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Retention of
Volunteers:
How can you recruit and retain volunteers? There is
no simple answer, but understanding why people volunteer on an EMS
service and what makes them stay on the service can help. Also, knowing
why people leave EMS helps, because we may be able to prevent those
things from occurring.
Why EMS Providers
Provide EMS
#1 – Personal Satisfaction. Outside of
wanting to play with big trucks and make the lights and sirens go, most
people get in to this business to help others. We feel good when we help
others. We want to make a difference in the world, even if it’s just
the little part of the world where we live.
#2 – Contributions to the community.
Citizens of a community, especially a small community, become a family.
If you grow up in the family, you are protective of it, and want it to
grow and be happy, healthy and safe. EMS/Fire helps the community, not
just by answering medical calls and fighting fires. Personnel teach
first aid and CPR classes, conduct safety programs at the schools, lead
bicycle safety courses, host babysitting classes, and more. The
involvement is limited only by the members themselves.
#3 – Excitement. Face it, only 5-10% of our
calls are exciting. But, that’s enough positive reinforcement for
adventure-seeking types that are drawn to the business. Like a gambler
dropping coins into a slot machine, we know that sometimes when the
button is pushed (or the pager sounds), the result will be exciting.
#4 – Family & Friends. Strong friendships
can be born from joining an EMS/Fire Department. The only people that
truly understand how it feels to work a code on a neighbor, are the
people working it with you. If you think that EMTs and Firefighters
would do anything for the general public, you should see what they will
do for each other. They can be a very close knit family.
#5 – Career enhancement. Volunteer work can
look pretty good to a prospective employer. Being an EMT can help seal
a job for someone who has that one edge over other applicants. The
experience gained can put a person in line for a full time job in the
same field.
#6 – Service awards. Everyone likes a pat
on the back now and then. Recognition is something we strive for in our
jobs, whether it’s in the form of a raise or a promotion. Departments
who recognize their volunteers with service awards and other forms of
recognition tend to keep their members longer. Everyone wants to feel
appreciated.
#7 – Property tax deductions. In some
towns, members of EMS/Fire Departments are given property tax deductions
for their volunteer service. In other towns, a deduction on the gas or
electric bill is given. With the price of energy, that would be a great
incentive.
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ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END.
DO THEY HAVE
TO?
Unfortunately, EMS loses good people every year, at
an alarming rate. Volunteers are lost at a higher rate than new
volunteers are found. Why? I've done some research, read many stories of
EMS providers, and here are some reasons we lose crew members:
#1 – Family conflicts. The spouse isn’t
supportive. The kids have activities the volunteer doesn’t want to miss
anymore. Work schedules are longer, and people travel further for good
jobs. There are so many possible conflicts!
#2 – Burn-out. Even the 5-10% of calls that
are exciting can be too much. The volunteer has worked too many codes on
neighbors, talked to too many grieving parents, seen too much blood and
flesh that just the day before was a living, breathing member of the
community. The pager tones have become dreaded instead of welcomed.
Sleep is more precious than a call at 2 a.m. The EMS “family” is too
demanding, and the family at home is too neglected. No one can tell
exactly when burn-out will occur, but there are things that can be done
to prevent it, which will be discussed later.
#3 – Lost interest. The 5-10% of calls that
are exciting are not enough. The volunteer who seeks excitement on every
call will be bitterly disappointed when he or she discovers that most of
our patients would survive even if we did nothing. Or maybe the
volunteer seems to be away when the calls come in, and his or her call
shifts are quiet. This makes it seem like his or her time and efforts
are in vain, and he or she isn’t really needed.
#4 – Lack of leadership abilities. A
department without a good leader is like a table without legs. Put too
much on the table and the table crumbles. A department without a good
leader can get through the easy times without too much trouble, but the
first crisis that comes along will cause disruption and chaos. Humans
seek an order to things; without order, we feel lost, confused and
unfulfilled.
#5 – Cliques. When a new member joins the
department, and he or she is referred to as “the newbie” for 5 years,
that person hasn’t become a full member yet. When the new member can’t
get into the club, even though he or she is in the department, there
won’t be the personal satisfaction, feeling of family, and development
of strong friendships. Interest will be lost quickly.
#6 – Personal conflicts and quarrels.
Without teamwork and harmony, a department suffers. Here are some actual
reasons that people have left EMS/Fire Departments:
“I’m tired of him criticizing
everything I do.”
