Practical Techniques for Effective Volunteer Recruitment

“In the last couple of years, we just can’t get people interested in volunteering.” —Don Therault, Director of Ambulance Service Inc., Fort Kent, ME, 2001

“Volunteer organizations throughout America are in transition.” —Joseph J. Fitch, 2002

For better or worse, we live in a time of change. Community demographics are changing, the healthcare system is evolving, there is an increase in overall EMS call volume, both parents in a family are breadwinners, cultural norms have changed, the cost of living is higher than ever, most persons do not work in the same municipality in which they live, and EMS finds itself in the middle of a crisis in regard to the state of volunteerism. “Volunteer agencies” are paying personnel and trying other strategies to stay afloat. Recruitment and retention are the big buzzwords these days, but what are we really doing to recruit new volunteers? Can we stave off the inevitable drought ahead?

Overview

As a general rule, the regional bedrock foundation of EMS past and present has been the volunteer provider. Webster’s Dictionary defines a volunteer as “one who gives of their time freely.”

It’s been said time and again that the psychology behind the volunteer EMS provider is diverse and reflects the basic human needs of recognition and a sense of belonging. Aside from recognizing these basic needs, as well as the inherent satisfaction that comes from serving the community, there are proven strategies that will work in recruiting new volunteers to your service. There are also some common pitfalls that all volunteer EMS agencies confront regarding recruitment and retention of new members. Here are some fairly simple approaches to deal with these often-unintentional obstacles.

Strategies

Minimize bureaucracy

Look at the processes involved when dealing with your agency through the eyes of the people you wish to recruit. Do probationary members have to deal with three different committees whose members meet every other Monday, but only in months that end with the letter “e”? Why is this? Have you ever thought to ask? Rationales like “we’ve always done it this way” or “those are the rules” have no place in a volunteer EMS agency that wishes to move into the future.

Streamline paperwork

There is no reason why an initial application cannot be two pages long, if not less. This size enables you to touch on the critical points, such as current and past addresses, criminal convictions, references, etc., and still leave room for a standard “doctor’s note,” training/education or other documentation on the back of the second page.

Establish specific goals

At the beginning of a probationary period, new members need to have a handbook that maps out what is expected of them over the next few weeks/months. Included within it should be items like the number of calls needed to progress to the next level of membership, meetings to be attended, hours of committee work (e.g., ambulance supply, ambulance maintenance, grounds upkeep or even for attendance at a special event), and other similarly important pieces of information. These are essential items that need to be clearly delineated to every new member. This document should also contain applicable policies and procedures, information on local hospitals and their areas of specialization (e.g., trauma center, burn center, pediatric capabilities, etc.), as well as radio communication protocols, member code of conduct, etc. Obviously, each agency should assess what is important for a new member to know and tailor this document to meet its own specific needs.

Get rid of membership committees

These archaic internal structures can be seen as the gauntlet through which all prospective initiates must pass with the fear of being rejected due to some poorly defined or arbitrary discriminatory practice. Dynamically intertwined with this point is the need to get rid of the “club” or “clique” atmosphere seen in some volunteer EMS agencies. You are not running a fraternity, but providing a vital public service. Policies and procedures should demonstrate equitability to all members and their concerns.

Check your personality issues at the door

You don’t have to like everyone who volunteers with you, but an emergency scene or a board meeting is not the place for this fact to come out. You are volunteering, but you can be professional. Volunteering is like life: The variety of people you work with is what will make it interesting. You will not get along with everybody.

Scheduling must be flexible

Not everyone can do a 12- or 24-hour shift. As your membership grows, modify the hours required as appropriate. This can include eight, six-, or even four-hour shifts as a minimum.

Empower all

It makes no sense to allow only one person to attend crucial recruitment events or give a pre-probationary informational interview. Answers to all standard questions— including those pertaining to necessary certifications, minimum number of hours, average length of transition time from probationary to post-probationary status, etc.— can be scripted out beforehand and delivered by any competent member of the organization. There also needs to be a guide for initial meetings with applicants that takes into account the fact that potential members are interviewing you and your agency just as you are interviewing them.

Not every volunteer needs to be an EMS provider

Yes, you read that correctly. Your organization is a business like any other and requires office staff to support much of your operation. If a CPA or a marketing professional with demonstrated competence in his/her field wishes to help you out, use them. Your organization probably needs accountants and a good marketing person, as well as other non-EMS personnel. Most of your field EMS providers are probably not good bookkeepers or marketers, nor do they want to be. Recognize and accept help from wherever it comes.

