What's worked

Situation

Three South Taranaki brigades needed extra members. A new approach is needed for how to attract more members to a brigade. They picked a date and time to meet potential members, not during normal training/Muster time, as this can be off putting for people - Turning up while parade is happening, or while a lot is going on can be a bit daunting. The brigades were:

• Waverley VFB population of around 820, 60 calls per year, at risk Brigade
• Hawera VFB population of around 9800, over 300 calls per year
• Opunake Brigade population of around 1430, 70 calls per year 

Target

• No target. Any response would be a success, as existing methods weren't working

Promotion

Hit the area with a social media post, Facebook community pages etc for 3 weeks or so before and keep up the awareness. You may want to use similar wording to us, keep it short and simple.

• (Name/ place/town) Volunteer Fire Brigade are looking for new members, if you have ever considered joining our Brigade to help your community now could be the right time for you.
• On Monday at 5.30 pm our Group Manager along with some brigade members will be at the station to answer any questions you may have and to talk to you about what Volunteering for the Brigade all about is.

As above keep the meet and greet low key, pick who you have there and ensure they are briefed and prepared for their part in this.

Have a small amount of people involved, a good spread of demographics, female members, younger newly trained firefighters etc, as well as Brigade leader there will be more success if prospective members can see existing members who “look like them”.

Brigades had recruitment folders. These contain packs to give the prospective members, see the attached Contents Summary, as well as 3 power point presentations that can be personalised either by someone in the Brigade or a member of the BSC team to suit the Brigade, (examples attached). 

On the night, meet everyone coming in the door, open the vehicle bay door, give it half an hour or so, to get any stragglers (at one Brigade we had people waiting outside the door prior to the time). 

They had a talk to the prospective members, as a group, get the Brigade members to assist in answering any questions, then show them around the station. Get contact information. Invite them to come back the following week to a training, ensure someone is tasked with looking after them the following week, while at station and watching training etc. They gave them an information pack, as listed on the Contents Summary document under Introduction paperwork. Give them a contact number of someone they can call if they have any questions and follow up with a text during the week saying you are looking forward to seeing them at the next training.

 Results

• Waverley VFB population of around 820, recruited 10 new members
• Hawera VFB population of around 9800, recruited 10 new members
• Opunake Brigade population of around 1430, recruited 6 new members

From January to June this calendar year they have onboarded 37 new Volunteer recruits, 59% of them female, a low-key, softer approach to this seems to help in this regard.

Key points from Group Manager Clive Lennox

• Get them to 1 or 2 training nights, then at the second training have the BSC and or VSO at the station with some extra devices if needed to get their applications done online.
• Take this opportunity also to have the VSO with assistance from the Brigade size up the applicants so that their Uniform can be ordered as soon as they have an employee number. Having the VSO involved in the sizing ensures that we are getting the right sizing. Should they not get through the police checks etc, the uniform order can just be disposed of.
• Work through the induction paperwork, the power points and induction plan with the Brigade to ensure that the new members are supported and that whoever is responsible from the Brigade has the right support.

Downloads to see the campaign materials in detail:

Powerpoints used:

• 1 Introduction [PDF, 1.3 MB]
• 2 Uniform and Training [PDF, 1.4 MB]
• 3 History [PDF, 633 KB]

Planning and run sheet documents:

• Contents Summary [PDF, 153 KB]
• Presentation instructions & information [PDF, 177 KB]
• Volunteer expression of interest form [PDF, 133 KB] (from the Portal)

Situation

COVID-19 has had an impact on many brigades across the country, including in South Westland. The number of employed volunteers and seasonal/industry workers has reduced in this tourist destination.

• Three brigades needing to attract volunteers – Franz Josef, Fox Glacier and Whataroa
• Franz Josef recently lost seven volunteers
• The brigades attend fifteen to thirty call-outs each year

Target

• No target. Any response would be a success.

Promotion

Took place over two weeks. The call to action was to contact the brigade leaders directly or to register their interest on the Fire and Emergency website.

• Leaflet-drop to households and posters
• Social media posts showcasing the team on the local area page
• Article in the local messenger
• Roadside signs pointing people to fireandemergency.nz/volunteer to register

Results

• 11 expressions of interest
• Of these 8 have signed up.

