the challenge of retaining new volunteers: an analysis of new volunteer retention ... ·...

The Challenge of Retaining New Volunteers

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The Challenge of Retaining New Volunteers:

An analysis of new volunteer retention rates in the South Australian State Emergency

Service and strategies for improvement

Dermot Barry

South Australian State Emergency Service

Adelaide, South Australia


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ABSTRACT

The South Australian State Emergency Service (SASES) is a volunteer based

emergency response agency. Since 2001 there has been a steady decline in SASES volunteer

numbers from over 6,000 to approximately 1800 volunteers today. The impact of this has

been most notable in the regional and rural areas of the State. Of particular concern is

anecdotal evidence that the SASES is struggling to retain many of the new volunteers they

are recruiting each year.

Descriptive research was used to ascertain the causes of these volunteer attraction/retention

issues so that an evidence based approach to volunteer recruitment/retention could be

implemented and sustained. Data analysis and literature reviews were utilized to answer the

research questions. The research identified that there is a very high turnover rate of SASES

members with less than two years’ service but was inconclusive as to the causal factors for

this. The research also suggested the potential use of training opportunities as a retention tool

although this will need further consideration and careful monitoring if implemented. Further

research is required into the potential impact of age demographics on volunteer

recruitment/retention particularly Gen Y and Z.


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Contents

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 2

INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 4

BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE ..................................................................... 6

LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................... 9

PROCEDURES ............................................................................................................ 16

RESULTS .................................................................................................................... 19

DISCUSSION/IMPLICATIONS ................................................................................. 26

RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................. 31

REFERENCE SECTION ............................................................................................. 32

APPENDICES ............................................................................................................. 34


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INTRODUCTION

In Australia there are predominantly three emergency service delivery models. In the

large cities and urban surrounds most emergency services are provided by paid career staff

who operate on a 24 hour roster basis. In smaller cities and regional centers these services are

often provide by ‘retained’ staff who are paid an annual allowance to attend training and then

an hourly rate when they attend emergencies. The third model is a volunteer model which

sees people drawn from local communities trained and equipped to respond to emergencies

who receive no payment for their services and are often supported by a small centrally

located paid cadre staff who coordinate training and other support services.

The South Australian State Emergency Service (SASES) is an example of a volunteer

based organization. Unlike most emergency service volunteer agencies in Australia the

SASES has a response role across the entire State including large cities, regional and rural

areas.

Over the last decade the SASES has experienced a significant decline in the number

of emergency service volunteers from about 6,000 to present numbers of approximately 1800.

In order to be able to continue to provide the emergency services the community

expects, the SASES needs to maintain a volunteer workforce of around 2000 people. With an

annual turnover of approximately 20% this requires the SASES to recruit approximately 350

volunteers annually in order to maintain present membership levels.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that although the SASES has been consistently

recruiting sufficient numbers to offset the annual attrition rate there is a large turnover rate

within the group of volunteers that have less than two years’ service.


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In order to fully understand this issue the SASES needs to conduct descriptive

research to answer the following research questions:

1. What is the turnover rate in the SASES over the last three years for volunteer

members with less than two years' service?

2. How does the identified turnover rate compare with comparable SES

agencies?

3. Over the last three years, why did the volunteer members with less than two

years' service leave the SASES?

4. How do the reasons given by SASES volunteers compare with comparable

SES agencies?


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BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE

The South Australian State Emergency Service (SASES) is a community based

volunteer organization established to provide an emergency response service across the State

of South Australia. SASES units provide response service for floods, storms, rescues and

road accidents. The SASES currently consists of 68 units (54 units are based in rural areas)

and approximately 1800 volunteers. The SASES also provides support for volunteer marine

rescue organizations, their 14 flotillas and approximately 580 operational and 2000 affiliated

volunteer marine rescue volunteers strategically located along South Australia’s coastline.

The SASES has a number of legislated functions including responding to floods and

storms; assisting police, ambulance and other emergency services in dealing with any

emergency; assisting in carrying out prevention, preparedness, and response and recovery

operations under the Emergency Management Act 2004; and undertaking rescues.

The rescue and support services SASES volunteer units provide include:

• storm damage and flood mitigation

• general and disaster rescue

• road crash rescue

• structural collapse and confined space search

• land search

• animal rescue

• vertical rescue of all forms (cliffs, caves and structures)

• marine search and rescue (rivers, lakes and sea)


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• operations support

• aerial observation and logistics support

• base support operations (bushfire response staging areas).

In addition to volunteer response training and operations, the SASES is also involved

in community education (through Community Flood Safe and the work of the Community

Engagement Unit) and emergency management activities including planning, training and

support to zone emergency management committees and Emergency Management training.

