MANAGING WORKFORCE BEHAVIOR FROM CRADLE TO RETIREMENT

1. MANAGING WORKFORCE BEHAVIOR FROM CRADLE TO RETIREMENT By The Learning experiences of Eric Valliere

2. Why is this process so importantThings you don’t want to happen Department Reputation and Public Perception • Hookers at Fire Stations taking pictures • Hookers servicing FFs at Fire Stations • Brawls in public • Bad Patient interactions • Hazing at Fire Stations • Soliciting Prostitution in a Duty Uniform • Selling drugs from the Fire Station • Stealing from fire station • Station supplies • Narcotics • Missuses of public funds Any of these surprise you? Anyone want any of this to have your department’s name associated with it? 2

3. Why is this process so importantThings you do want to happen Delivery of the Department’s Mission • Mentally Healthy Workforce • Successful Employees • Physically Healthy Workforce • Members that can mentor the next Generation of workforce • Members that you can trust • Members that can grow the organization reputation capital and market your organization • Members you can trust to take care of your own family Its not just to keep away the unwanted, but to build an organization everyone is proud to be a part of - Your boss / bosses (the community expect it) 3

4. So… How do you do it?It takes work and continued effort! • Hire the right people and train them correctly • Teach them what’s expected – how to be successful in your organization • Monitor their successes and failures • Support their good and bad times • Continue to keep a watchful eye when their needs are not so obvious • Take action and make the “thoughtful” tough decision when bad things happen 4

5. Hire the right peopleYou will own them for the next 20-30yrs What does this look like for your organization and how do you do it? • What are you looking for? • Competent and attentive • Fundamental behaviors, ones that match your culture– caring and being nice should be part of their moral fibers • What should you watch out for? – High Conflict Personalities (5 types of People Who Can Ruin Your Life – by Bill Eddy) – bad behaviors that will grow. Disrespectful – No conscience – lacks situational awareness 5

6. What’s your selection process?Old school or new school You need some type of a process to get a look into who the person is – more than just an interview panel – How is this done without adding Alcohol? • Today’s successful hires are coming from a Pre-academy selection process – 3-5 weeks • We do this, but I call it “Speed Dating”! – 2 hours • Looking for the slightest abnormality – things that 90-95% of the population wouldn’t do – the correct kind of uniqueness. Important! You MUST use Top Performers at all ranks to hire your next Top Performers 6

7. 2nd opportunity to ensure you have the right person Recruit Academy or New Hire Training • If they present bad behaviors, you must release them as soon as possible • If they are struggling with the skills and have good behaviors, allow them more time before considering release – but they must meet the certification requirements Skills can be taught – some are just slow to pick it up initially Bad Behaviors at this point are a warning sign Important! You MUST use Top Performers at all ranks to train your next Top Performers When they complete they’re initial training, where do you put them? 7

8. Teach them what is expected and how to be successful in your organization Peloton – Lead, Pack, and the Drag – Always stay within the rails! Lead Drag Pack What rank fits in each area? 8

9. Teach them what is expected and how to be successful in your organization • Relax – work with the peloton to maximize team success with the least amount of wasted energy • Stay Up Front – It’s the safest place and allows you to react quickly to changes • Hide Your Suffering – Be aware that your conduct and reputation influences those around you – make that a positive reality • Work Smart – Work hard, realizing this is a long race – learn from your mistakes in other races to be more successful in the one you’re in now • Watch for Erratic Riders – Help others to avoid crashing by letting them know your concerns or observations • Look Ahead – Follow you leader, but avoid blind faith • Make Allies – An ally is more likely to help you when you need it • Get Fueled Early – Take care of those things that nourish you in your professional and personal lives • Sprint Smart – Bravely climb to the front in a coordinated, intelligent manner • Don’t be a “Wheel Sucker” – Give your best at all times, not just when the obvious end is near or when others are watching 9

10. Teach them what is expected and how to be successful in your organization • Everyone has a respectable voice – Why is this so important? • Empowerment – FF Life Safety Initiative to potentially an unsafe act from causing a accident or injury… • Also to ensure we are holding each other accountable and potentially stopping a brother or sister from making a poor decision when there may be a lapse in judgement Allow for Debate/ask questions, even strong Debate to gain understanding and clarity, but no tolerance for Contempt or disrespect If you are aware, you are responsible… if you are responsible, you are accountable Important! This is not the norm for the Fire Service – we weren’t taught this! 10

11. Monitor their successes and failures and support their good and bad times • When your people succeed – praise them and reconfirm they are meeting the organizations expectations! • When members show signs or poor behavior or performance – address it and nip it early! “Engage and Redirect” This is an effort to keep them within the rails. • It’s much easier to address an issue when it’s small, but this is hard for the Fire Service – WHY? • Do we lower our bar to tolerate bad behavior, because we don’t know how to handle it? Important! To be successful with this… you must teach/train your supervisors how to do it! 11

