Article Highlights
- The problem: Low fire department recruitment
- The solution: PowerEngage fire station software
- The benefits: An engagement platform that attracts recruits with digital communication and a priority on morale
The problem: Fire department recruitment
Fire departments around the United States are facing extreme staffing shortages due to low recruitment and retention. Firefighters often receive little to no pay or recognition. With chronic understaffing, forced overtime is becoming more common to meet the needs of the community. This demanding schedule means many firefighters are overworked and exhausted, causing increased firefighter burnout and decreased department morale.
As a result, firefighters feel undervalued and unappreciated, and fire department recruitment and retention suffer. When experienced firefighters leave, departments lose valuable institutional knowledge, and high turnover discourages new candidates from applying. This continued cycle of understaffing, overworking, and low retention makes it difficult to provide the best services to your community.
The solution: Fire station software
PowerEngage by PowerDMS is fire station software that supports retention in fire departments and streamlines the firefighter recruitment process. The platform collects citizen feedback surveys via text message after they have interacted with the department. Then, positive feedback and commendations from the community are displayed publicly on department screens and shared directly to firefighters’ emails. This helps boost morale in your department and shows candidates that you value firefighter wellness.
PowerEngage also uses this feedback to calculate a Citizen Positive Satisfaction Score (CPSS), which quantifies how citizens feel about your department. You can track your CPSS over time to identify satisfaction trends in your community and determine what is working and where you can make improvements.
In addition, PowerEngage functions as a candidate engagement platform that provides departments with a QR code to help increase the recruitment of new employees. Candidates can scan the QR code, which immediately starts a conversation and notifies a recruiter. This gives interested recruits an efficient way to ask questions, build a relationship with your department, and streamline the application process.
The benefits of a candidate engagement platform
PowerDMS’s fire station software helps improve communication and engagement in your community and with new recruits.
The QR code lets you reach today’s tech-savvy candidates who feel more comfortable engaging with a recruiter through chat, rather than a call or email. As a result, they're more likely to show interest and apply.
PowerEngage’s positive feedback and CPSS features also boost firefighter morale with firefighter commendations, making your staff feel appreciated by the department and the community. And, because accolades can be displayed publicly, this supports a positive local image. Public commendations and positive staff morale show candidates your department values and recognizes their hard work in the community.
Get started
With PowerEngage, you can improve fire department recruitment and firefighter retention to ensure top-quality public safety services. To learn more about how this fire station software can support your department’s community engagement, schedule a free demo of our software.