Emergency Management Sector

Like banking, education or tourism for example, the activities and people associated with emergency management are now, (increasingly) being recognised as a discrete sector of the economy. Volunteerism is a unique feature of this sector, with more than 500,000 volunteers from all walks of life, participating and contributing.

However, the fact that the majority of workers in the sector are volunteers, has led to the ongoing underestimation of the importance of the contribution of this sector to economic and social well-being. Community security is now being seen as a critical component of community sustainability. Also un-recognised and under-reported is the way many employers support emergency management volunteering.

Australia has a long and proud tradition of volunteering and today there are several million Australians who volunteer their services to assist and support their communities.

The emergency management volunteers are active in all types of disasters supporting the emergency service agencies and victims alike. These 500,000 volunteers as the backbone of the emergency management structures throughout Australia, provide response and recovery services (as well as day to day support), associated with accidents and disasters. They are also an integral part of recovery programs in all States and Territories at the local level.

Emergency management workers provide frontline response capabilities against our major natural hazards of floods, storms, cyclones and bushfires and in doing so, regularly and willingly place themselves at considerable risk. They also provide road accident and rescue services and carry out the bulk of the marine rescue nationwide. Volunteers patrol our beaches on holidays and over weekends and provide first aid at sporting fixtures and major entertainment venues. Volunteers are particularly active at local level with schools and community groups. Their extensive and growing involvement in mitigation and preparedness programs has enhanced their effectiveness and the overall value to the community.

State and Territory governments have come to rely on volunteers as essential to equitable service delivery, (particularly for regional localities and remote communities), as it is beyond the financial capacity of States and Territories to pay for these services.

Apart from indirectly subsidising service delivery, emergency management volunteers play an important role in maintaining and growing local community ‘social capital’. Through their contribution to the physical security of the community when needs are greatest, local emergency management volunteers gain the trust of the community by demonstrating professionalism and care. As trust is a critical requirement for the growing of social capital, communities can lever off the trust in emergency management volunteers, to progress social development in other areas.

Recently, the Council of Australian Governments has twice recognised the importance of volunteers to the community and has identified key areas where emergency management volunteers need to be supported. Commonwealth, State and Territory agencies and municipalities now have a clear direction for actions to support emergency management volunteers.

VOLUNTEERING IN THE EMERGENCY SECTOR NEEDS TO BE A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COMMUNITY, FAMILIES, EMPLOYERS AND ONE ANOTHER.
An occasional paper by Major General Hori Howard, chair of the Australian Emergency Management Volunteer Forum (AEMVF),and ex Director General of the New South Wales State Emergency Service.

Introduction
Australia is very fortunate indeed, to have a great tradition of volunteering, and it is generally accepted that without the massive contribution of several million volunteers to all manner of community activities, the high standards of safety and service we enjoy, would simply not be there. While the volunteers sometimes believe that their contribution is taken for granted, the community is generally very supportive. It is, however, essential for the volunteers and their organisations to do everything possible to retain and enhance this community support.

In addition, fundamental to the success of the volunteer movement in Australia is the support of the families of the volunteers and of their employers. They are often the unsung heroes, particularly when major events require a large volunteer contribution over an extended period.

There is great merit in volunteer organisations developing partnerships between one another, and between their state and local branches. Prior to the 2001 Volunteer Summit, there was no real sense that the volunteer emergency management organisations would be stronger if they viewed themselves as a sector. This has now been largely achieved by the formation of the AEMVF, but much more needs to be done.

The volunteer emergency management sector consists of around 500,000 volunteers who hail mainly from the response and recovery areas. It can be quite different from the other sectors in that from time to time volunteers are required to leave their families and their work at very short notice to attend to emergencies, and sometimes their absences can be protracted. On the other hand, in most non-emergency volunteer organisations, the individuals can generally program their volunteer commitments around their family and work commitments. The need for short notice absences by the emergency sector volunteers can cause problems for both their families and their employers.

Another characteristic of the emergency sector is the tendency for volunteer clusters to form; where a volunteer tells his or her workmates how good it is to be a volunteer in such and such an organisation and a number of them join. There can be a disastrous effect on a small business if a significant percentage of the workforce absents itself at short notice for extended periods.

These situations are common in the emergency sector and strategies need to be put in place to ease the burden on both the family and the employer. It is the aim of this paper to propose some simple solutions to minimise the problems and to strengthen the sector by further developing partnerships.

Community Support
The most fundamental need for partnership is between the volunteer sector and the community at large. This must be strong or the flow of men and women willing to volunteer their services will dry up. Community support must never be taken for granted, and all volunteer organisations at all levels must work hard to keep the community on side and well informed. This can be best done by making sure that the community has a good understanding of exactly what the volunteers and their organisations do for them. Too often we assume that they already know, and this can be a big mistake. I wonder how many people are aware for example, what role the various welfare organisations have during and after emergencies. I believe that we have long been too conservative in publicising ourselves. Publicity at all levels is needed, so good relationships must be forged with the media, particularly the local media which are invariably looking for interesting copy. Displays and open days have an important role as well, and involvement in local events invariably pays off. I do detect an improvement in this area over recent years, and some of the organisations such as Surf Lifesaving are already on top of the problem. However, a number need to be more active.