12. Why should we make Supervisor training a priority? • Let’s understand where we spend most of our time – most of the shift is spent on non-emergent activities, but most of our training time is spent on managing the emergent call. • If you have a busy unit running 3500 calls a year, they are only on the scene approximately ~21% of the shift (~5 hours of a 24) the rest is crew based non-emergent i.e. Truck check, PT, Training, meals, shopping, school programs, sleep time, drive time to and from, etc. • What about the crew running 1-2 calls a shift? On calls ~3% of the time… • If we have anywhere between 79 – 93% of the shift with somewhat discretionary time - hours of non emergent crew-based time, why are we not making crew management/supervision training more of a priority? • Isn’t this where opportunities to do wrong may happen? i.e. Horse Play, Hooker station visits, or time to visit a strip club – all of these have happened in the past 12

13. Supervisory Training program A Training Program must be implemented to ensure your supervisors know how to manage their crew, the expectations, and what resources are available to them – relationship with HR? • It should explain what the difference is between Corrective Action and Discipline • Most supervisors don’t know this and where they fit in – Did you? I didn’t when I was initially promoted, and my Ops Chief was hesitant to implement… most of the supervisors I have surveyed agree • Do they understand the different levels of each and that the goal is to implement the lowest level that will make a change? • How to have a “Matter of Fact” conversation with their crew. 13

14. Motivation to utilize supervisory skills • Let’s be real! Most organizations look away and hope the issue goes away, but the reality is that the problem just gets worse and creates an out of control disciplinary problem OR it discredits the organization internally because they won’t address it. AT ALL LEVELS!! • There is a motivation for supervisors to utilize this process… • If you don’t take care of your brother or sister… • They get worse and don’t get the help they need (behavioral health issue) • The problem gets worse and then HR gets involved and their job is in jeopardy • Your supervisor goes home and “kicks the dog” out of frustration 14

15. Ensure the right resources are available • When an issue does arise… Ask the question before passing judgement. “How Are They Doing?” • Why should you ask this? Because we hire and keep good employees! • Most of the times, a Root Cause Analysis will identify underlying issues… Family issues i.e. Divorce, child problems, financial problems etc. • Peer Support, EAP, Member Services etc. need to be engaged early • At the end of the day… they need to behave appropriately at work! 15

16. Keep a watchful eye – who’s on the radar • Who’s on the radar? What does this mean? • What’s the temperature of your crew/organization? Is this a fatigue issue? • What do you do when the “care bank” is empty and all that is left is venom and impatience? • Do you think the Glendale incident was preventable? • What do you do when an incident happens that goes viral across the country? You better have a plan and be able to communicate it to the media! 17

17. Take action and make the “thoughtful” tough decision when bad things happen • How do you handle this type of an issue? What if its off duty? Domestic Violence, a DUI. • Do you have a process? Is there an investigation? Do you leave them on the truck or put them on Leave? • Is it fair and consistent? Ensure the punishment fits the crime. • Be certain that your process, decision, and outcome will be publicized 18

18. Take action and make the “thoughtful” tough decision when bad things happen • Make sure you put yourself in their shoes? Preventable vs Non-Preventable • Was there malice or intent? • Was their response appropriate for their environment? Put yourself in their shoes. 19

19. Take action and make the “thoughtful” tough decision when bad things happen • You are not alone… manage this as a Team. • Who is on your team? • Labor? • Is there trust? A common goal? Are you on the same page with the process? • What is your common goal? Not to have bad things happen? Do you feel that Labor only wants to ensure the employee keeps their job, no matter the cost? 20

20. Nobody wants this!! • Aurora shooting victims • Saturday, February 16, 2019 • AURORA, Ill. -- Police identified Saturday the five people killed when a lone gunman opened fire Friday inside a sprawling Henry Pratt Co. warehouse in Aurora, Illinois. • Killed 5 – HR Manager, 1st day intern, Plant Manager, forklift operator, and the Union Chairman • The shooter was Gary Martin, 45 years old, of Aurora. Police confirmed the man had been arrested several times locally, including for domestic battery and disorderly conduct, and had been convicted of a felony assault in Mississippi in the 1990s. • “The individual was being terminated on Friday for a culmination of various workplace rules violations,” Mr. Hall said. “We conducted a background check when the employee was hired 15 years ago which did not surface his prior felony conviction in Mississippi. 21

21. A Bad Hire • Bad behaviors • Criminal offenses • Multiple policy violations How many chances are you willing to take on a person? Important! Not even the labor group wants to deal with this type of employee 22

22. At the end of the day • Egos eat brains - Bruno • We hire good people, and they want to do good things • People want to be a part of something they can be proud of and follow a Leader • It takes work to manage this process • Continual communication needs to happen – Capt to Crew, BCs to Capts, and FC to Org People want to know that you CARE for them!

23. Thank you for your time and attention Eric Valliere Assistant Fire Chief Scottsdale Fire Department Chair of FDSAO evalliere@scottsdaleaz.gov 480-312-1893