Master Plan, CRA/SOC
Town of Southington, CT
Opportunity #2: Staffing, Recruitment and Retention Recommendation 2.1: Establish a joint labor management committee review the promotional process. The joint labor management committee should evaluate the promotional process in its entirety to ensure that test components correlate to the current job descriptions and JPRs established by the national standard as they relate to the positions within the Southington Fire Department. As the ultimate goal should be to ensure a defensible promotion process in the event of a legal challenge, ESCI also suggests that the Southington Fire Department re-evaluate the merits of including the civilian Board of Fire Commissioners within the promotional process. It is ESCI’s suggestion that the Southington Fire Department may improve the current promotional process by allowing the professional human resources and fire department personnel to conduct the entire process, thereby eliminating the potential political influence that could be introduced by the inclusion of the elected board. Recommendation 2.2: Conduct reviews of current compensation structures, market competitiveness, and department compensation philosophies. An agency’s ability to attract, hire, and retain personnel has a direct impact on its ability to provide the desired services effectively and efficiently. The Southington Fire Department is no different. Agencies should provide periodic reviews of current compensation structures, market competitiveness, and department compensation philosophies. These internal and external comparisons of equitable positions and workloads ensure the agency can attract and maintain an effective workforce. Recommendation 2.3: The Southington Fire Department should make it a priority to retain their active existing volunteer firefighters. Considering that the cost per call of an existing firefighter who responded to 25% or more of the Southington Fire Department’s calls in 2019 is 18.5% less than the cost of a new volunteer firefighter who responded to between 12.5 and 24% of Southington’s calls for service in 2019, the Southington Fire Department should make it a priority to retain their active existing volunteer firefighters. ESCI recommends that the Southington Fire Department make it a priority to not only recruit new members, but to also retain its existing volunteer members by researching programs and activities that will support current department’s efforts to recruit and retain volunteer firefighters.
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