The SASES believes it needs approximately 2,000 volunteers strategically located

throughout the State in order to provide the emergency services the community requires.

Over the last decade the SASES has experienced a significant decline in the number of

emergency service volunteers from about 6,000 to present numbers of approximately 1,800.

This number had fallen as low as 1,500 only two years ago but a concerted recruitment

campaign has been successful in arresting the decline and increasing volunteer numbers.

The author believes that although the SASES has been consistently recruiting

sufficient numbers to offset the annual attrition rate there is a large turnover rate within the

group of volunteers that have less than two years’ service.

The reason why this poses a significant challenge is that it generally takes about 6

months to train a new recruit to get them to the stage where they are competent to undertake

basic rescue operations and a further 12 months before they are able to work without

extensive supervision. There is also the additional cost of providing personal protective

equipment (PPE) and other ‘tools’ that average around $1500 per recruit. It is estimated to

cost about $5000 to get a new volunteer trained and equipped and ready to respond. If these

new recruits are then leaving the service within 6 months of being fully trained this represents

a very poor return on the investment that the SASES has made in them.


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In order to address these questions it is important to reflect upon the lessons taught

during the Executive Development course at the US National Fire Academy. Particularly that

not all challenges will have a technical solution and that in order to address some problems an

adaptive approach will need to be adopted (Heifetz & Linsky, 2002). Further, this research is

directly related to the Executive Development curriculum, particularly Unit 6 “Change and

Creativity” and the adoption of the five stages of innovation and creativity will be relevant to

this project and any potential further actions:

1. Recognition of Problem/Opportunity,

2. Gathering Information,

3. Incubation,

4. Insight,

5. Evaluation and Implementation.

This research also reflects the Executive Development course goals of improving

executives’ abilities to:

1. Lead effectively and efficiently within a dynamic and complex organization by

enhancing the development of teams and the application of research.

2. Develop and integrate management and leadership techniques necessary in

complex organizations.

This research paper directly relates to the United States Fire Administration (USFA)

strategic goal to “Improve the fire and emergency services’ capability for response to and

recovery from all hazards” (United States Fire Administration, 2010) by supporting the

SASES to identify existing problems with new recruit retention and apply evidence based

solutions.


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LITERATURE REVIEW

The purpose of this research is to identify if the SASES has a comparatively high

resignation rate in members with less than two years’ service and if so, to understand why?

In considering where to start with the literature review it is worth reflecting upon the

lessons taught during the Executive Development program which recommended that you

should start broadly by looking at non-emergency service specific literature and then narrow

your review to very specific and relevant sources.

This literature review drew upon text books, journals, relevant websites and fire

service magazines. The challenge was culling the abundance of research and articles that

have been written about emergency service volunteer recruitment and retention into a logical

and contemporary format and then condensing the research into key themes and

recommendations.

In order to get an understanding from a perspective outside of the traditional

emergency services publications, and in keeping with the ‘start broad’ methodology taught,

the first article reviewed was published in the Journal of Public Economics. This study

determined that altruism is a key motivator in choosing to join the volunteer fire service

(Carpenter & Myers, 2010). The authors identified a number of studies that sought to explain

why people supply labor ‘seemingly for free’ and created a number of socio-scientific

models that “combine survey measures of demographic attributes with a measure of altruism

…”. They conclude that a combination of factors play a role in the decision to volunteer

including altruism, image concerns (been seen to be doing good things) and extrinsic

motivations (small stipend payments or other rewards). They found that altruism is the

predominant factor for emergency service volunteers as indicated by the amount of time

volunteers need to spend training which is usually out of sight of the public and so not


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motivated by image. They also conclude that extrinsic motivations can have an impact on call

response but this is offset by those volunteers who are image motivated and care about being

perceived as altruistic.

Other studies also found altruism to be a factor but identified other motivators

including “a range of community safety concerns, community contribution desires, and

enlightened self-interest with those in the 18 – 34 age range likely to be attracted by personal

benefits such as career enhancement, skill development and opportunities for friendship and

camaraderie (Rice & Fallon, 2011). The prospect of excitement ranked fairly moderately

(37.4%); a similar proportion of respondents thought volunteering could help them get

qualifications that would benefit their career. The least valued benefit (14.3%) was to help

start a career as a paid firefighter/emergency responder (Birch, 2011).

Rice & Fallon (2011) finish their article on a cautionary note for those wishing to

influence prosocial behaviors by stating that “what motivates an individual to become a

volunteer does not necessarily carry through to greater time devoted to volunteering”

(Carpenter & Myers, 2010, p. 919). This would appear to be especially relevant to retention.

