Master Plan Nashua Fire Rescue, NH
Strategic Planning in the Organization
Strategic planning supports the organization’s mission and sets and prioritizes short-term internal goals. A
strategic plan typically involves a three-to-five-year planning window. Community involvement in the
process is critical as the strategic plan should be customer-oriented while accomplishing the following:
= Development of a mission statement giving careful attention to the services currently provided and
which logically can be provided in the future.
= Development of a vision statement of the agency moving forward.
« Establish the values of the members of the agency.
= Identification of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges of the agency.
= Determination of the community’s service priorities.
» Understanding the community’s expectations of the agency.
» Establishment of realistic goals and objectives for the future.
« — Identifications of implementation tasks for each objective.
= Definition of service outcomes in the form of measurable performance objectives and targets.
Nashua Fire Rescue does not have a current strategic plan in place. Once the Nashua Fire Rescue master plan
is formulated, the list of recommendations, guidance for changes, and new initiatives will provide direction
for developing a new strategic plan, as it is the most effective way to prioritize and plan for implementation
of the master plan’s findings. The strategic planning process would ideally result in a three-to-five-year work
plan, intended to guide the work effort of the entire organization toward a common set of goals and
objectives. The process should include representation from every major interest group in the organization.
Each person in the department should feel that their interests are represented by someone in attendance on
the planning team.
Internal Communications Processes
Internally, Nashua Fire Rescue provides a variety of methods to communicate with staff members. These
include monthly staff meetings where written minutes of the meetings are distributed to those not in
attendance at the monthly meeting. The Department uses email, intranet, and written memorandums to
distribute information within the organization.
Internal communications were repeatedly identified as a major deficiency within Nashua Fire Rescue during
both the member interviews and in the member survey. Members requested more engagement from the
Department leadership. Specifically, members would like to see more of the leadership and have time to talk
with them on both a professional and personal level.
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