Incentive programs for EMS

[Just Plain Ruff]

Hello all. I need some help.

I have a new opportunity as a EMS manager and I need some ideas as to how to increase morale and make life for the staff members better.

I have many suggestions but I need to know what is working out there and what is not.

What I'm looking for is what as a manager that I can do for the people who are working under me. Incentive programs, attaboys and the like.

Nothing too outrageous like more money or more time off. Those won't work.

I need some things that provide positive reinforcement to the staff without breaking the bank.

Thanks in advance.

[Richard B the EMT]

As a start, put up a suggestion box, and/or bring in employees to ask what they think might work. Initial "award" could be as inexpensive as a US Savings Bond, although the members themselves might have better ideas.

[FireMedic65]

Gym membership, company picnics, allow internet usage at work if not already done, cable tv, video game systems, new uniform?... just off the top of my head.

[Dustdevil]

The lack of a budget limits your options, but it doesn't eliminate them all.

You can be the best reward your employees receive. You can improve their morale and attitude simply by leading from the front (not from the top). Stay in uniform. Stay in the field. Heap praise both in the field and in the office, but reserve criticism for face-to-face, positive, constructive counselling, not faceless memos or field lashings.

More tangible rewards including shift and partner choices, day-off choices, and more praise. Words go a very long way to determine your employees' attitudes and morale.

Remember, they knew they were making squat when they took the job. And they know the financial rewards will always be limited. Unless you have the political strength and will to fight for better wages, your options there are limited, and they know it. They're not going to hold it against you that their wages are not what they'd like. But they WILL hold you responsible for poor working conditions and a lack of recognition. Those things you control.

[FireMedic65]

The lack of a budget limits your options, but it doesn't eliminate them all.

You can be the best reward your employees receive. You can improve their morale and attitude simply by leading from the front (not from the top). Stay in uniform. Stay in the field. Heap praise both in the field and in the office, but reserve criticism for face-to-face, positive, constructive counselling, not faceless memos or field lashings.

More tangible rewards including shift and partner choices, day-off choices, and more praise. Words go a very long way to determine your employees' attitudes and morale.

Remember, they knew they were making squat when they took the job. And they know the financial rewards will always be limited. Unless you have the political strength and will to fight for better wages, your options there are limited, and they know it. They're not going to hold it against you that their wages are not what they'd like. But they WILL hold you responsible for poor working conditions and a lack of recognition. Those things you control.

I heard you were having problems with your TPS reports?

Great advice as always though. I fully believe in that your supervisor should make appearances, and still run calls. My old job, the fat slob never left his office.

[WolfmanHarris]

Dust hit the biggest (and easiest) nail right on the head.

Recently my service put out an anonymous survey on "Reporting to Work During A Pandemic" asking what steps would help ensure staff reporting during a serious outbreak. We have plenty of PPE, the main thing I asked for in mine was: "Be visible and support the staff. Come to stations, hospitals and scenes and show the guys on the road that you've got our back. If I feel taken care then I will work my butt off in the worst disasters or pandemic."

Another example would be when I moved to Full Time from casual I was asked which Platoon I wanted to be assigned to. In the five months I'd been casual I'd dealt with all the different District Superintendents on most of the Platoons. Two stood out and as a result I requested to be assigned to them. These Sup's actively come to calls big or small to see if they can help out without getting in the way. At a difficult scene on a hot day one of them was handing out water bottles to the crews and making our lives easier without taking over. When on a bad call we'd missed our lunch window, one of them was on the ball and said "Don't worry about the paperwork, I've got it. Go try to grab some downtime." These Sup's will show up at the hospital when we're getting slammed on offload delay just to check in, see what if anything they can do to speed things up, and once in awhile, pop down to the cafeteria and grab coffee and bagels for everyone. This is a tiny amount of time, a moderate amount of effort and maybe $20 here and there and as a result these are a couple of Sup's that I'll help out in a heart beat with anything they need.

Be a leader, not a bureaucrat.

Now aside from the leadership side, there are a few things my Service does I'd recommend.