Esmond echoes this warning by stating that “a reward is considered a reward only

when the recipient perceives it to be” (Esmond, 2005). In other words you cannot

predetermine what will motivate all volunteers and must tailor your ‘rewards’ to the

individual. Many other articles discuss rewarding volunteers and the importance of personal

recognition. “Personal recognition is the single most important incentive, and some of the

most effective forms of employee recognition cost nothing” (Buckman, 1998). Some

examples include reinforcing members contribution, praise in front of peers and changing

roles to keep the service ‘new’ (Matthews, 2009).


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This would suggest that it would be unrealistic to rely solely on altruism as a

motivator and that positive steps must be taken to ensure volunteers are ‘rewarded’.

Esmond (2005) warns that “too many organizations concentrate solely on recruiting

more and more volunteers through the front door, while giving token attention to their current

volunteers who may be walking out the back door” (p3). She asks how long does a volunteer

have to stay before they are considered retained rather than a dropout? She challenges us to

identify what constitutes sufficient length of service and what our expectations are?

A number of articles have also been written about the declining numbers of volunteers

especially in Australia. It is accepted that declines in volunteer numbers are related to long-

term social and economic trends, but research has indicated that more abrupt economic

changes, most notably economic restructuring from the late 1970s brought about in response

to high rates of both inflation and unemployment, have contributed to the considerable

decline in volunteer numbers across all of Australia. The age profile of regional Australia has

increased with the exodus of young adults to larger cities, leaving volunteer fire brigades with

declining numbers and an age profile undesirably high for the health and wellbeing of the

volunteers, and unattractive to younger potential recruits (Birch, 2011).

Other research (Fahey, Walker, & Adrian, 2007) has found that providing training to

volunteers may also provide a recruitment and retention benefit. This research looked at the

motivators of volunteer ambulance officers (paramedics) and found that whilst assisting the

community was an important motivator a high number of the respondents (94%)

acknowledged the benefits of learning new skills. Of particular relevance to this research is

that the paper found that there was an age correlation with 87.5% of 18 -30 year olds being

motivated by an opportunity to either acquire or upgrade qualifications. Consistent with other


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research the study found that the major factors in making volunteering difficult were lack of

time (23%0 and inadequate provision of support (29%).

In his paper on retention of emergency service volunteers Aitken (Aitken, 1999)

surveyed 1400 volunteers from the Western Australian Fire and Rescue Service and the

Western Australia SES. He found the motivators for becoming a volunteer were a sense of

community, social interaction, learning new skills, sense of duty and to help protect life and

property. He argues that historically emergency service agencies have tended to treat their

volunteers as staff and so have imposed all kinds of administrative and training burdens on

them that act as a disincentive to their retention. He also notes the significant ageing of the

volunteer pool and the challenges of recruiting and retaining younger volunteers as more and

more young people move to the cities. He concludes by identifying the need for more

research especially around the impact of economic changes to rural areas and states that

volunteer retention cannot be treated in isolation but must be part of an integrated approach to

volunteer management (p23).

More recent research regarding retaining volunteers (McLennan, 2009) showed that

there was an expected annual resignation rate of between 6.7% - 8.3% in Australian volunteer

fire agencies. Consistent with other research it found that 51% of those who resigned cited

work/family needs; 38% moved from area; 38% age/health issues; 25% dissatisfaction with

volunteer role as the reason for their leaving. Of particular relevance for my research is that

they surveyed 514 volunteers in their second year of service and found that a strong intention

to remain was associated with being a member of a well-led, inclusive and harmonious

brigade. The report concludes that agencies need to focus on understanding the unavoidable

reasons for leaving (moved, health issues) from the potentially avoidable reasons

(work/family needs, dissatisfaction) and endeavor to balance the demands on volunteers and

enhance the quality of brigade leadership and management.


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The importance of leadership is a common theme in the literature. In a survey of

serving volunteers, while the majority of respondents reported favorably about their

relationships with fire agency managerial staff, between 20% and 40% of respondents

reported unfavorably across at least some of the questionnaire items. The most frequent

negative response was that fire agency staff failed to consult the respondent’s brigade before

making decisions that affected it (Birch, 2011, p. 11). When asked for written comments

about their relationship with managerial staff, about a quarter of the respondents commented

and there were 6 times more negative than positive comments. The most frequent groupings

of complaint were that some managerial staff members were seen as autocratic, dictatorial,

uncommunicative, rude and tending to look down on volunteers; or ineffective, incompetent,

inefficient or over‐worked (p. 12).

Dissatisfaction with the volunteering experience is also a significant contributor to resignations, resulting from conflict, factionalism, exclusion, discrimination and bullying,

autocratic leadership, favoritism or incompetence. Good leadership and management would

help to prevent behavioral problems among volunteers and reduce turnover of membership

(p. 18).

