Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service: Recruiting to reflect the local community

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has introduced a positive action programme to recruit and retain a more diverse workforce. This includes positive action days to encourage more job applications from women and BME groups and a case conference procedure to overcome operational problems. Carol Foster investigates.

Like most UK fire services, women and people from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds are currently under-represented in Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s (HFRS) workforce. As a progressive organisation, HFRS wants to change this. As well as the moral case, there is a strong business argument for diversity within the fire service. Fire services need to be representative of the communities that they serve, as only then can they fully appreciate and identify local needs in their neighbourhoods. A workforce that reflects the diversity of its local communities inspires confidence in the fire service. It makes it easier to access those at most risk of fire and to deliver fire safety messages in a way that is easily understood.

This view is supported and led by the Government, which has set the fire service challenging recruitment targets. HFRS endorses the Government’s commitment to diversity and has agreed to work towards stretched targets. By 2013, 18% of new operational entrants into HFRSshould be women and 18.5% of new staff across the whole organisation should be from BME communities.

Equalities framework

HFRS has put in place a comprehensive equalities framework to help deliver a more diverse workforce. The service’s approach is embedded in its overarching Community Safety Plan for 2009-12, which has been agreed by Hertfordshire County Councillors.The plan contains the diversity objective of ensuring a safe and competent workforce which is representative of the community HFRS serves. HFRS’s Equality andDiversity Plan 2009-19clearly sets out how the service will achieve this. This is supported by an Equalities Board chaired by the Chief Fire Officer Roy Wilsher (who also chairs the Hertfordshire County Council’s Equalities Board). This operates at a strategic level. An Internal Advisory Group, representing the various diversity groups within the service,also considers policies as part of an internal consultation process.

Equality Impact Assessments (EqIA’s)

The Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) process is crucial to the service’s efforts to improve the diversity of its workforce and become an employer of choice for under-represented groups. All policies are subject to a three-year rolling review programme. Following an initial assessment, a full review is undertaken, if necessary, which may then lead to a change in policy. Assistant Chief Fire Officer John Millssays: “EIA has proved a valuable driver for change in HFRS and is much more than a tick-box exercise. The process has uncovered some historical problems for the service, but working with the Internal Advisory Group, we have implemented real policy changes to help overcome them. This includes, for example, the positive action programme and providing equal facilities on fire stations for women.”

Additionally, the organisation monitors its workforce by all six equality strands. This includes analysing applications for employment, training and promotion, training attendance, new starters and leavers. Published in an annual Workforce Equalities Monitoring report, the data is used to assess the impact of the service’s employment policies in relation to its efforts to increase diversity.

Recruitment

A crucial requirement for the service is to improve its recruitment rate for BME and female candidates to meet its agreed targets. HFRS generally recruits fire fighters once a year. This lengthy, multi-stage process can take up to six months. It involves a written application, psychometric and other written tests, physical tests, a medical and an interview. Equality monitoring highlights patterns of progress through this process. EIAs identify any barriers at each stage and enables the service to explore what can be done to redress them. For example, it was found that women disproportionately fail on some areas of the physical tests and BME applicants disproportionately fail on written tests. As a result, HFRS has implementeda number of positive action initiatives to encourage under-represented groups to consider becoming a firefighter and to support and encourage them through the recruitment process.

Positive action days

A key strategy has been the instigation of positive action days for BME people and women. Designed to inspire applications, positive action days are run prior to the start of the service’s annual recruitment campaign. Comprising a day of workshops and exercises, the events include:

  • an introduction to the fire service and an overview of the role of a firefighter;
  • an overview of the selection process;
  • application form workshops covering: understanding what the questions mean, how to answer questions using examples from the participant’s own experience and practice in completing mock questions;
  • an opportunity to attempt physical tests similar to those used in the selection process, including the use of simulations to experience working at height and in confined spaces; and
  • an opportunity to complete psychometric tests similar to those used in the selection process.

The days are advertised extensively, including on the service’s website, in the local media, libraries and schools. Ninety people attended the two Positive Action days held by the service in 2009. Of the 43 people who attended the BME day, 26 applied and one was successful. Some 17 applicants were from Hertfordshire. Forty-seven people attended the female day, of which 28 applied and five were successful. Some22 applicants were from Hertfordshire. “While we were pleased with the female success rate, we were a little disappointed at the outcome of the BME process,” says John Mills.

