[Computerbank] Re: Cairns or any regional node

[Don Cameron]

Thanks Bruce,

Just so this is perfectly clear and there is no misrepresentation... I did
not 'run' the NSW Rural Fire Service... I was a Regional Officer and as such
responsible for the coordination of about 18,000 volunteers throughout
central NSW.  It was a desk jockey - policy formulation - crisis
intervention -financial management - legalistic etc. type of role (though
occasionally I did get to actually direct the activities of teams of
volunteers during fires!). The person who ran the service was the
Commissioner.

There are few direct comparisons between an org like CB and a volunteer
emergency service, however some comparisons that are obvious (and that you
and others have touched on), are those of management resourcing,
collaboration processes (for any org that is geographically diverse such as
CB or the RFS), and the matter of properly allocating tasks and roles so
that managers are not overburdened.

The later is as much about people being able to 'let go and trust someone
else to do the job', as it is about finding the right people - the two go
hand in hand... and believe me I understand this only too well... It is very
difficult to trust someone else to do a job properly when the consequences
may be a fatality and finding myself up against a Coronial Inquest - However
allocating tasks and responsibilities is just one of the responsibilities of
management - something we all must do if we are to manage effectively.

Please note that this is not a criticism - it's an observation of a
phenomenon that exists in every volunteer org, usually in the early stages
of development while people still have individual ownership in the project -
it will change over time if for no other reason than due to workload. As an
organisation grows it must diversify skills and tasks.

Cheers, Don