It would appear from the literature review that many of the challenges identified for

retaining volunteers in Australia are consistent with other countries. According to a survey

conducted in the United States by the National Volunteer Fire Council (2007) the key reasons

for losing volunteer firefighters were: Lack of time, No longer required, Wasn't interested, No

one asked, Burnout, No longer a member, No time to volunteer, Conflict in organization,

Poor leadership, Too much training, Attitude towards newcomers, Criticism, Lack of

camaraderie.


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A similar pattern is found in the results of the Volunteering Australia 2011 National

Survey of Volunteering Issues (Volunteering Australia, 2011). Personal circumstances affect

volunteering – family and work commitments were the most frequently mentioned (59% and

52% respectively). When asked what organizations could do to make it easier to volunteer, in

addition to stating that it was beyond the control of the organization a range of suggestions

were offered, including; greater flexibility in expectations and ways in which volunteering

can be undertaken. The survey summary went on to speculate in relation to volunteering in

the future and identified the three most important things to continuing volunteering were;

• Location

• Availability of volunteer work that matches interests and/or skills

• Values of organization and making a difference

When asked how they would prefer to volunteer in the future, regularly volunteering

in the same organization was cited by 75% of respondents. However it was noted that the age

demographic of the respondents was skewed toward midlife – 45-54 and 55-64.

This raises the question as to the influence of age demographics in volunteering and

would be an interesting future research paper.

According to findings of the 23rd International Association for Volunteer Effort

World Volunteer Conference 2013 website (IAVE, 2013) “Volunteering models here and

overseas are shifting,” said CEO of Volunteering Australia, Brett Williamson OAM. “One

lesson to emerge is that not for profits, corporates and governments must adapt if the next

generation is to embrace volunteering - creating opportunities that suit their lifestyle. The

traditional perception of volunteering as a long term commitment is fast disappearing, giving

way to one-off spur of the moment undertaking. Understanding the motivation behind the new

http://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/2014/09/volunteering-is-evolving/

http://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/2014/09/volunteering-is-evolving/


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age volunteer will be critical to charting the future of volunteering not only in Australia but

globally.”

This is particularly relevant when you look at the age profile of Australia (McCrindle

Research, 2014):

• Builders, age 69+. 11% of population, 1% of workforce

• Boomers 50–68. 22% of population, 27% of workforce

• Gen X 35–49. 21% of population, 35% of workforce

• Gen Y 20-34. 22% of population, 31% of workforce –

“Generation Y has a novel perspective on work that makes attracting, engaging and

training them a challenge for employers to get right. Generation Y leading the

revolution of job churning and career changing. In Australia, our annual turnover

rate of 15 per cent per annum means that the medium length of time people stay in

their roles is three years and four months. If this trend continues throughout the

worklife of Generation Y, they will have 17 different employers and five separate

careers during their lifetime (McCrindle 2014).

• Gen Z 5-19. 19% of population, 6% of workforce –

• Gen Alpha < 5

It would appear that future recruitment planning will need to consider the needs and

perspectives of Gen Y and Z if we are to be successful in recruiting and retaining younger

volunteers.

http://www.mccrindle.com.au/BlogRetrieve.aspx?PostID=311493&A=SearchResult&SearchID=7702206&ObjectID=311493&ObjectType=55


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PROCEDURES

This research incorporated a number of techniques including comparative analysis of

internal agency data, comparative analysis of agency data and external sourced data, and the

extrapolation of descriptive data into tables to determine trends. A short summary of the

methodology used for each research question is below.

What is the turnover rate in the SASES over the last three years for volunteer members

with less than two years' service?

Determining what the SASES turnover rate was over the last three years required a

number of searches of the SASES volunteer database. Firstly a search was conducted for each

relevant year to determine the number of new recruits in that year. Then another search was

conducted for the number of members with less than two years’ service in subsequent years.

Once that data was collected it was populated into a spreadsheet which was then manipulated

to identify which members had left the service prior to their second anniversary. This resulted

in the identification of the volunteers who had left with less than two years’ service. This

number was then expressed as a percentage of the total number of volunteers recruited in the

year they joined the service resulting in the turnover rate.

This approach was used so that the number of volunteers leaving the service with less

than two years’ service could be expressed as a percentage of the total number of new

volunteers recruited. This would allow direct comparison with other agencies and other data

sets irrespective of their size.


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How does the identified turnover rate compare with comparable SES agencies?

For this research question the work of the Victorian Auditor General report into

volunteer numbers in emergency services in Victoria was used. This report included a direct

comparison of volunteer retention rates between the Victoria SES (VICSES) and the Victoria

Country Fire Authority (CFA). As both these agencies are volunteer based emergency

services they are suitable for comparison with the SASES.

