Silke Engel reports on a special kind of fire brigade operation in this new podcast episode (German language). Listen in.
A year of organisational consulting at the Bochum fire brigade lies behind my colleague Silke Engel and I am very curious to hear what she reports about her pro bono assignment.
The assignment: Harmonising the control centre
60,000 emergency calls per year for the fire brigade and rescue service. And then, in 2021, the control centre technology of the Bochum fire brigade will be renewed during ongoing operations. What Silke tells me sounds like open-heart surgery. And as is so often the case, this challenge brings others with it, especially since Corona still determines everyday life. In this respect, IT and technical advice in the control centre is not enough. Two external consultants are to deliberately look under the surface of the water: They are to look at behaviour, (re)ways, culture and connections that have crept in unnoticed over time. This is how the project “Harmonisation of the Control Centre” comes about. For this, Silke works together with Sarah Ganter, organisational consultant and graphic recorder at akquinet Berlin.
A picture says more than 1000 words
Silke and Sarah interview firefighters at different hierarchical levels. They observe all shifts, are there live for three days and nights. They observe, ask questions, form hypotheses and begin to understand what may or may not be happening behind the scenes. Finally, they summarise their impressions and perceptions – as hypothesis poster. The effect of the pictures is enormous: the participants feel understood and accepted with their concerns. This leads to openness and subsequently to the neuralgic points of the organisation. Silke reports on these in this podcast episode.
Picture: Sarah Ganter, consultant and graphic recorder
Organisational consulting – in small steps to the goal
Because they know that such a change does not happen in a straight line, the counsellors always adapt their approach to the circumstances. In this way, they move forward in small steps and in learning loops together with the people involved, always taking surprises and difficulties into account. In the end, it is this iterative approach that leads to a very satisfactory final workshop with concrete agreements and clear responsibilities. Harmonisation is well on its way, and so Silke and Sarah are also setting out again on new consultancy projects.
By the way, if you would like to learn more about the work of the Bochum Fire Brigade, we recommend the German TV programme Feuer & Flamme on WDR.
And now I hope you enjoy the very first flow-fire-brigade-report.
Kind regards
You can also find our podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
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