RECRUITMENT & RETENTION

The City of Lynchburg invests roughly $15,000 dollars into a training and equipping a new responder before they are assigned to Fire and EMS Operations and are able to serve the citizens in emergency response.  Historical compensation compression issues and lack of competitiveness for employee retention costs taxpayers in these areas:

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• Reduced return on investment from initial employment training

• Experience gap

  • As tenured employees leave before the 10-year mark, they are replaced by brand new employees without experience​

  • This also results in a loss of specialized capabilities, as junior employees are yet to attain the credentialing, certifications and expertise of employees leaving mid-career for opportunities where they are paid for their experience.  

  • As employees with less time on the job are forced into greater responsibility sooner, we lose invaluable experience for critical decision making – that can result in success or failure at saving lives and property, and safeguarding millions of dollars of taxpayer funded specialized emergency vehicles.

  • This gap also applies to our members health and safety, as decisions made in emergency operations can determine whether or not our brave responders go home to their family or end up in the morgue at the end of the shift. 

Bureaucrats may try, but there is no price that can be put on experience in emergency response and operations.  THE STAKES ARE WAY TOO HIGH.

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*The background image is of former Master Fire Fighter Joshua Phillips.  In 2016, Josh was the recipient of the The Governor’s EMS Award for Outstanding Prehospital Provider from the Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services.  This award is the most prestigious award for excellence offered to EMS providers in the Commonwealth, and the city's lack of emphasis on employee retention contributed to his departure, and they did not even give him the courtesy of an exit interview.

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