The Challenge
Every fire department understands the stakes during recruit school and the probationary period. These early months aren’t just about training—they’re about determining whether someone is truly ready for the job.
For Champaign Fire Department, this phase is critical. "We don’t want someone sliding off probation just because we didn’t have the documentation to support a tough decision," said one department leader. "We owe it to the citizens, to the team, and to the employee to get it right."
The department needed a reliable, transparent way to track and document performance — day by day, shift by shift.
The Solution: Essential Personnel
With Essential Personnel, Champaign Fire Department has implemented a structured, digital process for documenting recruit and probationary firefighter performance. Supervisors log notes and evaluations in real-time, from any device, building a clear performance record from day one.
This isn’t about micromanagement. It’s about accountability—both for the department and the employee. Each entry adds to a cumulative picture of how a recruit is doing:
- Are they learning from feedback?
- Are they meeting benchmarks?
- Are there persistent red flags?
The Results
- Consistency: Every supervisor uses the same system, making evaluations fair and consistent across shifts and stations.
- Visibility: Department leadership can see how a recruit is doing without waiting for end-of-month summaries.
- Confidence in Decisions: When it's time to make the hard call—whether to keep someone or let them go—the documentation is already there.
- Better Conversations: Recruits have access to their performance logs, leading to clearer expectations and more focused coaching.
Why It Matters
Fire departments don’t get second chances on hiring. The wrong decision during probation can cost years of remediation—or worse, impact crew safety. Champaign Fire's use of Essential Personnel ensures decisions are based on facts, not memory or gut feeling.
“Good documentation isn’t just protection for the department,” a training officer noted. “It’s fairness for the employee. They deserve to know how they’re doing and what needs to improve—early enough to do something about it.”
Looking Ahead
Champaign Fire continues to expand its use of Essential Personnel across other areas of operations—but their approach to recruit and probation tracking stands out as a model for other departments.
When it comes to building a high-performing fire service, it starts with the first shift. And with Essential Personnel, Champaign Fire is getting it right from day one.