Recruitment is a 24/7 job

Unfortunately, volunteer recruitment efforts are often triggered by a sudden loss of active personnel and not as a result of a planned strategic initiative. Often, the volunteer squad will prepare an article for the local newspaper or community flyer to canvass for new members. These techniques may yield one or two possible candidates, but, for the most part, they are largely ineffective. Why? Because recruiting takes commitment, time and planning. Another facet of this is the need to have a person or a method available around the clock (again, this need not be one specific person) to field questions. The people your service needs the most (the township worker, factory night-shift worker, etc.) may not be able to attend the evening meeting or interview, but this should not preclude them from being an integral part of your organization. Websites are an excellent way to post answers to frequently asked questions, but providing all members with a “cheat-sheet” to direct their handling and routing of interested parties is still vital. Chances are, the member you haven’t briefed will be the one giving out conflicting or misleading information.

Don’t overlook a given category of volunteers

Does your local high school require seniors to complete a community service project? Is there a concentrated population of retired people in your coverage area? Do you have a large number of stay-at-home moms locally? Identify the forgotten subsets of your potential volunteer pool and go after them. Whether it is a high-school event or a meeting at the VFW or PTA, there may be uncharted waters to explore. Also, be they young or old, remember that age does not automatically limit volunteers’ ability to serve their community in time of need. Each applicant should be taken on his or her own merits. If field work isn’t possible, there are many other areas of the agency’s operation that could use another hand.

Consider advertising

Whether it is a banner telling your municipality what you do, a press release during EMS Week or an article in the local newspaper following a particularly significant call, consistent advertising is critical. You would be surprised to learn how many citizens in your municipality don’t know what the local EMS service does, what its training level (ALS or BLS) is, or even if it is volunteer or career, until they need your services. It is your job to educate them, but keep the tone positive, not desperate. Remember that an element of volunteer recruitment is unquestionably linked to the overall issue of community support. People will typically not seek to join organizations they believe “stand on shaky legs” or have a poor reputation.

In the Real World

The techniques mentioned here are not merely theoretical—they are practical, as well. The Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corps (TVAC), an all-volunteer, BLS-level third-service EMS provider in the suburban township of Teaneck (population 40,000) located in Bergen County, NJ, has effectively used all of the aforementioned recruitment strategies. While some services in the area have transitioned to using paid personnel, or have been taken over by local hospital-based services or municipal fire departments, TVAC has not. In a testament to the efficacy of the techniques mentioned in this article, TVAC covers over 98% of its annual 3,400 emergency assignments, utilizing mutual aid units less than 2% of the time. TVAC takes in an average of 22 new members each year; approximately 70% of those graduate from probationary member to regular member. When the recruiting system outlined above replaced the membership committee in 1986, TVAC went from approximately 35 members to over 100 members in about a year and a half.

Conclusion

Effective recruitment is the lifeblood of volunteer EMS agencies. Recruiting new members, as well as retaining current members, is a year-round process. Implementation of the suggested techniques doesn’t require an advanced degree; it requires an understanding of your organization’s needs and the ability to attract new blood. Make a plan so that volunteer recruiting is an everyday, ingrained, semiautomatic process that will go on for the lifetime of the agency—preventing, instead of repairing, staffing shortages.

The challenge is for services to plan, sell and close the deal quickly when it comes to recruiting new members, while working to keep the current valuable volunteers, who can often be taken for granted. Supporting these members once they are in the door is just as vitally important.

Many people in EMS are convinced that the days of volunteer EMS are coming to a close in the U.S. This prophecy will come true if volunteer EMS agencies continue to follow the “we have always done it like this” route instead of concentrating on the true issues. Services must invest more time in planning for the future.

Recommended Reading

• Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Recruitment and Retention Manual. FEMA/USFA. Published October 1995. Available at www.usfa.fema.gov/applications/publications.
• EMS Agency Management Series: EMS Strategic Planning. Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Service. Published June 2001. Available at www.vdh.state.va.us/oems/Files_page/OEMS_general/Stategic%20Planning.pdf.
• Recruiting and Retaining EMS Volunteers Handbook. Published by Rural Health Resources. Available at www.ruralhealthresources.com.

Raphael M. Barishansky, MPH, is chief of public health emergency preparedness for Prince George's County (MD) Health Department. A frequent contributor to and editorial advisory board member of EMS World Magazine, he can be reached at rbarishansky@gmail.com.

Larry J. Robertson, BA, EMT-B, is a private consultant primarily dealing with emergency communications devices. He is also past president, an active life member and PIO for the Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corps, in Teaneck, NJ.