Many of the organisations within the emergency management sector need to raise funds in order to provide their particular service to the community. Fund raising can be quite difficult these days due to the large number of organisations seeking the community dollar. Active schemes are needed in order to attract attention and support, and these take volunteer time and effort. Passive schemes such as donation boxes on hotel bars and shop counters seldom work. Don’t forget also that fund raising can help to put the volunteers in touch with their local community and can assist the process of making sure that they know what your organisation does to help them, and how important it is to their safety and well-being.

Families
Family pressures are a fact of life within the emergency management sector, as volunteers are sometimes called away at short notice, and on occasions the absences can be prolonged. Family needs must be accommodated or eventually the individuals will drop out. The first requirement is that the family has a good understanding of the work the volunteer does and how important it is. One of the best ways to achieve this is to involve other family members in the organisation, or at least tell them what goes on within it, both during operations and from day to day.

If it is not practical to in involve family members, particularly partners, due to ill health, age of children or other commitments, it may be necessary to develop a support network within the wider family, to ensure that the welfare of the immediate family is catered for during absences.

It is also the responsibility of each volunteer to make sure that the team leader is aware of the family circumstances, so that false expectations of availability do not become a problem.

Some organisations within the sector have developed support systems to assist families which may need help during absences of volunteers on operations, and the availability of such services should be checked on entry. Group leaders should give some thought to creating simple support networks. Often a phone call to check on the well-being of a family, when a volunteer is absent, is all that is needed to avoid problems. Families of volunteers are invariably willing to help each other, but may need prompting in order to set up a mutual support network.

Employers
Much is spoken and written about the employers of volunteers within the emergency management sector, and it needs to be stated at the outset that the vast majority of them are very supportive. However, problems can occur in the workplace due to short notice absences by the volunteers. It was my experience when leading the New South Wales State Emergency Service that many of the problems rested with the volunteers themselves rather than the employers, but was easily resolved. The overwhelming complaint from the employers was that they needed to know exactly what they might be faced with in terms of absences so that they could compensate for them in advance as far as possible.

There can be serious problems within small business, particularly, if there are several volunteers within the one firm, in such cases, there will be times when one or more of the volunteers cannot be released. This is usually quite easily accommodated by the organisations themselves, provided they know the situation. It is not unusual for some volunteers to be unavailable for a particular period, and organisations should be prepared to accommodate this situation and plan accordingly.

Recognition of the employers of emergency management sector volunteers is also an essential strategy if their support is to be retained. Governments generally recognise the efforts of the volunteers following major operations. Their spokespersons should be encouraged to include acknowledgement of employers in their public statements. Heads of organisations should do likewise. At lower levels, Certificates of Appreciation should be the norm, as should invitations for employers to the local branch headquarters for social functions and to gain knowledge about the organisations.

Working with One Another
While the individual roles of many of the organisations within the emergency management sector differ, there are many similarities amongst them, and there are numerous opportunities for partnerships to be developed. Perhaps the most fundamental is in the coordination of operational roles. There has been good progress between the emergency services, where for example there are agreements between the fire services and the State Emergency Services providing for mutual support during their respective operations, but more could be done. Some progress is also evident in the Recovery area, but there is scope here also for better coordination between the several organisations which are involved. There is no room for competition when the community is at risk, and formal agreements should be further explored across the sector.

At a more basic level, there is considerable scope for better collaboration in the design development and delivery of training. The first step is joint development within national organisations, where state branches accept responsibility for design and development of particular training support material, rather than each branch developing its own. In this way, there is the opportunity for considerable saving of time and effort, with no loss in quality.

While training resources are generally scarce within the sector, the potential for joint training should be explored at all levels. Examples where partnerships could be further developed may be Road Crash Rescue and First Aid, but there are likely to be many more.

There are numerous other possibilities for partnerships, for example in the areas of equipment design and procurement, Occupational Health and Safety and in Public Education. The first step in the process is a better sharing of information between organisations, so that all are aware of what the others are doing. It has been my experience that we have tended to work in silos, not through unwillingness to share, but because there has been no forum for collaboration. It will be the responsibility of the AEMVF to provide this forum, and to promote more formal arrangements between the members.

Conclusion
The volunteer emergency management sector needs to establish a close association with the community it seeks to serve, and while the community is generally supportive, positive steps need to be taken to ensure that it is well informed about the value of the organisations. Regular publicity is essential to ensure that this is the case, and all organisations need to promote themselves and what they do.

Family and employer support of volunteers is essential to ensure that the sector remains strong, and the volunteers and their organisations are jointly responsible to keep them well informed. The creation of support networks is a good way of assisting families through absences, and working with employers to minimise the adverse effects of absences from work is essential.

There are numerous opportunities for collaboration and formal partnerships between organisations within the sector, which will serve to strengthen the individual organisations and the sector as a whole. The tendency to operate in silos must be overcome, and opportunities seized to work better together. Competition between agencies is self defeating and where it exists, should be removed by agreements to share roles in the interests of the community.

The AEMVF will foster a greater spirit of cooperation, by providing information and ideas, but the primary responsibility rests with the agencies themselves, which should be proactive in seeking opportunities for better cooperation and in developing partnerships.