Fighting Fire with QuickHire

When government agencies needed to centralize and improve their firefighting recruitment and hiring efforts across agency and bureau lines, they turned to Monster Government Solutions and its QuickHire product, the premier commercial system for automating the federal recruitment and hiring processes. The ability to identify and hire qualified firefighters is necessary to meet the demands of the wildland fire program's hiring timeframes. Today, the hiring of qualified applicants is meeting the needs of the wildland firefighting bureaus with help from Monster Government Solutions — the industry leader delivering proven expertise in human capital management.

Challenge: Hiring to Suppress Wildland Fires and Contain Costs

In October 2003, 15 large wildland fires consumed more than 750,000 acres in California, leading to 24 deaths and burning more than 3,600 homes, 33 commercial properties and 1,141 other structures. In 2002, more than 88,000 wildland fires burned 6.9 million acres and 2,381 structures. More than 28,000 wildland firefighters and support personnel worked to suppress those fires and minimize the damage they caused.

Within the Department of the Interior (DOI), four bureaus join the fight to contain and suppress wildland fires: the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Park Service (NPS). Between them, these agencies hire approximately 3,000 temporary seasonal firefighters and supporting staff every fire season. Their ability to promptly field qualified firefighting personnel is crucial to meeting tight timeframes associated with wildland firefighting.

As they struggled to hire seasonal specialists, DOI recruiters worked against three factors. First, seasoned wildland firefighters are a highly specialized group in scarce supply. Locating and vetting sufficiently qualified staff is traditionally difficult with this population. When qualifications are the difference between life and death, ensuring skill really matters. Historically, the Federal firefighting organizations have found themselves unintentionally competing for the same people, wasting time and money, and, ultimately, limiting the total applicant pool and its available talent. Second, wildland firefighters are scattered in remote areas, and are needed in still more remote locations.

Reaching out to this widespread group is difficult; finding and placing them where they are most needed is even harder. Third, filling these positions is extraordinarily time-sensitive. Although the bulk of recruitment takes place in the winter, the fire season doesn’t wait for red tape. Managers need to ensure their people are ready and trained before the first fire breaks out, and that replacements throughout the year can be made without hesitation.

Response: FIRES — Powered by QuickHire

Congressional and Departmental directives mandated the consolidation of the recruitment and hiring efforts of the Federal wildland fire management agencies. The primary goals of this effort are to increase collaboration among government agencies and to reduce HR overhead costs.

In response to these mandates, the Department of the Interior, FIRES — Firefighter Integrated Recruitment and Employment System — was created. Powered by QuickHire from Monster Government Solutions, FIRES automates the hiring process and helps to centralize staffing for all firefighting teams as a “one-stop shop” for Federal firefighting personnel.

The reasons for deploying FIRES are clear:

• By centralizing recruitment efforts, and by bringing all candidates to one online location, agencies will be able to maximize their recruitment dollars. Each agency’s efforts will bolster its own initiatives, as well as those of other participating agencies.
• By centralizing the assessment process through QuickHire, all participating agencies will benefit from shared process improvements and automation.
• By providing consistency in position classifications across all agencies, the stage will be set for improved efficiency in hiring efforts.
• By identifying the best qualified candidates through a centralized depository, hiring managers will be able to data mine applications over the Internet and quickly locate the ideal candidates for their vacancies.

Reaching Our Goals

Year 1

• 56 positions available
• 1,000 applications received
• 100% positions filled

Year 2

• 200 positions available
• 2,000+ applications received
• 100% positions filled
• Increase in diverse candidates

Results: Centralized Efficiency, Hiring Effectiveness

In its first year, FIRES proved its worth. The pilot program covered firefighting positions in Wyoming and Colorado, an area that has been traditionally very difficult to staff. DOI utilized FIRES and received 1,000 applications to fill 56 positions for this region. Every open position was filled.

In its second recruiting year, the scope of the program was widened to include the Rocky Mountain region, encompassing Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas. The number of positions posted through FIRES also expanded. As of April 2004, the beginning of the fire season, FIRES received more than 2,000 applications for these positions. In addition, data mining capabilities extended to hiring managers resulted in an extra benefit: decreased time to hire. Managers have been able to directly access the applications of eligible candidates and search for the best qualified applicants for their position.

Overall, the FIRES program produces more qualified applicants for each position in every location. It provides consistency in position classification, as well as in the recruitment and hiring process.

FIRES is expected to expand to hire firefighters nationwide in 2005, and will continue to incorporate more firefighting and supporting positions.

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