“She won’t ever drive. I have to drive
every time. I want to do patient care.”
“All she ever thinks about is what’s in
it for her. I don’t want to be like that.”
“He is so bossy. Why can’t the rest of
us have an opinion once in awhile.”
“Even when I’m on call, others who get
there just seconds before me take my call.
Why should I even bother
anymore.”
Or…
“I’m glad he’s gone. He
does this full time and was always trying to teach us something, like we
need that.”
“We didn’t need him
anyway. He was an EMT when he moved here and didn’t do things the same
as we do.”
“She would only take one
shift a week. If she can’t pull her weight, we don’t need her anyway.”
There were so many more stories too
complicated for one line, but so often a petty disagreement results in
losing a member. Have you ever been in an organization that has a
“troublemaker?” And did you ever notice, that person is the one that
endures, and drives away member after member, as if he or she was trying
to create a department of his or her followers. And this longevity seems
to give the troublemaker even more self-worth. Most troublemakers want
power, control and/or money. They will make it known that you can’t get
along without them. (Or can you?) They will intimidate, criticize, and
make anyone who won’t join “their team” feel unwanted and unneeded.
Often the troublemakers have a different motivation for their
membership. They may say their patients are the reason they do this, but
it may well be that the patients are simply a means to an end – their
own ego boost. They don’t need anyone to pat them on their back because
they do it themselves.
So, we have identified what keeps members and what
drives them away. It makes sense to study both so that we can promote
the “keep” list and dissuade the “away” list.
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Retention of Volunteers
Here are some ideas that services can
do easily, and increase the satisfaction of the volunteers on the
service. This could potentially increase the length of service of the
members. Following each tip for individual services is a response that
the Union County EMS Association could make.
Individual Service: Make new members
feel welcome and part of the team. Introduce them at the first scheduled
meeting after they join. Find out something about them – family,
hobbies, work, experience – share the information at the meeting so that
it will be easier for everyone to strike up a conversation with them.
Consider inviting their spouse and/or children to the meeting, too. If
you have a call schedule, be sure to include them.
UCEMSA: A letter of congratulations to the new member, with
contact information, info about UCEMSA, and an invitation to meetings.
Individual Service: Track years of
service, and statistics for number of calls each year for each member.
Share this information with UCEMSA.
UCEMSA: Provide
recognition awards for members. Years of service certificates, pins,
patches, letters.
Individual Service: Special family
events – birth of a child or grandchild, marriage, special anniversary,
awards received, etc. Share with UCEMSA.
UCEMSA: Mention special family events on the website.
Individual Service: “Job Well Done”
by a member. This could be exceptional job of handling a difficult call,
going above and beyond the call of duty, receiving a letter of praise
from a patient or family, or other special circumstances. Share this at
your local meeting. Share with UCEMSA. Share pictures if appropriate and
possible.
UCEMSA: Provide a certificate to the member. Recognize the
member on the website.
Individual Service: Share results of
election of officers with UCEMSA.
UCEMSA: Letters of congratulations to officers.
Recognition on website.
Individual Service: Choose a “member
of the month” by whatever criteria your department deems appropriate.
Submit your choice to UCEMSA.
UCEMSA: Certificate to each member of the month. Draw
from names for a prize. End of the year, solicit applications and choose
a member of the year.
Individual Service: Host continuing
education classes within your department 4 times per year. Provide a
place to have the class and refreshments.
UCEMSA: Provide the instructor, handouts and registration
materials, arrange for the continuing education hours, and track hours
for all who attend.
Individual Service: Notify UCEMSA of
fundraising events.
UCEMSA: Publish on the website. Provide other assistance
as able.
Individual Service: Hold case
studies and/or audit reviews quarterly. This will provide feedback to
members on the calls they have participated in.
UCEMSA: Provide guidance for conducting these, attend as
necessary until the local department is comfortable with the process.
Individual Service: Hold one or two
events per year which involve members and members’ families. This can be
informal gatherings, a picnic in the summer and a bowling party in the
winter, for instance. Even a pot-luck before a meeting or a cook-out
afterward. It’s okay to let the families sit in on a meeting, too, so
they can see what their family member does
UCEMSA: Provide notice on the website, door prizes for
those who attend, and coverage in the newsletter after the event.
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