Key points from Volunteer Support Officer Hugh Trembath

• We wanted to make sure our campaign was readily identifiable as local – so we spent time getting great photos of our people in a setting that couldn’t be anywhere but the West Coast.
• Featuring our own volunteers has an impact – it starts conversations in the community – and also makes us feel really proud of the people we have.
• The Volunteer Attraction team contributed their technical skills and advice to make this a success

Download to see the campaign materials in detail [PDF, 1.8 MB]

Situation

• Two brigades co-located – Levin Volunteer Fire Brigade and Horowhenua Volunteer Fire Brigade.
• Levin Volunteer Fire Brigade attends over 400 call-outs each year, and Horowhenua Volunteer Fire Brigade attends around 30 call-outs each year.
• Population of 18,000
• 65% of the population is over the age of 45

Target

• Levin wanted to attract 10 volunteers
• Horowhenua wanted to attract 3 volunteers

Approach

• Present the two brigades as a united front that are collocated at the Levin Fire Station.
• Hold an Open Night to invite the public to come to the station and learn more about the two brigades and the different roles they play in the community.
• Hold a photoshoot to capture images of both the brigades as a united front – rural and urban.

Promotion

• Leaflet drop to local households
• Posters in the windows of local businesses
• Electronic billboard on the main street
• Boosted social media posts on both brigade pages
• Stories in the local papers

Results

• Twelve people expressed interest - 9 at the Open Night and 3 through the online form. 

Key points from Crew Leader Andrew Howard

• What really stood out was the time and work that the team did to help our brigades hold the evening.
• Nothing was too much trouble, and the team made suggestions on what things we could do for the evening but allowed us to make the final decision.
• The entire process was easy to undertake, and the result was far better than we hoped for.

Download to see the campaign materials in detail [PDF, 186 KB]

Situation

• Farming community, with a population of around 1,000
• Brigade responds to over 100 callouts each year
• Crew of 15 volunteers. The youngest – 18-year-old Tayla-Rose – is the only woman and the daughter of another brigade member.

Target

• To attract five firefighters

Approach

• Hold an Open Night and invite the community to find out more about volunteering

Promotion

Took place over 10 days leading up to an Open Night. Tayla-Rose became the face of the campaign – helping to show that all people can volunteer:

• Leaflet-drop to households and posters
• Social media posts showcasing the team
• Articles in school newsletters
• Roadside sign pointing people to fireandemergency.nz/volunteer to register

However, COVID meant the Open Night was cancelled at the last minute. Despite this, people were still interested!

Results

• Five people expressed interest – three women, two men
• Of these, four have signed up – three firefighters and one brigade support

Key points from Chief Fire Officer Steve Pogson

• Working with the Volunteer Attraction Team made my job a whole lot easier. I can’t thank them enough for the support they gave. Everything they do works! We reached a much wider range of people than we would do through shoulder-tapping.
• All the people who applied are new to the area and we believe they will fit in well. This was a great way to let people know that we’re here and what we do.
• Even though we didn’t have an Open Night, it still worked because the promotion was already out there. We’d still like to have an Open Day when the weather improves – to open to the community and have some fun.

 Download to see the campaign materials in detail [PDF, 1.6 MB]

Situation

• Small coastal village, population of 600.
• Brigade responds to around 50 callouts each year
• Crew of 13 volunteers

Target

• No target. Any response would be a success.

Approach

• Leaflet-drop to households, local shops and the Cossie Club over a two-week period
• Three social media posts over a four-week period

Call to action

• Contact Chief Fire Officer Wayne Dear on mobile or by email.

Results

• Three people expressed interest. Two of these have signed up.

Insights/key learnings from Chief Fire Officer Wayne Dear

The work that was done with the leaflets and Facebook was absolutely fabulous. They caught people’s attention and generated a lot of talk in the village about the need for volunteers. With the demographics of our community, we thought we’d be lucky just to get person interested. To get two was a real bonus. We’ve got some leaflets left over and will use them later in the year when we do another push.

 Download to see the campaign materials in detail [PDF, 911 KB]

Situation

• Town of 19,000 on the outskirts of Christchurch
• Brigade responds to around 360 to 400 callouts each year
• Crew of 45 operating on a roster system
• Despite being at establishment there was an indication of future resignations, so the brigade wanted to recruit more volunteers to ensure its sustainability long-term.

Target

• To attract 10 volunteers into recruit firefighter roles. (Operational and brigade support roles were already well resourced.)

Approach

• Hold an Open Night, followed by a skills session, interviews, training nights and a fish ‘n’ chips night for prospective volunteers and their families.
• In the lead-up to the Open Night, the brigade also hosted an event for local employers at the station and used this as an opportunity to raise awareness of the need for more volunteers.
• The approach was themed as ‘welcoming’ to ensure a positive and inclusive experience for all.

