Strategic Priority

Key Strategies with Description of Key Strategies

People & Partnerships

• Develop & enhance the capability of volunteer fire brigades to deliver the organisation’s strategic direction.
• Develop human resource management systems and structures that assist brigades to better fulfil their agreements of service with the Commission.
• Assist brigades to address recruitment and retention through practical resources, guidance and personnel systems.
  
• Develop a workforce that is reflective of, and responsive to, the community
  
• Ensure that the Fire Service recruits and retains a more diverse workforce.
  
• Engage and align the workforce with the organisation’s mission, vision and values.
  
• Develop improved systems for workforce planning.
  
• Develop the capability of all employees and volunteers to interact with the community effectively, in particular, at-risk groups.
  
• Equip and train our people to serve the community
• Establish training and development systems that equip all personnel for their respective roles.
  
• Maintain a safe and healthy working environment.
  
• Develop work systems and equipment that better enable our people to perform effectively.
  
• Develop strong and effective leaders
  
• Promote and encourage management and leadership behaviours that are aligned with the organisation’s values and direction.
  
• Nurture future leaders to provide a ready pool of talent for succession planning.
  
• Develop the capability to anticipate and better manage change.
  
• Provide management systems, guidelines, information and policies that support effective management.
  
• Provide systems for leaders to manage performance.
• Provide leadership programmes that equip existing and future leaders for their roles.
  
• Create fulfilling and satisfying careers for all personnel
  
• Develop and maintain systems to listen, respond and communicate with our people.
  
• Develop flexible structures and job designs that promote our people’s motivation, satisfaction and wellbeing.
  
• Manage the “brand perception” of the Fire Service as the preferred emergency service for both employees and volunteers.
  
• Partnerships and cohesion for an effective organisation
  
• Promote regular opportunities to partner with employee and volunteer representative groups.(UFBA, NZPFU, Chiefs’ Society, PSA).
  
• Encourage co-operation and cohesion across the Fire Service, including positive working relationships between employee and volunteer personnel.
  

The New Zealand Fire Service (NZFS) exists to reduce the incidence and consequence of fires and to provide a professional response to other emergencies. In doing so, the NZFS contributes to the government’s goal of “building safer communities” by “working in partnership with communities”.

Our Vision “Working with communities to protect what they value.”
Our Mission “To reduce the incidence and consequence of fire and to provide a professional response to other emergencies.”
Our Values · Serving our communities · Skill · Adaptability · Integrity · Comradeship

People are central to the achievement of the organisation’s mission and vision. This is reflected in the importance placed in the overall Strategic Plan on “develop and protect our people and promote internal stakeholder partnerships”.

Each year the Human Resources Strategy Group (HRSG) undertake a comprehensive environmental scan, and review the priorities and themes of the NZFS human resources plan. In reviewing the plan, the HRSG considers a number of internal sources of information, including:

• The All Personnel Survey;
• the outcomes from Partnership Conferences with representative groups (NZ Professional Firefighters’ Union/United Fire Brigades Association);
• demographic information on our volunteers and career staff;
• strategy plans in the areas of equal employment opportunities, health and safety and training;
• the NZFS Commission 5 Year Strategic Plan;
• organisational results as reflected in the Chief Executive’s report;
• exit interview data on career and volunteers;
• the leadership/360° Survey;
• opportunities for improvement arising from Business Excellence;
• input from other groups (Training, Health & Safety, and Diversity & Fairness)
• risk management analysis.
  

This is the third Strategic Human Resource Plan (2006-2011) developed by the HRSG with input from the Fire Service’s Human Resource Team.
The Strategic Human Resources Plan (2006-2011) is the foundation for annual business plans in respect of human resources. The document is designed to set out a national programme of activities, along with suggestions for complementary local initiatives..It sets the Strategic HR framework within.which other activities, such as training, health and safety, and Diversity & Fairness, establish their plans.

Chief Executive/National Commander
June 2006