In 2022, reports of misogyny, racism, and bullying within UK Fire and Rescue Services reached national headlines following the Independent Cultural Review of the London Fire Brigade. 

Although the review focused specifically on the London Fire Brigade, its findings resonated across the entire sector. The high-profile coverage prompted Fire and Rescue Services throughout the UK to reflect on their own workplace cultures, creating space for more honest self-assessment and strengthening the commitment to meaningful change. 

However, despite these efforts, HMICFRS’s 2024–25 Annual Assessment shows that significant challenges remain. The report highlights that: 

• “Progress across the sector remains inconsistent.” 

• “We found many examples of poor behaviours, particularly on watches, where cultural issues are often most visible. And in some cases, during our inspections, we witnessed inappropriate behaviour firsthand. This included using misogynistic and discriminatory language in front of our staff.” 

• “In too many services, staff told us that their senior leaders weren’t consistently modelling the expected values of their service.” 

• “In response to our Round 3 staff survey, 14 percent (1,664 out of 11,529) of respondents reported that they had experienced bullying or harassment.” 

So why are Fire and Rescue Services still struggling to shift culture? 

Over the past few years, we’ve worked with several services on this challenge. While every service’s culture is unique, many of the barriers to change are strikingly similar. Based on this experience, here are our five top tips for making culture change stick. 

01: You can’t outsource culture change

Culture is created and reinforced by the daily behaviours of people inside your service, especially your leadership team. While external experts can support the process, ownership must remain with your top team, who need to clearly define the culture they want and consistently model it in practice. In other words, culture change happens through intentional leadership and everyday actions. 

02: Don’t let your formal leaders off the hook

Culture change depends heavily on the active and ongoing involvement of managers at every level – their role cannot be limited to launching an initiative and then reviewing it at the end. Managers have a disproportionate influence through their behaviour; their role modelling matters more than what they formally say or set as objectives. They need to be consistently present, demonstrating the “how” (the behaviours, decisions, and ways of working) not just the “what.” When your managers use their influence deliberately and constructively, it reinforces the culture the organisation is trying to build.

03: Focus on behaviours to accelerate change

Culture shifts through what people do, not what’s written in plans or programmes. Identifying and promoting a small number of clear, visible behaviours and ensuring your people role model them, helps turn cultural ambition into everyday action. Rather than relying on large, slow-moving initiatives, you can simplify and encourage practical actions people can start immediately. Frameworks and tools can support the process, but they don’t create change on their own. By focusing on the right behaviours and being thoughtful about knowledge, sequence, and pace, you can build momentum and accelerate culture change

04: Everyone has a part to play

While leaders set direction and role model behaviours, everyone (both operational and non-operational) their own unique sphere of influence. It is important to understand who your “informal influencers” are on watches, crews, stations and in the office – the key is identifying them early and getting them on board! When individuals adopt and reinforce the desired behaviours within their teams and networks, those actions create a ripple effect across the organisation. Over time, these small individual shifts combine to drive meaningful, collective culture change.

05: Go with the energy

If you invest time and effort with those who are willing to engage, you can build early momentum. Using mechanisms like performance management, recognition, and celebration helps reinforce what good looks like and encourages others to follow. As positive behaviours gain visibility and traction, they create a tipping point, where growing momentum builds a critical mass and culture change begins to sustain itself. 

But perhaps most importantly, all of this is underpinned by trust. Organisations can only move at the speed of trust, and building that trust takes time, consistency and visible leadership. 

We have seen first-hand that, with the right leadership focus and sustained effort, positive culture change is possible. Over the past few years, we’ve supported many organisations across the Blue Light and wider public sectors to start shifting behaviours, strengthening trust and turning the dial on culture. 

If you’d like to explore how you can start making culture change real, please do get in touch with Campbell Walker (campbell.walker@31tenconsulting.co.uk) for an informal conversation.