Promotion

Took place over 10 days leading up to the Open Night:

• Leaflet-drop to households
• Posters
• Social media posts
• Story in the local newspaper
• Interview on local radio

Results

• 12 people expressed interest
• Of these, 10 have signed up
• Despite COVID, on track to having all recruits trained by end of 2020

Three key points from Chief Fire Officer Hamish Peter

• Focus on everything being welcoming. We provided the prospective volunteers with name badges and gear; we set expectations with brigade members to be welcoming; some of us even gave up our lockers so that the prospective volunteers could experience what it was like to be part of the crew.
• Involve your crew. Our brigade members took part in the entire process, and they were engaged throughout. When it came to decision-making about who would join, the consistency in feedback was amazing.
• Make use of the support available from NHQ. Having access to their guidance and expertise in the promotion as well as support with local media really made this a success.

 Download to see the campaign materials in detail [PDF, 1 MB]

Situation

• 42 brigades took part from Tinopai in the south to Ahipara in the Far North
• Small population, distributed over a large area
• Predominantly Māori and New Zealand Pakeha
• Apart from Whangarei, all brigades 100% volunteer

Target

• To encourage as many people as possible to volunteer. Some brigades have struggled to attract new volunteers for many years.

Approach

• Every brigade held an Open Night at the same time on the same date.
• The Open Night included a BBQ. Friends and whānau were invited.

Promotion

Took place over 10 days leading up to the Open Night:

• Posters bespoke to each brigade and featuring their people
• Leaflet-drop to households in some towns but not all
• Social media posts using the area-wide Facebook page
• Advertising in local papers
• Advertising on local radio
• Digital billboard in Whangarei

Results

• Estimated 200 expressions of interest received
• Of these, 173 signed up to eRecruit across 38 brigades

Key points from Kim Boyce – campaign lead for Northland

• This was a huge success and the first real experience we’ve had of what the unification of urban and rural can mean in practice.
• It was also great collaboration between us and NHQ, sharing our knowledge and strengths for the good of our Northland brigades.
• Not only were we getting people interested in volunteering, but the positive vibe that was generated for our people in Northland was really uplifting.
• Some of our smallest areas – places like Towai, a brigade who was at real risk of folding – had people turning up, and signing up, whom they hadn’t seen before.
• The outcome was fantastic. By creating an event for the whole of Northland we were able to get the biggest bang for our buck in terms of marketing and advertising.

 Download to see the campaign materials in detail [PDF, 1.1 MB]

Situation

• 19 brigades took part from Wairoa to Waihau Bay
• Small population, distributed over a large area
• Predominantly Maori and New Zealand Pakeha
• Apart from Gisborne, all brigades 100% volunteer

Target

• To encourage as many people as possible to volunteer. Some brigades have struggled to attract new volunteers for many years.

Approach

• Every brigade held an Open Night at the same time on the same date.
• The Open Night included a BBQ and friends and whānau were invited.

Promotion

Took place over 10 days leading up to the Open Night:

• Posters bespoke to each brigade and featuring their people
• Letter-drop to households in some towns but not all
• Use of video in social media posts
• Stories and advertising in local newspapers
• Radio adverts and interviews in English, and in Te Reo (two dialects) for Radio Ngati Porou and Turanga FM
• Digital billboard on main highway out of Gisborne
• Local radio station presence at Te Karaka Volunteer Fire Brigade

Results

• Estimated 97 expressions of interest received
• Of these, 55 signed up to eRecruit across 13 brigades

Key points from Area Manager Charlie Turei and Principal Rural Fire Officer Ray Drever

• The area/district wide, community-spirited approach was very positive for our people.
• Having nationally generated materials made local for the brigades is successful.
• The format and event deliverables worked, as is evident by attendance at the Open Nights. It was exciting to get out and see the public come along – a very successful event for Tairawhiti.

Download to see the campaign materials in detail [PDF, 1.5 MB]

Door knocking on local businesses and the personal touch has been helping stations in the Whanganui area to recruit daytime volunteers during 2018.

VSOs Marty Webb and Marilla Swift had the idea initially for the Taumarunui recruitment drive in April 2018. Together they approached businesses identified by the Taumarunui Volunteer Fire Brigade and situated within 500 metres to one kilometre of the station. They knocked on doors and asked people if they’ve thought about volunteering with Fire and Emergency, leaving behind flyers advertising an Open Night for people interested in volunteering.

