The turn around rate at this company is a bit disheartening. People shuffle through and go around, fairly often. Which is the norm in the EMS world in the Commonwealth. Action has a unique business plan, that is often a mystery to the staff who work there. Action does ALS, BLS, special needs transport, senior center van, wheel chair vans and "education". All of which doesn't have a particular direction. Often times contracts are lost, some rewarded replacement contracts are obtained but, if anything bad happens it "wasn't good for the company anyway" is the general consensus. I remember this happening with a several cities/municipalities.
If you are looking at some serious BLS emergency work, go somewhere else. There aren't many BLS 911 shifts, and management makes it so inner facility transfers and dialysis are going to be the bread and butter of your world. Take that as your grain of salt.
The staff, while friendly, is a bit like high school. There are the "popular" ones and then everyone else. I shifted between both groups, so I've seen what it is like. Unless you are per-diem, this definitely affects your daily life. Senior staff, who have been there a while, are sometimes treated poorly by management. The lack of raises is a pretty common problem. There used to be 5% raises across the board, now 2% is the norm (if anything). Don't be surprised if the person driving "sped" vans is making more than you. The company also totally lacks loyalty to people who has "paid dues". Often I'd see senior staff be fired or forced to leave, and then replaced with staff who aren't as good, and they are paid less of a rate (even if they have same level experience). Middle Management is put in tough position and if they don't "tow the line"; they are quickly ostracized. Not a lot of room for growth unfortunately, If you ask for more training (such as dispatch) you'll be given a list of reasons why that isn't a good idea. I was told by a middle manager that it was "because you could leave us, if we trained you more" which doesn't sit well. It shows a totally lack of faith for the lower staff.
The lack of training within the company is sad. There is an FTO program, that hasn't really changed since its rushed inception in mid 2000's. Due to the high turn-over rate, there isn't much room or investment in the employees.
HR is horrible to get in touch with. It will take an act of congress/god if you are trying to contact them. But if they want to get in touch with you, all of the phone lines seem to work rather effectively. I had one friend leave this company, and the HR dismissed any requests from said former employee after they left. It was as if a relationship of friendship was never there. Watch out for "cute" games, such as "lost OEMS approval numbers". I had many friends who didn't get awarded hours for training.
Bottom-line, if you want to be in this industry long-term, you may be better suited elsewhere.
