Four years ago, the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department (TFRD) took a new approach to recruiting, with an emphasis on diversity and inclusion. Since then, the TFRD continued to grow in the number of women and people of color in its ranks. This is in large part because of a concerted effort to understand the populations from which the department recruits.
Targeted endeavor
Traditionally, a call for recruits entails a campaign that has a broad message that’s designed to appeal to as many people as possible. However, what the TFRD found was that people who have different backgrounds and are from various demographics require messaging that’s particular to who they are. With that in mind, the department developed a process that broke down potential candidates into seven segments and then created specific, targeted print and digital campaigns for each one.
The academy utilized Recruit Connect, which is a comprehensive process that uses dozens of data points to target a wide array of potential candidates. Through the utilization of extensive research, focus groups and data-led analytics, the recruiting team built seven avatars (profiles) that are based on numerous factors, including race, gender, economic status and level of education. However, these categories were augmented to consider more particular factors, such as an individual’s goals, an individual’s perception of fire department work culture and how an individual sees him/herself in the neighborhood and the greater community.
In February 2024, Academy Class 297 graduated and joined the ranks of the TFRD. Out of the 47 recruits, 15 (32 percent) are from minority racial groups, and six are women (13 percent). This means that the diversity of the class’s members is 38 percent (or 18 total nonwhite male recruits).
‘Millennial women’ and ‘seekers’
Thanks to the efficiency of Recruit Connect, in 2023, the TFRD attracted more than 1,500 candidates. More than 100 individuals connected with recruiters before the application cycle for Academy Class 297 officially began. The TFRD knew exactly how to reach out to members of the seven segments in its community, the most effective ways to engage with them and the tools that are needed to nurture them through the cycle.
For example, one segment is millennial women. A piece of the messaging for this group centered on recognizing the value of including diverse individuals and how women can be strong and nurturing at the same time. Research found that 85 percent of the women who were interviewed to develop the avatar noted that an employer’s policy on diversity, equity and inclusion is important when they decided whether to work for an employer.
The avatar for this segment is a woman who is age 21–25 who sees family and career as complementary to each another. They are wary of the potential for sexism in fire departments and want to be assured that other women will work alongside them.
Another segment that was identified is seekers. The messaging for this avatar emphasizes the idea that individuals who consider enrolling in the academy have the opportunity to pursue passions both inside and outside of the firehouse. The messaging also underlines that a career in the department is about more than fighting fires, that it’s about serving one’s community with love and purpose.
The avatar for this segment is a single man who is age 18–30 who might have considered applying but found the process difficult. The TFRD created a recruitment landing page that helped to streamline the process. Further, seekers were engaged through text and email. Seekers thrive in supportive and team-oriented atmospheres and want to work for an organization that’s ethical and mission-driven.
Know the candidate pool
Although some overlap exists between the seven segments, it’s clear that the differentiating aspects of them are paramount to understanding how to connect with various potential recruits.
Other segments that were identified by the TFRD recruitment team include young and unsure, which was defined generally as individuals who are in the 16–18 age group who are searching for purpose and who value real-world skills over classroom learning; fire friends, which is classified as men and women who are in the 18–24 age group who look up to family and/or friends who already are firefighters and who have a strong desire to make the people who they love proud; and essential brand ambassadors, who are men and women who are in the 23–50 age group who value commitment to the point that they possibly could become recruiters themselves.
The people who are described in these segments might sound familiar. However, every city and every community is unique. Avatars should vary from region to region and from neighborhood to neighborhood.
VOXHUB, which specializes in the realm of public service and safety recruitment, among segments, provided the Recruit Connect resource and worked alongside the TFRD in the development of the segments and the implementation of the recruiting campaigns.
The automation aspects of Recruit Connect streamlined communication through emails and text messages, which allowed interested candidates to stay abreast of next steps, procedures, requirements, etc.
Ability
The efforts of the TFRD have been comprehensive in not just recruiting diverse individuals but people who are able to answer the call. There was no compromise on quality of incoming personnel. Instead, the candidate pool has been increased to include talented people who didn’t know about or how to take advantage of the opportunities that are presented by the TFRD, as well as those who simply believed that there was no place for them. The goal of the recruiting team has been and always will be to have the best people for the job.
Many organizations define qualifications solely by the certifications that an individual holds. However, the TFRD believes that a person’s qualifications are much more than that, so it made a concerted effort to reach out to groups that historically felt unwelcomed in this field and, thus, might have lacked fire or EMS certifications at the time of their initial interaction with the recruiting process.
Although the TFRD is excited to report that 25 members (53 percent) of Class 297 (including several minority candidates) came in already having obtained certifications and were able to join the line a bit earlier, it’s important to acknowledge and celebrate what the remaining individuals are achieving as they continue to work toward their EMT-B certification. Class 297 maintained the highest exam average in the recorded history of the academy.
Only the beginning
The accomplishments of the TFRD are undeniable, but there still is work to be done. When comparing the TFRD’s demographics with that of the city of Toledo, the TFRD exceeded in some areas while there’s room to grow in others. However, as the recruitment team continues to work on in its diversity endeavor, the early positive returns (e.g., discovering new talent and building greater trust between teams and the people of the community who they serve) have instilled confidence in city and department leaders that this initiative can be a benefit to all communities.
To get the full avatar on each target audience, go to firehubcity.com.