Marilla says usually there’s someone who’s thought about becoming a firefighter, and it sparks a good conversation with staff and their employer about what’s involved, and the range of ways people can volunteer. “The key thing about the face to face approach is that we’ve been able to talk to common misconceptions that up until then had prevented individual’s taking their interest further.”

Ten people came to the Taumarunui Open Night, eight signed up and a further three came on board as a result of the energy created by the initial interest. They are all day time responders. Five completed their recruits course in November, a further five will complete theirs in April.

“While the Open Nights have also been promoted on radio and in print, I believe it’s the personal touch that actually gets people along to the Open Night. We get good engagement and we’re answering questions that may have otherwise stopped them from doing anything further.”

Results to December 2018

Taumarunui 

10 expressions of interest; 5 completed recruits course in November; 5 to complete recruits course in April

Marton 

5 attended Open Night: 2 expressions of interest; 2 joined brigades closer to their homes

National Park 

9 expressions of interest; 4 going through recruitment process

At 6pm on 23 August 2018, all 27 stations on the West Coast opened their doors in an area-wide approach to attract volunteers.

The campaign ran for four weeks and comprised news media, print and radio advertising, social media and local promotion (posters and local bulletins). It involved hands-on activity by the Greymouth office (particularly around getting photos of volunteers for the posters) with the Volunteer Resilience team at NHQ.

The Woodham Shield rugby match in Fox Glacier (a popular tournament in South Westland) and a community meeting about fire risk in Charleston were both used to publicise the need for volunteers and the Open Nights. Brigades and fire forces were provided with posters and resources (many of which are in this toolkit) for the Open Night.

At the heart of the campaign

• Same message and call to action, area-wide
• Local volunteers feature within local promotion
• Focus on individual volunteers and their stories within social media
• Harness area-wide papers and radio to generate momentum
• Target local publications and bulletins

“The community is talking and aware,” Atila de Oliveira, PRFO

“We’ve given it a bloody good nudge,” Trevor O’Dea, Deputy CFO and Deputy PRFO

Key results

• By 24 August, 77 expressions of interest received (Rural: Target 41, EOI received 15. Urban: Target 83; EOI received 62).
• 108 attendees at 19 stations on Open Nights.
• Only 4 stations received no expressions of interest.
• Kokatahi and Kowhitirangi Rural Fire Force had the most visitors – turning their open night into a community event, with over 22 adults and 20 children attending.
• A joint training exercise (with DOC, Police, St Johns, etc) held in Haast the following weekend saw a further five people express interest in volunteering.

Key learnings

• Area-wide support and a unified approach creates momentum.
• Locals in social media creates engagement and interest.
• Encourage stations to make their Open Nights their own.
• Factor in time to cater to remote locations, e.g. distribution of resources.
• Consider timing – it was calving season – we were lucky to have had fine weather.

The West Coast campaign has more information about the campaign, results and learnings.

Download to see the campaign materials in detail [PDF, 1.1 MB]

Attracting volunteers to join your brigade or fire force requires ongoing effort. There are things you can do behind the scenes that can help.

1. Make a list of members who have left and would make good volunteers. Contact them. Would they like to return? Perhaps they would like a different role to the one they had.
2. Ask family and friends to join. Share with them why you joined and what you’ve gained as a volunteer.
3. Explore the possibility of sharing volunteers with nearby stations or other volunteer organisations (such as St John’s and Coastguard).
4. Attend local events (school galas, sports days, festival or civic events) and focus on volunteer attraction messages. Provide booklets and giveaways. Ask for an opportunity to address the crowd.
5. Connect with influential people in your community. Make sure they’re aware of the work you do, and the need for more volunteers. Ask them to share the word. Tell your local hairdresser, publican, school principal, vicar or religious leader that you’re looking for volunteers and ask them to share the word.
6. Consider other ways people may be able to volunteer. We've heard of one station where the real estate office takes care of their social media activity, and another where the local dressmaker helps measure up volunteers for uniform.
7. Meet with the largest employers in your community. Explain the benefits of having volunteers amongst their workforce – not just in terms of staff skills and teamwork but also for fulfilling their social responsibility needs and the public recognition that comes with being part of the Employer Recognition Programme.
8. If you have a Facebook page, always customise the posts you share from other pages. Make them relevant to your station and community, and incorporate volunteering messages where possible.