1a Explain the importance of the team having a common sense of purpose that supports the overall vision and strategy of the organisationMid and West Wales Fire Service shares a Vision for the future, which is “To be a world leader in emergency response and community safety”. To achieve this a 5 year corporate plan has been devised to ensure everyone within the service is aware of how they are aiming to accomplish this and encourage the workforce to work towards the same goals.The mission of the organisation is “to engage, connect, develop and inspire people to deliver an excellent service” while maintaining the core values of “Doing the right thing”, “treating people with respect” and “performing with excellence”. It sets out 7 Strategic Priorities which are:-1.
Collaboration2. Innovation3. Improving our Service Delivery4. Making better use of our Assets and Resources5. Sustainability6. Communication and Engagement.
7. Empowering our StaffThe corporate plan is disseminated to the whole workforce to ensure that everyone is aware of what the Service is trying to achieve, as well as information about what we have achieved thus far.The plan ensures that everyone has a common goal which gives the Service a common sense of purpose which is important in a workforce as it gives employees a sense of “we” and ensures there is a common understanding of the Services aims.
The plan highlights the positive areas of the service and how we have improved over a period which is important as it gives employees a sense of shared success which motivates them to want to keep improving themselves and the Service. It also causes employees to find their work meaningful if they can see the positive results and can help them understand their role within the Organisation, whether they are operational staff that have assisted reduce the number of Fire deaths or in a department such as Community Fire safety which has improved the condition of many properties by regular visits and close monitoring of communities. It also includes a Well-being Statement highlighting the Services commitment to the communities and the long-term impact of decisions made which makes employees feel valued as a large percentage of the workforce live within the communities they serve.The plan sets out 12 Improvement Objectives to be achieved within the next 12 months.
They are :-1. To Deliver a holistic home safety intervention to those most at risk within the communities of Mid & West Wales.2. To reduce the incidence of arson across Mid & West Wales.3. To deliver our part of the Welsh Government Road Safety Framework.4.
Our role in the Public Service Boards and the implementation of their Well-Being Plans.5. To contribute to and implement the new Emergency Services Network (ESN).6. Implementation of options developed from our Service Review Programme.7. Fire Medical Response.
8. Our response to water related incidents and developing our role in educating and advising communities.9.
To invest in our people.10. To make best use of our assets and resources. 11. To use technology to innovate, collaborate and empower.
12. To develop our operational technology and improve the way we resolve operational incidents through innovation and the use of new technology.Setting out these short-term objectives will assist the Managers to Nurture the 5 year Corporate plan and ensure they don’t “lose touch” with the workforce.The objectives will also empower the employees as they include all departments and a commitment to them personally (Objective 9). This will make them feel more appreciated and committed to the Service and can help improve Morale as it clearly sets out the aims and makes it clear to employees how they can have a positive impact on the Organisation.The better the morale, the more productive the workforce will be which will help with retention of the staff as they will feel more valued and committed to organisation and achieving the goals.The plan also addresses the more problematic issues such as austerity and budget cuts, this is important as it shows honesty and gives the impression that the Managers are being open and transparent about the challenges the Service are confronted with and will encourage the employees to work collectively to overcome these problems.
The Service endeavours to empower the employees and have recently carried out a review where members of staff from all areas were given a chance to express their honest opinions. The review highlighted several issues within the service which are currently being addressed. This has improved the relationship between the management team and the employees as they feel their opinion is valued and that they have a voice which has contributed to making changes to improve the working conditions. This has made employees want to continue improving the Service and themselves, it has also improved morale and increased productivity as they feel more committed to the Service.The Service carries out annual IDR questionnaires to establish if employees are suitably trained and equipped to fulfil their role. The employees can request additional training and highlight what they feel went well or requires improvement in the previous year.
This enables managers to measure success and gives employees the chance to ask for extra training or give an opinion on what they were happy with give suggestions on what they think requires changing. There are also Organisational pathways which demonstrate what qualifications and training are required to fulfil your current role or what is required to gain promotion. This gives employees a sense of worth and can give confidence and self-assurance if they are shown that they are fulfilling their role and have achieved everything on their current pathway. It can also encourage employees to develop to the next level if they can clearly see what is required and have an accessible way to request it.The Service also receives the IIP (Investors In People) award which they take pride in and have stated in the corporate plan they would use to “evaluate the impact of coaching and mentoring has had within the Service”. This gives confidence to employees that they are committed to ensuring current practices are effective and are willing to make changes to improve
