Fire Department Employee Counseling

In the Employee Counseling section you will have unlimited access to fourteen (14) video scenarios that depict an officer managing a personnel issue that you are likely to encounter during your assessment center or when you get promoted. The Fire Captain / Lieutenant Employee Counseling section provides 9 scenarios to help you prepare for your promotional exam and walk you through the 8-step process. The Battalion Chief Employee Counseling section provides an additional 5 videos that build in complexity and require multiple interviews to identify the problem and correctly manage the issues at hand. We review the disciplinary process, provide you tools, demonstrate how to conduct a counseling session, and implement the appropriate corrective action or discipline commensurate with the infraction.

The secret to managing an Employee Counseling scenario is having an established system. Our members will learn a system, through our custom instructional video, known as the 8-Step Process, which allows them to prepare and manage a counseling session with even the most difficult employee.

We have created nine (9) Employee Counseling videos for Fire Captain / Lieutenant and an additional five (5) videos for Battalion Chief training that are designed to show our members how to conduct a counseling session. All 14 videos are available to our members with the Battalion Chief Employee Counseling package. Each video begins with the narrator reading a scenario while it is displayed on the screen. Following the presentation of the scenario, the officer in the video interviews the employee about the situation that has been presented in the scenario. The officer follows the 8-Step Process to conduct the counseling session. As the officer progresses through the counseling session a banner displays which step the officer is currently in, allowing our members to track the progress throughout the video. This helps to reinforce how to utilize the 8-Step Process. The scenarios build in complexity with identifying the issue(s) or policy violation(s) and redirecting the employee back to what the expected behavior or policy is within the department. There are a couple scenarios that involve interviewing multiple members to identify the issues so they can be properly addressed by you, the Fire Officer.

Our members will see scenarios that are typical of ones used in exams throughout the country. They include: citizen complaints, poor driving, unacceptable conduct, performance issues, injuries, station banter, preaching, disengaged member, and undermining the officer’s authority.

Typically a role player is used during an assessment center to play the part of the problem employee. We have followed this format in our videos. Each individual playing the role of the problem employee is a firefighter and has been instructed to push back and sometimes challenge the officer. We believe this adds realism and complexity to each scenario and prepares our members for a difficult role player or employee once promoted. Our members will learn the art of keeping the role player on point and challenging him when he steps out of line.

Since, it is very common, during an assessment center, for a candidate to be directed to complete the appropriate documentation following the counseling session we have included documentation in this section. Our members will be able to review the appropriate documentation for each scenario. It describes the appropriate level of discipline or corrective action that the officer would impose as a result of the violation or infraction. The documentation ranges from a notice of discussion up to a written reprimand.

Finally, as an added bonus, members receive access to our video, titled “Understanding Raters”. This video created just for members of AspiringFireOfficers.com provides insight into how the assessment center operates from the rater’s perspective and describes how the raters are able to effectively score your assessment center, even though they may be from an organization unfamiliar with your department.

The employee counseling videos, utilizing the 8-Step Process, followed by the written documentation will give our members a distinct advantage over their competition when it comes to managing problem employees both during the assessment center and once promoted.

Click on the following to see FREE examples:

Late to work – SCENARIO

Late to work – DOCUMENTATION

Chief Fedak is a Battalion Chief with the Orange County Fire Authority. Due to state conflict of interest laws, the services provided by AFO may not be offered to current OCFA employees holding the rank of Battalion Chief or lower.