Recommendations for Improving the Recruiting and Hiring of Los Angeles Firefighters.

Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Preface -- Contents -- Figures and Tables -- Summary -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- CHAPTER ONE: Introduction -- Scope and Limitations of This Report -- Time Constraints -- The City's Recent Changes -- Objectives Guiding the Project -- Identify Applicants Most Likely to Be Successful Firefighters -- Ensure Equal Opportunity Throughout the Hiring Process -- Increase the Demographic Diversity of New Firefighter Hires -- Minimize Costs for the City of Los Angeles and Its Applicants -- Study Approach -- Drawing on Existing Expertise and Past Research -- Exploratory Interviews to Understand Stakeholder Perspectives -- Review of Existing Documentation and Informational Interviews on Recruiting and Selection Processes -- Job Incumbent Focus Groups to Confirm and Identify New Key Duties, Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics for Firefighter Service -- Data Analyses to Examine Disparate Impact of the 2013 Selection Process -- Organization of This Report -- CHAPTER TWO: Firefighter Recruitment and Outreach Strategies -- A Framework for Understanding Recruitment -- Firefighter Recruiting Practices -- Key Comments on Recruiting from the Interviews -- The Emphasis Should Be on Finding Highly Qualified Candidates, Not Merely on Increasing the Quantity of Candidates -- CHAPTER THREE: The 2013 Firefighter Selection Process -- Notification Cards -- Step 1: Preliminary Background Application -- Step 2: Describing the Minimum Requirements -- Step 3: Written Test -- Test of Reading Comprehension, Arithmetic, and Mechanical Aptitude -- Test Development -- Step 4: Candidate Physical Ability Test -- Step 5: Oral Interview -- Job Interview with a Firefighter and Interview Specialist -- Step 6: Background Investigation and Preliminary Investigative Questionnaire.

Collection of Preliminary Background Information Using Applicant-Provided Information -- Step 7: Initial Panel Review -- Two Fire Captains Review the Candidate's Initial Background Application Package -- Step 8: Field Investigation -- In-Depth Background Check -- Step 9: Final Panel Review -- Repeat of Initial Panel Review with Corroborated Information -- Step 10: Medical and Psychological Evaluations -- Certification -- CHAPTER FOUR: Statistical Analysis of the Selection Process -- Data -- Reduction of Applicants in the Selection Process -- The Selection Process's Impact on Minorities -- Caution in Interpreting These Estimates Is Warranted -- CHAPTER FIVE: Recommendations -- Overview of Recommendations as They Relate to the Objectives -- Objective 1: Identify Applicants Most Likely to Be Successful Firefighters -- Objective 2: Ensure Equal Opportunity Throughout the Hiring Process -- Objective 3: Increase the Demographic Diversity of New Firefighter Hires -- Objective 4: Minimize Costs for the City of Los Angeles and Its Applicants -- Overarching Recommendations Targeting the Four Objectives -- Start a New Citywide Outreach and Recruiting Campaign for the LAFD -- Validate Selection Criteria by Establishing Relationships to KSAOs Required to Be an Effective Firefighter -- Explore Options for Reducing the Applicant Pool to a Manageable Size -- Establish a Robust Appeals Process for Applicants Who Believe That They Have Been Wrongly Deselected -- Increase Electronic Documentation and Use of Online Technology During the Selection Process -- Align the Content in Each Selection Step with the Job Analysis and Deconflict It with Other Elements in the Process -- Tie Minimums on All Selection Factors to Acceptable and Unacceptable Performance in Training or on the Job -- Step-by-Step Recommendations for Improving the Selection Process.

Suggested Changes to Step 1: Preliminary Background Application and Step 2: Minimum Requirements -- Suggested Changes to Step 3: Written Test -- Suggested Changes to Step 4: Candidate Physical Ability Test -- Suggested Changes to Step 5: Oral Interview, Step 6: Background Investigation and Preliminary Investigative Questionnaire, and Step 8: Field Investigation -- Suggested Changes to Step 7: Initial Panel Review and Step 9: Final Panel Review -- Suggested Changes to Step 10: Medical and Psychological Evaluations -- APPENDIXES -- A. Key Considerations in Evaluating the Selection Process -- B. Defining Critical Firefighter Tasks, Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics -- C. Outsourcing the Written Test for Entry-Level Firefighters -- D. The Impact of Chance Variability in Simple Random Sampling -- E. Mathematics and Examples of Key Considerations for Stratified Sampling -- References -- Back Cover.

Reviews the Los Angeles Fire Department's hiring practices as of June 2014 and outlines a recommended new firefighter hiring process that is intended to increase efficiency of the hiring process, bolster the evidence supporting the validity of it, and make it more transparent and inclusive.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.