Control room staff at Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AFRS) have been denied career-boosting jobs in other parts of the organisation because they’re too important where they are, councillors heard. Their crucial role coordinating the response to emergencies and serious incidents has also been belittled by colleagues as a “call centre” or “switchboard”, a committee was told.
The findings, which members called “troubling”, are revealed in a major staff survey into the service’s culture which also discovered that employees in fire prevention feel “looked down upon”. And while much progress has been made since the damning Baker Report in 2017 that described AFRS as an “old boys club” rife with “endemic bullying and harassment”, a quarter of respondents said they had personal experience of discrimination, prejudice, harassment or bullying, with gender or race the most common reasons.
While this is partly explained by “legacy” issues that happened under previous regimes, less than half said they were confident complaints would be dealt with effectively by bosses, and many felt reluctant to raise them because of possible negative consequences. Avon Fire Authority (AFA) people & culture committee heard last summer’s questionnaire was carried out to determine how much progress had been made since the first culture survey in 2018, with follow-up focus groups of employees held to explain and understand some of the negative responses.
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The analysis, presented in a report to members on Thursday, June 9, said: “There are many positive aspects to working at AFRS. The organisation largely comprises ‘good people’ in the form of supportive colleagues and managers, who regularly give thanks to their teams.
“Senior managers are more visible and proactive in engaging with staff than previously. Significant progress has been made since the previous cultural review in 2018, particularly in relation to more positive attitudes toward management, who are now more trusted and seen as more approachable.”
But it said: “Control room staff were particularly critical of the progression opportunities available to them, alleging that they are denied beneficial ‘sideways’ career moves due to shortages within their department. Control room staff complained that their contribution is often overlooked.”
One employee told the external researchers that the control team oversaw major incidents from the first call, dealt with people in distress, mobilised everything and had “300 things to do before the crews get there – but we never seem to get any credit for a successful outcome”. “We don’t do it for glory, but neither are we a switchboard or a call centre as we’ve been called internally,” they said.
According to the report, another control room staff member said: “I have been stopped from going to other roles in the service for experience. Control (staff) are forgotten about at every opportunity and morale has been very low for a long time.
“We just seem to be blocked from everything, not given any opportunities. That’s been a real barrier over the years for control staff. I applied for a position before and was successful, to then be told that I can’t do it because it would leave the department short.”
Committee member and B&NES Lib Dem Cllr Shelley Bromley told the meeting: “The feedback from control room staff was rather troubling. That seems to be stopping progression, which is not good for their careers at all.”
Chief fire officer Simon Shilton replied: “The control room staff are quite unique, they are a critical part of our organisation. They are part of our emergency response, they are the first point of contact, so our priority needs to make sure we have the resourcing there.
“It can be a point of frustration when we are trying to provide movement and opportunities for progression for individuals and how we accommodate that. We have had staff who have transferred to different roles from the control room.
“We provide those opportunities but there is a limit and it can be a point of frustration for some colleagues. But we are certainly trying to open up avenues for different entry levels for the service, digression in career choices and opportunities as well as development.
“We need to be mindful that it is a critical part of our organisation and our priority is to make sure we have the resources in that right place, otherwise we can’t provide the service that we can because they are such a critical function.” AFRS culture and inclusion manager Richard Stokes said: “A significant part of the report highlighted key areas of bullying and harassment, in particular around race and ethnicity.
“In the Baker Report and the previous culture survey this wasn’t raised as an issue, and this time it has been, so there will be further investigation why that is. Given our number of BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) staff is still quite low, that is quite concerning.
“When I came into the organisation in 2018, the level of morale was extremely low, but I can certainly say things have improved and there are lots of green shoots of improvement. So even though this report indicates there is a lot more work to do, it’s important to know that major improvements have been made.”
AFA chairwoman and Bristol Labour Cllr Brenda Massey told the meeting at police & fire HQ in Portishead: “This is one of the most important things we need to get right. If our employees are not happy and we can understand the reasons, we can do something about it.
“We have to make sure the culture here is appropriate, that people feel valued.”