1) For community service (school visits, mall displays, etc.) we're not currently paid, but any activity we do that promotes the service and profession counts towards volunteer rewards. At 10 hours I get a baseball cap embrodered with my name and ID number, at 25 an engraved "space pen" or 1 yr JEMS subscription, and 50 an engraved littman classic or 1 yr gym membership at one of the local gyms and at 100 hours a dress uniform or ipod touch.

2) The Regional Municipality has a recognition program where anyone internal or external can recognize someone for big or small. It's just a little blurb placed in the workplace and in the regional newsletter.

3) We do an annual awards gala where medics are recognized for things varying from Bravery/Leadership, exemplary service, community service, rookie of the year, etc.

4) The Service intranet had a photo gallery where various Service events, team-building events, etc. have photos posted.

5) Various Medics and Sup's have organized events from Paintball, to Skiing. The Service doesn't organize these but does readily grant space in the stations and on the intranet to advertise.

6) Open door policy. Encourage and recognize input. Keep the staff informed about the big picture of the service, what's going well, what's going poorly and the like. Encourage the staff to look beyond their own shift.

And I've said it before, but leadership is most important. These little awards and incentives won't work if management does not set the tone first. Otherwise they might as well be any other piece of P&P.

[Just Plain Ruff]

If I get this job I interviewed for today, I will be contacting personally those who offered suggestions. I like some of them a lot.

I have my own ideas which will be very easily implented but I wanted more.

Any chance to get that anonymous survey from who posted reference to it.

thanks

[Kiwiology]

The easiest way to increase morale is to find out what the staff don't like it and fix it. Make for them coming to work not "work" but some place the ENJOY coming to. The best jobs I've had are not because of the work but because of the people.

I had a job that was a really good JOB but the culture sucked it was just a bad place to work because the people were fucked in the head and it made the day long and hard.

Not sure what kind of system you are running, it would be hard to make them enjoy sitting on a street corner for ten hours but you could do something easy like throw a pool table in the lounge; internet; TV etc. If you have walls, tear them down (well not ALL of them) and get engaged with your people, show them you care, show them you're not a person to dole out punishment but somebody who cares about them as a person and not as bums on seats.

Things like paintball or orginised sports go down well, the social club here organises them and pays for cable TV at the station. Throw around a couple manakins and let them go nuts if they want to practice skills for example.

People who work TOGETHER with common VALUES and mutual RESPECT towards a SHARED GOAL will do more than any other, and that is a proven fact.

[armymedic571]

The easiest way to increase morale is to find out what the staff don't like it and fix it. Make for them coming to work not "work" but some place the ENJOY coming to. The best jobs I've had are not because of the work but because of the people.

I had a job that was a really good JOB but the culture sucked it was just a bad place to work because the people were fucked in the head and it made the day long and hard.

Not sure what kind of system you are running, it would be hard to make them enjoy sitting on a street corner for ten hours but you could do something easy like throw a pool table in the lounge; internet; TV etc. If you have walls, tear them down (well not ALL of them) and get engaged with your people, show them you care, show them you're not a person to dole out punishment but somebody who cares about them as a person and not as bums on seats.

Things like paintball or orginised sports go down well, the social club here organises them and pays for cable TV at the station. Throw around a couple manakins and let them go nuts if they want to practice skills for example.

People who work TOGETHER with common VALUES and mutual RESPECT towards a SHARED GOAL will do more than any other, and that is a proven fact.

Thats it! Professional pride and Team cohesion. Work hard, play hard.....together.

[Kiwiology]

I had a bunch of guys that were terrible; they booked off work, took sickies, bitched and moaned and them doing work was like pulling teeth.

The thing was that nobody had actually sat down and listened to these dudes and figured out what the problem was, what they wanted, what we wanted as managers and how to take the two and marry them up.

My answer is to do it; sit down with the guys and see what they don't like and what they all want; not money but I bet they say hey we want to come to a place thats happy and enjoyable to be at where its not some boss chaffing and riding thier ass.

Culture man, culture is the answer.