6.3 The RBO Process

6.3 The RBO Process

Quick Answer: RBO means Relationships By Objective. United Phoenix Firefighters Local 493 and PFD Management partner to improve safe working conditions and equipment, superior customer service, and succession planning. Ideas move through open, advertised committees with co-chairs appointed by the Fire Chief and the Union President, overseen by a correlating committee. Those closest to the work get equitable input. Never sacrifice a relationship for an outcome. The packet’s close: THE RBO PROCESS IS THE PHOENIX FIRE DEPARTMENT WAY.

Cornerstone 6 is The RBO Process—the structural way Phoenix turns labor-management partnership into daily departmental decision-making. Earlier values said teamwork is the building block of the labor-management process; this cornerstone names the process and how it works.

Partnership purpose

The packet states:

The partnership of Labor and Management is committed to maintaining and improving safe working conditions and equipment, superior customer service, and succession planning for highly skilled employees. The Relationships By Objective process is guided by the principles set forth in the PFD Way.

Three partnership goals to memorize:

RBO is not a side project. It is guided by the PFD Way and treated as how the department designs and improves its framework.

Members are the foundation

The Phoenix Fire Department Way is based on the principle that our members are the foundation of the Department. There is a direct relationship between the quality and professionalism of the Department and the quality and professionalism of our membership.

All members are invited to participate in the design and implementation of procedures and processes that form the department’s framework through RBO. Quality of the department tracks quality of the membership—another reason recruit culture and professional development matter from day one.

Labor + Management in an open, honest environment

RBO brings United Phoenix Firefighters Local 493 and PFD Management together in an open and honest environment. Together, members:

• Work through issues and challenges
• Create effective and fair solutions
• Reach agreements without damaging relationships

That last phrase previews the cornerstone’s relationship-first rule.

How RBO committees work

It is the PFD Way to manage new ideas and changes with committees that represent both Labor and Management. Key procedural facts:

1. Committee meetings are advertised to all members
2. Meetings are always open
3. The Fire Chief and the Union President appoint co-chairs for each committee
4. A correlating committee—Management’s executive staff and Local 493’s executive board—oversees the RBO process
5. Issues that cannot be resolved through the normal RBO process are discussed and decided within the correlating committee

Exam items may swap titles (e.g., only the Fire Chief appoints chairs). Correct answers preserve dual co-chair appointment and dual-body correlating oversight.

Equitable input from those closest to the work

The RBO process is based on the principle that those who are closest to the actual services we provide should be allowed equitable input into the system.

Frontline expertise is valued. The process allows room for differing opinions without inviting disrespect or unhealthy politics. By participating, members of every rank and position become vested in the outcome. That participation helps keep Phoenix a fair, efficient, and effective department.

Involvement is required for the process to work

The RBO process only works if we get involved. Our experts are the people doing the work each day.

Supervisors communicate information up and down the Chain of Command. Members are advocates for all members when they involve themselves in RBO. Expertise is not only executive-level—it is daily operational experience.

Never sacrifice a relationship for an outcome

Labor and Management are not always in initial agreement. The value of the relationship is the ability to find solutions on issues where they disagree. The packet’s relationship rule is absolute in tone:

We will never sacrifice a relationship for an outcome.

RBO works because both Labor and Management:

• Are respectful
• Offer value to the process
• Remain open to hearing a different point of view
• Are committed to keeping the Phoenix Fire Department safe, progressive, and professional

On situational items, choosing a “win at any cost” approach that destroys trust is anti-RBO even if the short-term result looks efficient.

The signature close

The packet ends Cornerstone 6—and the PFD Way cornerstones sequence—with capital emphasis:

THE RBO PROCESS IS THE PHOENIX FIRE DEPARTMENT WAY.

Treat that sentence as a pure recall fact. If a question asks what process embodies the Phoenix Fire Department Way in labor-management problem solving, the answer is the RBO process.

Connecting RBO to earlier PFD content

• Teamwork value called teamwork the building block of the labor-management process; RBO is that process in action.
• Responsible Leader develops future leaders and models respectful problem-solving; RBO needs those same habits in committee work.
• Positive Environment (trust, open communication, no unhealthy politics) is the cultural condition that makes open RBO meetings productive.

RBO is culture + structure: open process, dual leadership, frontline equity, relationship preservation.

Exam memory package

• Expand RBO: Relationships By Objective
• Partners: Local 493 + Management
• Three aims: safety/equipment, customer service, succession planning
• Process features: open advertised committees; co-chairs (Fire Chief + Union President); correlating committee
• Principle: closest to service → equitable input
• Rule: never sacrifice relationship for outcome
• Closing line: RBO process is the Phoenix Fire Department Way

Study checklist for Section 6.3

• Define RBO and name Local 493 as Labor partner.
• List the three partnership commitments (safe conditions/equipment; superior customer service; succession planning).
• Describe committee rules: open, advertised, dual co-chairs, correlating committee escalation.
• State equitable-input principle for those closest to service.
• Quote the relationship rule and the capital-letter close about RBO being the PFD Way.
• Explain why participation matters: experts are people doing the work; supervisors move information up and down the chain.