Public Safety Insights Newsletter: How to Remove or Mitigate Predictable Obstacles to Public Safety Effectiveness

How to Remove or Mitigate Predictable Obstacles to Public Safety Effectiveness
Public Safety Insight:	Public safety leaders can significantly increase the likelihood of achieving the mission when they remove or mitigate predictable obstacles to their administrative plans and initiatives, particularly those on the strategic level.

Every public safety professional can list predictable situations they will face as they work to keep their communities safe, healthy, and economically viable. Agencies devote a significant amount of time and resources to planning and implementing the training necessary to address those situations effectively. Leaders try to anticipate what’s next, and prepare accordingly. Yet they often have a blind spot when it comes to developing and implementing administrative initiatives that could help their agencies achieve their mission most effectively and efficiently, such as organizational strategies and succession processes.

For example, despite the importance of having qualified people in critical jobs throughout the agency, leaders cite a myriad of reasons for not implementing a succession process. Ranging from lack of time and interest to not knowing what to do, these explanations will not surprise you. Given that these issues are entirely predictable, they need not become obstacles to public safety effectiveness.

The recent recession, heightened public scrutiny, technological advances, changes in healthcare delivery in the U.S., and a dramatic increase in the nature and scope of public safety responsibilities have made it critical for leaders to take a more deliberate, systematic approach to ensure the effective and efficient use of resources. The safety, health, and economic viability of their communities no longer can be achieved by focusing solely on operations.

Think about the Incident Command System (ICS). When activated, its initial focus is on operations. As an incident grows, at some point effectiveness and efficiency demand that the IC staff the logistics and administrative/finance functions. Public safety has long since reached the point at which administrative initiatives such as an organizational strategy and succession process are mission critical. When the obstacles to implementing them are predictable and can be overcome or mitigated, there are no more excuses for ignoring them or putting them on the back burner.

Categorized into four groups, here are some of the predictable obstacles to successful implementation of administrative plans and initiatives, along with ideas about how to address them.

Category	Predictable Obstacles	How to Remove/Mitigate the Obstacles
Priorities	No resources (money, equipment)	Communicate clearly to decision-makers the impact on public safety of insufficient resources and/or support
	No time	Consider the heavy costs to public safety of ineffective and/or inefficient use of resources
	No stakeholder support	Create a community of advocates for public safety
Education	No interest	Tell stakeholders what’s in it for them; co-create a compelling "big picture"
	Low Priority	Present decision-makers with realistic options of the impact on public safety when there are insufficient resources
	Not seen as part of mission	"Connect the dots" between public safety and initiatives that enable effective, efficient use of resources
Know-how	Don’t know why	Create a clear "big picture" of public safety and consider the impact of insufficient resources and support
	Don’t know what	Find an internal or external expert to help
	Don’t know how	Have an expert create a detailed, results-oriented implementation plan
Accountability	No accountability mechanisms	Develop measures of progress and achievement; impose consequences for non-performance
	No ownership	Invite meaningful stakeholder input into initiatives; identify a champion who is willing and able to see the initiative through to completion
	No sustainability	Build the necessary behaviors, steps, actions into organizational culture, norms, and infrastructure

It’s time for public safety leaders to embrace the administrative aspects of the work they do, and to remove or mitigate the obstacles to effectiveness and efficiency. The safety, health, and economic viability of your community are on the line.

For those who may find it difficult to ask others for help with administrative or other issues, take a look at my article 6 Steps to Asking For and Receiving Help for Public Safety Professionals.

---

To find other articles and resources that may be of value to you, I invite you to visit my web site at www.PublicSafetyInsights.net.

---

Public Safety Insights is a concise, bi-weekly newsletter written specifically to help first responders maximize their performance. Your e-mail address is never shared with anyone for any reason. You may unsubscribe by clicking the link on the bottom of this e-mail.

©2014 Pat Lynch | Public Safety Insights