Over the last three years, why did the volunteer members with less than two years' service

leave the SASES?

In order to determine the reasons why those volunteers with less than two years’

service left the service a separate database search was conducted. This database captures a

volunteer’s service record and their reasons for leaving. When a member leaves the SASES

the Unit Manager is required to complete the necessary separation paperwork to terminate the

volunteer’s service which includes identifying their reason for leaving. If the form is signed

by the volunteer the reasons stated are accepted as being accurate and entered accordingly.

However, where a form is unsigned by the volunteer that is leaving then the reasons are

shown as “unknown/personal” (coded as VUNK in the database). This ensures that the Unit

Manager is not attributing a reason for them leaving that is not consistent with the volunteer’s

reasons. This allows the SASES to have confidence that the data captured is accurate.

The gathered data was placed into spreadsheets and then manipulated into common

themes before being placed into tables for comparison.


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How do the reasons given by SASES volunteers compare with comparable SES agencies?

As part of the research project other Australian SES agencies were contacted seeking

access to their data in relation to the reasons why their volunteers with less than two years’

service had resigned. These agencies were unable to provide such information as they either

did not collect the data or were unwilling to provide it due to the onerous nature of the work

required to provide it. As a consequence the decision was taken to compare the reasons that

had been identified from the data for SASES volunteers with those discovered through the

literature review.


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RESULTS

What is the turnover rate in the SASES over the last three years for volunteer members

with less than two years' service?

As can be seen from the following tables the turnover rate for volunteers with less

than two years’ service are (rounded to nearest whole number):

FY 2011 – 2012

New members recruited 278

Those leaving with less than two years’ service 110

Turnover rate as a percentage 40%

FY 2012 – 2013




FY 2013 – 2014





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How does the identified turnover rate compare with comparable SES agencies?

The following data is extracted from the Victorian Auditor-General’s report on

emergency service volunteer numbers in the State of Victoria (Auditor-General Dept

Victoria, 2014). This report looked at both the Victorian SES and the Victorian Country Fire

Authority (CFA).

As Figures 3B and 3C show, retention differs markedly between CFA and SES, with

CFA's volunteer retention greater than the SES.

Figure 3B Country Fire Authority volunteer years of service


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Figure 3C Victoria State Emergency Service volunteer years of service

Around 50 per cent of VICSES's volunteers have been members for less than five

years and almost 70 per cent have been a member for less than 10 years. Whereas, at CFA, 24

per cent of volunteers have been members for less than five years, and 41 per cent for less

than 10 years.

The report concludes that VICSES is less able than the CFA to retain its volunteers

long term. Around 39 per cent of CFA's volunteers have been members for longer than 21

years compared to 14.6 per cent of SES's members. The report notes that whilst the CFA and

SES have a limited ability to control involuntary resignations such as those caused by

volunteers relocating or having family and job commitments, voluntary resignations can be

addressed by agencies and are regarded as an indicator of an agency's organizational health,

particularly in relation to its management and support of volunteers.


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Over the last three years, why did the volunteer members with less than two years' service

leave the SASES?

The following tables summarise the data extracted through the database search. (Full

tables can be found at Appendix A):

FY 2011 – 2012


Members with less than 2 years’ service - reason for leaving No. %

LACK OF TIME TO DEVOTE 35 32%

UNKNOWN/PERSONAL 30 28%

LEFT DISTRICT 15 14%

REMOVED BY REGION FOLLOWING 'DUE PROCESS' LETTERS

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10%

PERSONAL REASONS 10 9%

NON ATTENDANCE 5 5%

DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SES 2 2%

0%

RETIREMENT FROM SERVICE 0 0%

MEDICAL 2 2%

TERMINATED BY UNIT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE 0 0%

DEATH/DEMISE 0 0%

RESIGNATION FROM STAFF POSITION 0 0%

DISMISSED FROM SERVICE BY CHIEF OFFICER 0 0%

TOTAL 110


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FY 2012 – 2013







12

10%



MEDICAL 4 3%

0 0%


NON ATTENDANCE 2 2%

TERMINATED BY UNIT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE 0

DEATH/DEMISE 0

RESIGNATION FROM STAFF POSITION 0

DISMISSED FROM SERVICE BY CHIEF OFFICER 0

TOTAL 125


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FY 2013 – 2014




16

10%





NON ATTENDANCE 8 5%

MEDICAL 4 2%


DEATH/DEMISE 1 1%


TERMINATED BY UNIT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE 0 0%

RESIGNATION FROM STAFF POSITION 0 0%

DISMISSED FROM SERVICE BY CHIEF OFFICER 0 0%

0 0%

TOTAL 158


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How do the reasons given by SASES volunteers compare with comparable SES agencies?

