Recruitment

[kat]

An another thread someone suggested that a recruitment package be developed.

One of our members went to a recruitment workshop some time ago and came back with a manual which is available on CD.

Would be interested to know how many people have seen it, read it, used it and what the results were.

I must admit I became frustrated when reading the Brigade health check section where it basically states that lack of volunteers is your own fault - that the community always has ready and willing volunteers. OK, may be some truth there - but we're looking for help here, not a million more responsibilities.

[Mike]

i do recall seeing a wad of paperwork being handed out as an induction kit. Never seen anything on CD though.

The problem with paperwork is the more you give people the less they want to read it. Saw it so many times, the look on their faces of 'your kidding right? all of this!?'...... A CD may be slightly more sucessful though.

[CFS_Firey]

A CD may be slightly more successful though.

I agree that too much paperwork is bad, but I'd rather be handed some paperwork to read than a CD, unless it was a DVD with useful training (or something) on it.
In my experience, CD based reading material is useless especially when you consider the sort of people that are likely to want to join the CFS... (No offense meant to anyone)

[corocfs]

not quite sure what CFS_firey means... but i know i find it a lot easier to read print that is on hard copy (on paper)... that n trying to read huge amounts on a computer screen, i find myself losing my place quite regularly

[kat]

The CD is of a recruitment manual and is designed to help Brigades paln their recruitment strategies - it's not something for new recruits to read.

The advantage of all of these things on CD (Volunteer Admin Manual, Fireground Practices, etc) is that you can cut and paste what you want of them and print at will. Also easier to store, cheaper to post, harder to damage and (you'd hope) less likely to walk from station.

[CFS_Firey]

Firetuck: Thats pretty much what I meant, it brought back memories of trying to read the SOP's in PDF format 

Kat: Sounds like a great resource, i wouldn't mind a copy if you can track it down...

[kat]

We have a copy in station - I'll see what I can do

[rescue5271]

We are holding a open/recruitment day this sunday and if it was not for our fill in VSO we would have nothing to hand out as she had to get it from another region. I also did the workshop for recruitment the book is good still waiting for the CD as it was not in the book. Our local paper has had a article in it for the past two weeks and we have had air time on the radio. So I hope we get some people show up,but we will as we have had a busy wekk with call outs...

[rescue5271]

Well we had our open / recruitment day it was in the paper and on the radio and for all the hard we did only ten peopel came into the station but we did pick up some new cadets and two radio operators so the day was good we will be holding an other day  before xmas....

[CFS_Firey]

I think there should be more of these brigade open days, even if not to recruit, to get more community involvement in the CFS... Do you think it might work better if a whole group, or even a region opened on one day? (I'm talking about the more built up regions, like region 1, where brigades are within 15 minutes max of each other...)

[TillerMan]

That's a great idea. That way C.F.S could pitch in with some adveritiseing and posters etc.

It is hard to get people to come to one brigades open day but i think if a whole region was to have an open day people would make it a day out and maybe visit 3 or 4 around their area.
Not only good for the public but for the volunteers to go around and see stations they may have never seen before

[rescue5271]

I know NSW and Vic?? have open days each year at stations and there state HQ with displays and fire safety information and there is always lots of radio and TV talk about these.Could we not follow these states and have it all at once???

[rescue5271]

Was at a VFBA meeting the other night and a few things came up,one of the problems is that when a new member signs up we where informed(LAST YEAR) that he/she could not do any training or be on station till the police form came back... Well at the meeting the other night it turns out that this is incorrect,any new member can come along sign the joining form/book fill in police form and while they are waiting for the police form to come back may take part in training and other station duties but can not attend call outs... Now who has been telling us the wrong information??

The other problem was that the training BFF1 folder that is sent out to new members should be handed out on the day of the BFF1 as when they get it in the mail they return it and dont join. WHY,well it was asked and one guy said he was scared of the size of the book and that he did not know anything about what they where talking about in the book..

So I feel that if this is the case,then CFS needs to stop sending the book out and give it out on the start date of BFF1 and that way as a group we can all talk about what is inside rather than let people get scared of a subject that they dont know about. Is any other brigade's/group's having this problem