In studies about volunteer recruitment and retention, it has been mentioned that some firefighters reach a plateau after several years of service, where they “burn out”.  We lose some of these valuable volunteers to other interests, and all of their fire service training walks out the door with them.  This leaves us with a double impact: we lose a trained firefighter, and we also lose an experienced and participative member of our group.

As members of the fire service at all ranks from Firefighter to Chief, it is important for us to understand the things that make us feel rewarded in our service.  This is especially important for us as volunteers, because our compensation is not measured in dollars and cents.  Volunteers want to be part of an organization that is rewarding for them, and part of a department where there is a personal return on the energy that they contribute. 

In business, we talk about the “Return on Investment (ROI)” calculation as a measurement of the efficiency of an investment.  In this sense, the ROI is usually represented as a percentage, and calculated as follows:  ROI = (Gain from Investment – Cost of Investment)/Cost of Investment.  

Essentially, the better the ROI, the more successful the investment we have made with our money.

Our volunteers, on a fundamental level, would like to feel rewarded by being a part of our service.  If the reward that they feel from being a Firefighter and a member of the department is enough to justify the energy that they put into membership in the department, there is a perceived value.  This is the “Return on Energy” concept.

Return on Energy (ROE) = (Gain from Energy – Cost of Energy) / Cost of Energy

ROE can be viewed as the perceived value that a Firefighter feels from their membership in their department.  The “Gain from Energy” part of the formula encompasses all of the good things that come from being a member:  brotherhood, relationships, helping the community, saving property and lives, developing skills, and all of the other benefits of service.  The “Cost of Energy” is all of the factors that we often hear as reasons for problems retaining Firefighters:  less personal time, time away from family, work impacts, interdepartmental conflicts, leadership problems, and a host of many others.  If we relate this to the business world’s ROI concept, a good ROE for a volunteer means that they are being successful with their personal investment in the fire service and being rewarded for the energy that they are contributing.

Different people will have varied thresholds for the ROE level that makes them want to remain a part of our service.  But, it’s important for us as leaders in our organizations to know where each of our firefighters stand in relationship to their personal ROE.  For some people, this can be very easy to identify, and for others, it is more challenging.  We all know that Firefighters love to talk about their personal feelings, right?

By having regular developmental discussions with each of our members, we can more readily identify their ROE, and whether or not they are having their ROE needs met.  These discussions can be part of a formal development planning process, or be an informal conversation.   As leaders of an organization, we must watch for these signs to retain our valuable members.  If the signs are not readily available, then we should engage in the conversations to identify individual ROE levels.  Once we understand the ROE levels of our membership, then we can identify opportunities for growth and reward, and pass these on to those that are seeking them.  These opportunities can be implemented at an individual level such as an opportunity to expand knowledge by attending a special training, or at a group level by bringing a special opportunity to several members- for instance, a chance to visit their children’s school for a fire prevention presentation.

There will always be volunteers who cannot find an acceptable ROE level, and this situation may prove to be challenging for leadership.  In these cases, it’s best to do what you can, but recognize that sometimes an organization cannot offer the reward that some individuals seek.  This helps to explain some of the members that we see come and go so quickly at times.

It’s also important to ask ourselves about our own ROE levels.  If we are not seeing the reward we would like to see, we should look for professional and personal development opportunities to help us to become happy volunteers again!  Remember, personal and professional development can be take on many forms… including formal training, certification, specialty training, internal department projects, added responsibility, building personal relationships, or challenging ourselves to become better in our own ways. 


What’s your ROE level?