As part of the research project other Australian SES agencies were contacted seeking

access to their data in relation to the reasons why their volunteers with less than two years’

service had resigned. These agencies were unable to provide such information as they either

did not collect the data or were unwilling to provide it due to the onerous nature of the work

required to provide it. As a consequence the decision was taken to compare the reasons that

had been identified from the data for SASES volunteers with those discovered through the

literature review.

Summarizing the findings of the data collection into key themes shows some

consistency with those discovered during the literature review.

Lack of time/no time to volunteer:

• 106 cited lack of time as their main reason for leaving. This equates to 27%.

No longer living in area:

• 75 cited no longer in/leaving area as their main reason. This equates to 19%

It is important to note that 138 volunteers (35%) declared reason for leaving was

categorized as Unknown/personal and a further 29 volunteers were removed by region

following due process letters which is a process to address non-attendance. This equates to a

total of 167 volunteers (42.5%) and represents a significant gap in the data which could be

‘hiding’ other common causes such as conflict in organization, poor leadership, too much

training, attitude towards newcomers, criticism, lack of camaraderie and burnout (National

Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), 2007).


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DISCUSSION/IMPLICATIONS

The research has identified that the SASES has an average turnover rate for members

with less than 2 years’ service of about 39% over the last three years. Unfortunately

comparative data was not available from other agencies so no direct comparison can be made.

However, the data available does allow for the comparison of the overall turnover rate for all

SASES volunteers to those with less than two years’ service.

Year Total no of volunteers

Total number recruited

Overall turnover rate

<2 years’ service turnover rate

2011/12 1658 278 17% 40% 2012/13 1725 334 19% 37% 2013/14 1744 395 22% 40%

The data shows that the overall turnover rate for the SASES is approximately 20%.

This compares unfavorably with those of the volunteer fire services who average less than

8.7% (McLennan, 2009). Interestingly the reasons given for leaving are consistent across all

the volunteer agencies but there is a higher rate of resignation within the SASES. Why there

is such a large difference in the percentage of annual resignations between the SASES and

volunteer based fire agencies is not known and could be the subject of further research.

Of more concern for the SASES is that as can be seen from the table above there is

almost a 100% higher turnover rate for members with less than two years’ service compared

to the overall membership. This would suggest that the SASES needs to do more in order to

retain those new members that it attracts each year (Esmond 2005). Again the reasons given

for leaving do not appear to be inconsistent with those found in the literature specifically

around the lack of time and moving out of the area (Volunteering Australia 2011) but the

percentage rate of resignation is significantly higher.


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Other reasons such as conflict, factionalism, exclusion, discrimination and bullying,

autocratic leadership, favoritism or incompetence (Birch 2011) have not been identified

through the data evaluation but may well be factors in the 47% of SASES volunteers who did

not disclose a reason or cited personal reasons. Without more detailed data it is impossible to

determine the impact of those factors. However, given so much of the SASES data has been

found to be consistent with those reasons discovered through the literature research, it would

seem reasonable to imply that the SASES has similar challenges.

Reflecting on the results of McLennan’s (2009) study of 514 volunteers in their

second year of service which found a strong intention to remain a volunteer was associated

with being a member of a well-led, inclusive and harmonious brigade it would seem

reasonable to conclude that the SASES should consider providing more training and support

to Unit Managers and other senior volunteer officers around leadership and resolving inter-

personal conflict to create and sustain an environment conducive to retention.

It is also worth considering if there are other factors that might be influencing the

higher turnover rate in those members with less than two years’ service.

Through the literature review it was discovered that some work had being done in

relation to the needs and motivations of the different generations. The work done by

McCrindle (McCrindle Research, 2014) highlights some of the challenges volunteer

recruiters could face into the future … “Generation Y has a novel perspective on work that

makes attracting, engaging and training them a challenge for employers to get right.

Generation Y leading the revolution of job churning and career changing. In Australia, our

annual turnover rate of 15 per cent per annum means that the medium length of time people

stay in their roles is three years and four months. If this trend continues throughout the


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worklife of Generation Y, they will have 17 different employers and five separate careers

during their lifetime”.

The following tables show the generational demographic of those who left in each year:

2011/12 Those who left – analysis of age

Builders 69+ 0 0%

Boomers 50-68 7 8%

Gen X 35-49 15 14%

Gen Y 20-34 83 73%

Gen Z 5-19 5 5%


Builders 69+ 1 1%

Boomers 50-68 7 6%

Gen X 35-49 33 23%

Gen Y 20-34 72 60%

Gen Z 5-19 12 10%


Builders 69+ 2 1%

Boomers 50-68 16 10%

Gen X 35-49 26 17%

Gen Y 20-34 87 55%

Gen Z 5-19 27 17%

The tables show that with Gen Y and Z volunteers there is a constant turnover of

around 70% of those with less than two years’ service.