Learning

HFRS uses the EIA and monitoring process to improve constantly its recruitment performance. John Mills explains: “For example, initially, both women and BME people attended the positive action days together. Following a review, we decided to run two individual days in 2009, targeting women and BME groups separately. This enables usto focus on positive female role models on women-only days. We found that women needed to see and listen to other women who are already firefighters to build up their self-confidence about applying for the fire service.”

He continues: “Similarly, following an assessment of last year’s recruitment process, we found that BME applicants were selling themselves short on their application forms by not providing all their relevant life experiences. This year, therefore,we will run additional workshop events for BME people focusing on completing application forms.”

Positive action

HFRS has introduced other positive action measures to improve diversity among its workforce. For example, the HFRS website has been improved to draw attention to its positive action and recruitment opportunities for under-represented groups, with separate pages dedicated to encouraging women (Women make great firefighters) and BME people (Dare to be different-Break the stereotype-Become a firefighter!)

HFRS has produced a Positive Action DVD in collaboration with other fire services in the East of England region, which promotes positive images of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic fire fighters and female fire fighters, as well as covering the issue of sexuality in the fire service. This aims to change perceptions about the fire service, highlighting the diverse nature of the job and the opportunities for progression. The DVD is to be widely distributed in all service recruitment initiatives.

Race equality

Positive action initiatives specific to race equality include contributing to national developments to improve access to employment and service delivery for BME people. For example, HFRS has helped with the development of a toolbox on engagement with BME communities and a technical review of protective equipment for firefighters. For example “The issue around helmets concerns Sikhs who wear turbans,” John Mills explains. “Similarly, breathing apparatus cannot be worn with beards.”Currently this means that such employees, or potential recruits, cannot undertake operational duties.

At the local level, HFRS uses its proactive community fire safety initiatives to promote the service as an employer of choice for BME groups. It delivers fire safety advice to a number of BME communities, including to Asian communities and to a number of gypsy and traveller groups across the county. Similarly, the service regularly attends multi-racial events such as the Kaleidoscope Festival at Welwyn Garden City, which attracts hundreds of people from different backgrounds. Additionally, HFRS uses its fire stations as a platform to help the service integrate with local communities by offering them for use as community buildings, where appropriate.The Migrant Workers Multi-agency Forum is one such user.

Gender equality

As well as its positive action events for women and the production of promotional DVDs, HFRS uses technology to promote the role of women in the fire service. These appear on the HFRS’s and other fire services’ internet sites. The service has also produced a video featuring two of its women fire fighters promoting the fire service to women for a Careers TV website.

EIAs have been instrumental in the service undertaking an ongoing review of how fire station facilities can be improved to meet the needs of both men women and men. John Mills claims: “We have made significant progress in making sure the working environment is woman-friendly, including ensuring women fire fighters have equal access to changing and toilet facilities. Historically, these just weren’t fully available for women.”

Disability equality

Meeting the needs of disabled people is also a high priority for HFRS. The recruitment process is monitored for potential adverse impact on disabled people and the service is improving access to employment for disabled people by providing reasonable adjustments in the recruitment and basic training processes. The service is also working to achieve a better understanding of its workforce, their needs and how best to improve their on-going access to employment and development.

In particular, it wishes to improve its understanding of reasonable adjustments in operational roles. Disabled members of staff are involved in the development of any new plans through the service’s Internal Advisory Group. A number of adjustments have been made for employees to ensure they can continue working. “This can be as simple as providing a different kind of boot for the employee,” stresses John Mills.

HFRS has set up an internal working group to identify the needs of people with dyslexia in the service and to produce a good practice guide to support their ongoing needs and development. The fire service has not traditionally been seen as a paper-based service, and it was suspected that a number of staff were dyslexic. Representing all aspects of the service – HR, training, health and safety, IT and dyslexic fire fighters themselves – the working group’s aims are to enable the service to: raise awareness about the impact of dyslexia across the service; identify where reasonable adjustments can be made; develop staff confidence to ask for adjustments; and build a body of resources to support dyslexic staff, for example, in the application process for promotion. The service is working with experts from a local college to address the issues.

