the health or cause loss of lives. 10. Equipments and motivation 15 5 Yes. They ensure safety of personnel officers during rescue operations No. They can have defects which can affect greatly the rescue operations to the extent of causing deaths. Read More