Time's Up, Chiefs

Nearly every fire chief I know regards organizational accountability as a foundational element of a healthy and productive fire department culture. The challenge with the term accountability is that the meaning is often misunderstood, misapplied or used entirely out of context.

Accountability is not the organizational hammer that supervisors use as punishment, nor is it an episodic event followed by the “holding you accountable” speech, often given in a discipline setting. Accountability is a long-term understanding among everyone in the organization, chiefs included. It is a formal tool that, when used appropriately, supports a culture of improvement and excellence that, without toxic influences, can take a dysfunctional organization and propel it to superior distinction. 

Toxic culture syndrome

Our industry presents several challenges for accountability to be valid. We are complex organizations that are routinely decentralized and geographically broken down into zones, districts, battalions, stations, shifts and companies. Example: For a lieutenant at a firehouse in Battalion 3 to make an urgent purchase, the lieutenant may have to interface with a captain on a different shift, battalion chief, logistics chief, a civilian in a purchasing department, and administration to receive financial authority. We have a sometimes ridiculous bureaucracy that makes the thought of organizational accountability incredibly challenging. The system encourages deflections, blaming others or just saying something like, “I did not know,” “That’s not my job,” or “That is the way we always do it.”

Complicating our already complex bureaucracy is the fact that the demands on the fire service are changing rapidly, yet we often react to the change with immediate and forceful resistance. Evidence of this can be found throughout our history. Controversial issues as simple as mechanical apparatus, EMS/paramedics, working conditions, and many others have each resulted in sometimes industry-wide push-back. Sometimes the people leading the change are successful in bringing forward a vision that resonates with the workforce, and other times not. Regardless, progress eventually wins or the organization downsizes or disappears. 

Further, for career departments, our operational workforce is normally physically present in the organization 25–33 percent of the year, with only a limited time available to address accountability issues due to productive time, weekends and operational commitments. For volunteer organizations, it can be even more challenging. 

As a result of the organizational dynamics, combined with our position of preeminent public trust, we have designed the perfect organization to be at risk for what I call a toxic culture syndrome (TCS). Here are a few more risk factors for TCS:

·      A homogenous workforce

·       A minority of employees who do not conform to societal stereotypes or norms of the workplace

·       Cultural differences

·       Many young employees

·       A subset of “high value" or special operations employees

·       Significant disparities in power among employees

·       Low-intensity tasks or time on employees’ hands

·       Decentralized management

·       Tolerance or encouragement of alcohol consumption off duty 

TCS is not a real syndrome, but in light of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, it could be a precursor to a fatal disease for the fire service—and the issue points to a lack of accountability. 

Shining a light on harassment

Both the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements have finally brought serious matters to the forefront of society. Harassment occurs in all industries, and the fire service is not immune. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) studies show that 60–70 percent of women have been on the receiving end of sexual harassment during their careers, and 85 percent of employees who experience harassment choose not to bring charges to the organization, and up to 70 percent never complain to their agency. And yet, it is nearly impossible to read the morning’s news without a new story highlighting violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.  

In just a matter of months, society’s perception has changed. More people are coming forward with stories that have been kept secret for years, and there is no sign of this ceasing. Complaints from employees, past and present, have reached an all-time high, often requiring additional resources in departments to handle reports and the subsequent investigations. Claims, lawsuits and other formal complaints are being filed in nearly every industry, and those paying attention are finally starting to talk about how to address TCS with organizational accountability.

5 steps for leaders

The EEOC’s Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace offers a roadmap to assist all of us responsible for policy, and it is built on a thorough review of the scientific literature, including information from victims. There are five main steps that chiefs and supervisors should immediately consider addressing: 

1. Demonstrate committed and engaged leadership

Chief officers and company officers must be highly visible in articulating that inappropriate workplace behaviors will not be tolerated. They should convey a sense of urgency about preventing harassment, bullying or other improper activity. We probably spend millions of dollars on hands-on fire training annually, but remember that one sustained harassment case can cost the organization millions and even more in lost public trust. Much like our mission statements that often appear in many organizations as just words on a wall, so are policies and expectations unless they are demonstrated by the chiefs and supervisors. The commitment to accountability starts at the top but should resonate through every level of the organization. 