Lesbian Gay Bisexual (LGB) equality

The challenge for HFRS, like many organisations, is to create a culture whereby people are able to be themselves and do not have to hide who they are, both as employees and as service users. An openly gay uniformed employee sits on the Internal Advisory Group and HFRS has become a corporate member of Stonewall.

HFRS, with other fire services in the East of England region, held an LGBT Awareness Day workshop for its workforce. This suggested that fire fighters may not be coming out at work because of the internal environment and because of the apparent small number of gay employees in the service. As a result, HFRS is looking to form a joint Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual (LGB) network possibly including the Hertfordshire Constabulary, in addition toactively promoting the LGB networks both within the fire service and the county council.

Senior managers represented the HFRS at a fire service conference on sexuality, aimed at awareness raising and challenging perceptions. A gay HFRS employee also spoke at the conference. The service regularly supports London Fire Brigade at their annual Gay Pride activities.HFRS has commissioned an external consultant to undertake an independent data gathering exercise across the six equality strands to improve its picture of who it employs and how best to support them. The service is currently awaiting the results.

Religious equality

The residents in the county are from diverse religious backgrounds and HFRS regularly attends religious gatherings from a range of faith groups, using the opportunity to promote employment opportunities with the service, as well as provide fire safety advice. HFRShas attended careers days at some mosques across the county and is aiming to improve its engagement with faith communities by providing awareness-raising courses for staff, including Islamic awareness. The service has also formed a strong link with the Sikh community in north Hertfordshire. As part of its facilities review, the service is exploring ways of providing facilities at stations for prayer and reflection for employees and visitors from a variety of different faiths. HFRS now has several fire stations with facilities for local community and faith groups to meet.

Training

HFRS’s positive action programme is supported by equality and diversity awareness training, including two-days’ training on conducting EIAs. Three pilot sessions on equalities and stereotyping are under way. Specific training for retained fire fighters has also been introduced. “Retained fire fighters generally only have three hours a week for training. This presents challenges in delivering all the training required and also in combating what may be adverse influences from their full time places of work,” explains John Mills. To overcome these difficulties, “Lite Bite” sessions have been specifically designed for retained fire fighters.”

Case conferences

HFRS uses a case conference system to deal with equality issues as they arise. “This consists of bringing together all those involved to work out a solution,” explains John Mills.“This includes the individual and their representative, if requested, and also their manager, the equalities advisor and representatives from HR, health and safety and others as required. The complexity and seriousness of the issue dictate who needs to attend the meeting.”John Mills chairs the cross-organisational meetings that are likely to have a policy impact across the service.

The aim is to resolve problems as positively as possible. “Our stance is, how can we work together to achieve an outcome that meets the individual’s and the service’s needs?” declares John Mills. He gives an example of a Hertfordshire Sikh firefighter who was getting married and wished to grow a beard as part of the Sikh community’s wedding customs: “Through consultation, including with the Asian fire fighters network, we were able to offer the individual alternative work while he grew a beard. He then returned to normal operational duties when he was able to remove his beard.”

Similarly, when one female recruit was having difficulty during initial training, a full case conference was held. John Mills states: “We discovered that the training could be adapted to accommodate a shorter individual while still maintaining the required standard. The main problem was with the way in which the training instruction was being carried out and way the in which some people were being treated who don’t conform to the stereotypical image of firefighters who traditionally are expected to be tall. We were able to overcome this by showing that different individuals bring different physical attributes to the role, and this does not mean compromising on the ability to do the job.”

Case conferences are also used to think through reasonable adjustments. For instance, one recruit who was potentially hard-of-hearing had difficulty hearing the “bleep” test that is part of the recruitment process. A case conference was held and the “bleep” test was replaced with a vocational hearing test that establishes that an individual can hear what people are saying across the full range of operational situations. It is thought that this is the first time such an adjustment has been made in the fire service in England. John Mills comments: “This was a good quality recruit who was able to complete his basic training and become an operational fire fighter.”

The experience also led to an existing member of staff coming forward with a similar problem and this was also resolved. “The individual was given an external assessment and the service paid for a hearing aid and he was able to continue working. For us, this is what a reasonable employer should do.”