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The challenge this poses is that the SASES has an ageing volunteer profile and are

actively pursuing the recruitment of younger members. If new ways aren’t found to retain

those members beyond two years of service then the associated costs of training and

equipping new recruits will continue to increase and could potentially pose a significant

budget problem. This could also place even greater pressure upon the older volunteers to

continue to respond as there will be no experienced volunteers to replace them.

An adaptive strategy could be to accept that there will be a high turnover rate with

volunteers from Gen Y, and reduce investment in them where we can. This might include

limiting initial training to only one area of skill based upon the risk profile for their area. This

would allow them to become part of a response team and contribute to community safety

without the significant cost of providing them with more advanced or specialist training.

Further advanced training would be provided after their two year anniversary providing an

incentive to remain a volunteer.

This approach is consistent with the University of Tasmania research (Fahey, Walker, & Adrian, 2007) and that of Rice and Fallon (2011) which found that providing training to

volunteers may also provide a recruitment and retention benefit. Of particular relevance is

that their research found there was an age correlation with 87.5% of 18 -30 year olds being

motivated by an opportunity to either acquire or upgrade qualifications. These are the very

volunteers SASES is trying to recruit and retain.

If the strategy of limited initial training was to be adopted it would be very important

to ensure that the volunteers were aware that further advanced training was available after

their two year anniversary to ensure this ‘carrot’ had the desired retention affect. The risk

with this approach may be that SASES disenfranchise those new volunteers who are not of

this age demographic and feel that they are not being trained as quickly as they should be.


30

In conclusion, this research has shown that the SASES does have a significant

turnover of volunteers with less than two years’ service. What is less certain is the causal

factors that are contributing to this and the best way to address them. Given so many of the

findings from the analysis of SASES data is consistent with those from studies both in

Australia and overseas it is reasonable to extrapolate that many of the causal factors identified

through the literature review are also at play here. In order to address these factors

consideration should be given to trialing a different approach to training new volunteers

which would see the provision of minimal training early in their service with the incentive of

further more advanced training as their length of service increases.

It could also be beneficial to review the existing training programme provided to Unit

Managers and other senior volunteer officers to ensure the acquisition of interpersonal

conflict resolution skills to create a more inclusive environment. Further analysis of the data

should identify units where there is a higher rate of new volunteer resignations and these

units could be targeted as priorities for any new ‘soft skills’ training.

Further research is required to determine the potential impact of Gen Y and Z

volunteers and the best way to attract and retain them.


31

RECOMMENDATIONS

Through the research conducted as part of this project it is clear that the SASES does

have a significant problem with retaining volunteers for more than two years. The best ways

to address this issue has not been clearly established but the use of incentives identified

through the literature review along with further research into the motivators of Gen X and Y

volunteers would appear prudent.

It is recommended:

1. That a trial training program be commenced that looks to provide new recruits with

the minimum training required for them to be capable of safely attending emergency

operations within their Unit. The program would identify ongoing training

opportunities after their two year anniversary as an incentive for their retention. This

program would need to be reviewed every six months to ensure recruits were not

leaving due to a lack of training opportunities in their first two years.

2. SASES conduct a review of its existing training program for Unit Managers and

other senior volunteer officers to ensure that sufficient emphasis is being paced on

leadership and the acquisition of other ‘soft skills’ such as interpersonal conflict

resolution.

3. SASES performs further data analysis to identify if there are specific Units at which

there is a higher rate of new volunteers leaving which may be indicative of a need for

further training of the unit management team.

4. Further research be conducted into the best ways to recruit and retain Gen Y and Z

volunteers.

5. SASES continues to monitor the reasons provided by volunteers for leaving the

service to identify other opportunities for recruiting and retaining volunteers.


32

REFERENCE SECTION

References

Aitken, A. (1999). Identifying Key Issues Affecting the Retention of Emergency Service

Volunteers. Perth: WA Fire and Emergency Service Authority.

Auditor-General Dept Victoria. (2014). Managing Emergency Services Volunteers . Melbourne: Victorian Government Press.

Birch, A. (2011). Recruiting and Retaining Volunteer Firefighters in Australasia. An Integrative Summary of Research. La trobe University. Melbourne: Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre.

Buckman, J. (1998, July). Rewarding Volunteers. Fire Engineering, p. 8.

Carpenter, J., & Myers, C. (2010). Why volunteer? Evidence on the role of altruism, image and incentives. Journal of Public Economics, 94, 911-920.

Esmond, J. (2005). Count On Me! 501 Ideas on Retaining, Recognizing and Rewarding Volunteers. Advance Press.