2. Require consistent and demonstrated accountability

Chiefs, union leaders and any other formal organizational leaders should set the tone immediately by setting the expectation in policy and training. When violations do occur, the system should respond quickly, reasonably and with the expectation of demonstrating accountability. Employees should understand that bullying or harassing behavior will not be allowed and that everyone complicit in the behavior will be held responsible, including supervisors who did not respond appropriately. It is critical that employees know that they are safe, free from retaliation, and the organization’s goal is ensuring a respectful culture.

3. Issue strong and comprehensive policies

Policies should be developed with Human Resources (HR) and legal professionals; they should not be authored in a vacuum at the chief’s desk. The policies should be simply written, using clear text, and include terminology, reporting, investigation and applicable organizational procedures. Policies are not worth the paper they are printed on unless the leadership in the organization understands them, believes in them and demonstrates them at every opportunity.

4. Offer accessible complaint procedures

To effectively implement HR-related policies, organizations need sound procedures for reporting and investigating misconduct. Departments should have multiple methods for making a complaint, and not just in person or just in writing. Healthy organizations will address the traditional methods for reporting activity (supervisors, managers, HR, chief staff, etc.), but we should also allow for electronic reporting or dedicated 24/7 telephone lines. Every complaint should be taken seriously and require an investigation. It can be easy for company officers or chiefs to trivialize or dismiss the reported event—and nothing could be more wrong in the eyes of the public and the law.

Regulations regarding the privacy of the complainant may vary by state law and based on the specific situation, but the organization's leadership (both labor and management) should do everything to protect confidentiality as much as possible. A fair investigation will typically require the involved officers in the department to know the details of the complaint, but they should maintain confidentiality about the parties involved. The individual parties frequently talk with their representatives, counselors or friends about the incident, but that is their privilege. The employer should not be the one breaching confidentiality unless legally compelled to do so. 

Retaliation is a very frequent basis of discrimination, and a culture diagnosed with preexisting TCS will promote the activity. Fear of retaliation and an employee's perception on the job are the most substantial obstacles that prevent firefighters from coming forward with their stories. Individuals who make a complaint must be protected, and if they are not, the organization tolerates harassment—and you know what happens to those leaders.

5. Provide training tailored to the organization

HR training is usually a check-box penciled in on mandatory annual plans in the Training Division. Our industry rarely respects the importance of risk management training unless it involves fire, medical or another discipline. As a group, most of us would rather respond to a horrible incident in terrible conditions than sit through a regular compliance HR class. Training can be useful if it is interactive, designed for adult learners, and not designed to check a box but rather to address real situations and true fire-service contributing risk factors identified above. We are unique, and our training programs should address those issues straight on. 

Time to do what’s right

Fire chiefs and leaders should not expect to change what people believe, only how personnel act. Patterns of behavior and cultural norms in the fire service are strong. They have been developed over generations, and anyone who opposes those patterns may be isolated or bullied. Society’s issues do not escape once people walk into firehouses. We saw similar problems when minorities entered the workforce. Now, the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements are bringing the issue to the forefront of everyone's consciousness, and the public is thankfully demanding reform.   

The #MeToo and Time's Up movements are opportunities for us. We have a small moment in time where everyone is looking to the fire service to lead in areas of diversity, inclusiveness, workplace respect and, most of all, accountability.  

References

O'Malley, S. “Workplace sexual harassment.” CQ researcher. Oct. 27, 2017; 27, 893–917. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com.

Feldblum, C. and Lipnic, V. “Report of the Co-Chairs of the Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace,” U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, June 2016. http://tinyurl.com/gnrcpnl.