Texas Fire Chief - Fall/Winter 2008 - (Page 27)

sessment center methodology and they have held annual conferences since 1973. This year, their 34th conference will be held in the party town of Washington D.C., and I am sure they will have their fair share of conga lines and casino nights. The first set of guidelines endorsed by the International Congress was in 1975. These guidelines have evolved to a set of elements that make up an assessment center, and they plainly stipulate that there is a clear difference between an “Assessment Center” and just using assessment center methodology. If it doesn’t contain all the elements of an assessment center, you are only using the methodology – this is about as close to an assessment center as a bicycle is to a Rolls Royce. They both will get you there, but one is not going to impress anyone. To be a true Assessment Center, the International Congress guidelines dictate that it must contain all ten of the following: 1. Job analysis 2. Behavioral classification 3. Assessment techniques 4. Multiple assessments 5. Simulations 6. Assessors 7. Assessor training 8. Recording behavior 9. Reports 10. Data integration Now you may be saying that there is no way you can do all of that. You may be right. Few of us have the time and expertise necessary to pull that off. What is evident is that very few of us in the fire service have paid any attention to the information that is out there. Big name companies and government use bona fide assessment centers to find their mid level managers, and we use the home-grown variety to find leaders that will take firefighters into dangerous circumstances. That just doesn’t sound right. I am fortunate – the fire chief of my department, having participated in many assessments himself, bought into the idea of an assessment center and secured the funding. Shortly thereafter we began the process of creating an assessment center that had a Grapevine Fire Department feel to it. Behavioral Classification The next step is to determine what dimensions you want to assess for the rank. Typical dimensions assessed are: • Interpersonal relations • Job knowledge • Leadership • Oral/written communications • Planning and organizing • Problem analysis/judgment Which dimensions assessed depends upon the significance of each of these dimensions in the rank being assessed. A driver/engineer assessment may include only a portion of the dimensions; whereas, a battalion chief assessment will include all of them. Assessment Techniques, Multiple Assessments and Simulations Simulation is a fancy word for the exercise that will allow the candidate to demonstrate the dimensions to be assessed. These were tailored to typical duties that Grapevine firefighters in a particular rank will experience. Some typical simulations are: • Emergency incident tactical • In-basket • Leaderless group • Leadership scenarios • Role play • Presentations • Written exercise Depending on how an exercise is fashioned, almost any dimension can be assessed in almost any exercise. For example, job knowledge could be assessed in a fireground tactical, a role play, a presentation or by writing a report. Typically, dimensions are evaluated in two different exercises so that a weakness shown in one area could be evaluated in another situation. This provides the dual purpose of confirming the strength or weakness of their performance as well as providing the candidate another chance to demonstrate strength in that dimension. In our recent captains promotion, the candidates had two role playing scenarios: an unhappy citizen and the firefighter that was the source of the irritation. In the scenario with the citizen, the candidate was evaluated on the dimensions of interpersonal relations and problem analysis. In the second scenario with the firefighter, they were evaluated on leadership and problem analysis. These two related scenarios provide an opportunity to demonstrate the ability to solve problems and display sensitivity and leadership. Job Analysis The first item was to provide a job description to the consultant. They distilled it into the key functions as determined by the Grapevine Fire Department and into a process for validation. Senior personnel, of the same rank being tested for, then complete two matrixes. The first indexes key points of their written job description to the level of time, importance and difficulty for someone in that role. The second rates the dimensions being assessed against the depth of knowledge, skills and abilities required in the rank. This all sounds very confusing, but in the end you have the essential job functions of a rank reduced to a percentage of a final score. TEXAS FIRE CHIEF Fall/Winter 2008 Candidate Training This step is not in the International Congress guidelines, but should be. Typically, we try to keep much of what we do a secret to prevent anyone from having an edge. A leg up is exactly what we should want them to 27

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Texas Fire Chief - Fall/Winter 2008

Texas Fire Chief - Fall/Winter 2008 Contents Executive Director’s Report Texas Fire Chiefs Academy Project Reports Southwest Fire Rescue Conference Program Membership Application Customer Service Orientation in Fire Rescue Departments A Visit to the E-One Plant Index to Advertisers

Texas Fire Chief - Fall/Winter 2008

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