Fahey, C., Walker, J., & Adrian, S. (2007). Training can be a recruitment and retention tool for emergency service volunteers. Hobart: University of Tasmania.

Heifetz, R. A., & Linsky, M. (2002). Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the dangers of Leading. Harvard Business Review Press.

IAVE. (2013, July). 23rd IAVE World Volunteer Conference. Retrieved from IAVE website: www.iave.org/content/23rd-iave

Matthews, P. (2009, March). The Journey: Motivation. Retrieved from www.firehouse.com.

McCrindle Research. (2014). McCrindle research communication and data visualization. Retrieved from McCrindle: www.mccrindle.com.au

McLennan, B. C. (2009, May). Maintaining Volunteer Firefighter Numbers: Adding Value to the Retention Coin. The Australian Journal of Emergency Management, 24(2), 40 - 47.

National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC). (2007). Retention & Recruitment for the Volunteer Emergency Services: Challenges and Solutions, Second Edition. Retrieved from National Volunteer Fire Council website: http://www.nvfc.org/page/1056/Retention Recruitment_Guide.htm

Rice, S., & Fallon, B. (2011, January). The Australian Journal of Emergency Management, 26(1), 18-23. Retrieved from http://www.em.gov.au/Documents/Rice.PDF

United States Fire Administration. (2010). Strategic Plan Fiscal Years 2010 - 2014. FEMA.

http://www.iave.org/content/23rd-iave

http://www.iave.org/content/23rd-iave

http://www.firehouse.com/

http://www.mccrindle.com.au/

http://www.nvfc.org/page/1056/Retention

http://www.em.gov.au/Documents/Rice.PDF


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Volunteering Australia. (2011). Research and Advocacy Publications. Retrieved from

Volunteering Australia: www.volunteeringaustralia.org/research-and- advocacy/publications

http://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/research-and-


34

APPENDIX A

## 2011 – 2012

Total new= 278

Rsgntn > 2 annual No. VLOT LACK OF TIME TO DEVOTE 35 VUNK UNKNOWN/PERSONAL 30 VLD LEFT DISTRICT 15

VDPL


11

PR PERSONAL REASONS 10 BNA NON ATTENDANCE 5 DISSAT DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SES 2 BLANK 2 VR RETIREMENT FROM SERVICE 0 VMC MEDICAL 2 TERMUMC TERMINATED BY UNIT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE 0 PD DEATH/DEMISE 0 OPRES RESIGNATION FROM STAFF POSITION 0 DISMISS DISMISSED FROM SERVICE BY CHIEF OFFICER 0 TOTAL 110

Resignation = age = 69+ 0 = 50-68 7 = 35-49 15 = 20-34 83 = 5-19 5


35

## 2012 – 2013

Total new= 334

Rsgntn > 2 annual No. VUNK UNKNOWN/PERSONAL 31 VLOT LACK OF TIME TO DEVOTE 30 VLD LEFT DISTRICT 30

VDPL


12

PR PERSONAL REASONS 13 VR RETIREMENT FROM SERVICE 0 VMC MEDICAL 4 BLANK 0 DISSAT DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SES 3 BNA NON ATTENDANCE 2 TERMUMC TERMINATED BY UNIT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE 0 PD DEATH/DEMISE 0 OPRES RESIGNATION FROM STAFF POSITION 0 DISMISS DISMISSED FROM SERVICE BY CHIEF OFFICER 0 TOTAL 125

Resignation = age =69+ 1 =50-68 7 =35-49 33 = 20-34 72 = 5-19 12


36

## 2013 – 2014

Total new= 395

Rsgntn > 2 annual No. VDPL REMOVED BY REGION FOLLOWING 'DUE PROCESS' LETTERS 16 VLOT LACK OF TIME TO DEVOTE 41 VUNK UNKNOWN/PERSONAL 30 VLD LEFT DISTRICT 30 PR PERSONAL REASONS 24 BNA NON ATTENDANCE 8 VMC MEDICAL 4 DISSAT DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SES 4 PD DEATH/DEMISE 1 VR RETIREMENT FROM SERVICE 0 TERMUMC TERMINATED BY UNIT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE 0 OPRES RESIGNATION FROM STAFF POSITION 0 DISMISS DISMISSED FROM SERVICE BY CHIEF OFFICER 0 BLANK 0 TOTAL 158

Resignation = age = 69+ 2 = 50-68 16 =35-49 26 = 20-34 87 = 5-19 27


37

Certification Statement

I hereby certify that this paper constitutes my own product, that where the language of others is set forth, quotation marks so indicate, and that the appropriate credit is given where I have used language, ideas, expressions, or writings of others.

signed:_