Incentive programs for EMS

[aussiephil]

Dont just be a yes man for the monkeys above.

Be your own man, show those on the front line that you have a backbone & are not just a puppet of those above.

[Kiwiology]

I heard you were having problems with your TPS reports?

Didn't you get that memo?

BEST MOVIE EVER

[JakeEMTP]

Ruff,

It is important to stay involved in the daily functioning of your employees. Find out what issues they may have a things that the like about the service, especially when you get settled in to your upcoming position . I would schedule a meeting with the employees either individually or in small groups if the service is bigger. Get to know them on a personal level. If they believe that you are genuinely interested in their ideas, moral should improve fairly quickly as this instills individual ownership and pride in the service.

As stated above, a pat on the back for a job well done goes along way. It can be demoralizing to only hear from management when you mess up.

[Richard B the EMT]

I heard you were having problems with your TPS reports?

OK, obviously a movie quote, but I don't recognize it, nor what it is supposed to mean. Movie/TV show? Translation?

[armymedic571]

OK, obviously a movie quote, but I don't recognize it, nor what it is supposed to mean. Movie/TV show? Translation?

It is from the Movie "Office Space"

An awesome movie about a guy with really crappy management.

"it's not that I am bad at my job. It's that I don't care."

Ruff----> Most of the ideas and thoughts posted on this thread were really good. But, I can simplify this with one word. COMMUNICATION!

It needs to be constant, and flow both ways.

Good luck. Oh also, Don't be a manager! Be a Leader!

[spenac]

Lead by example. If the crews know that you will not ask them to do anything unless you are willing to do it they will respond better.

Be there helping with daily chores.

Maybe reward one person a week by covering for 30 mins so they can enjoy lunch at the station w/o getting toned out.

Depending on how big the service is make some meals. Not necessarily expensive but maybe a stew or a casserole that feeds a lot w/o much money.

Have round tables with the entire crew at shift change.

Don't allow yourself to get drawn into the day to day politics and back stabbing.

[JPINFV]

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.

I think that highlights a big conceptual idea. I've always felt that the front line employee is the most important at any company. They are the ones that are dealing with the customers and their actions can go a long way towards creating customer service disasters that reach front line (or beyond) management or diffusing disasters that would have reached that far otherwise. Any complaint that reaches management at any level is a failure. As such, I've always viewed management as being something who's goals should be to support their front line employees when ever possible. Congratulate crews on a job well done. Thank them when they go beyond what they have to (like coming in early or on a day off, or staying late). Accommodate requests when possible. Morale, as you mentioned, is a big thing. After all, think about how much every new employee costs before they're cleared for work on their own? Between field training and orientation at my old company, an EMT-B who couldn't drive cost around $600 (18 hours of orientation, 42 hours (3 12 hour shifts, but 1.5 time after 8 hours) of field training and an EMT-B who could drive cost around $1000 (additional 42 hours of supervised driver training). Turnover is not chump change, even when not considering the difference between an experienced employee and a non-experienced employee.

If you view your job as a job to support your employees, you should be able to find plenty of cheep ways to provide incentive.

It is from the Movie "Office Space"

An awesome movie about a guy with really crappy management.

"it's not that I am bad at my job. It's that I don't care."

Meeting starts at the 53 second mark...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOJzpeCMJzs

Yes... that is everyone's friendly physician on the left.

[Dustdevil]

Speaking of movies, I recommend lifting any "pr0n in the stations" prohibitions.

It does wonders for morale.

[WolfmanHarris]

It does wonders for morale.

Murder on the upholstery.

[Kiwiology]

Murder on the upholstery.

Then you're not taking appropriate BSI, FAIL!