Last week, I had the opportunity to attend APCO’s 911 Staffing Crisis Summit in Fort Worth, TX. This impactful 2 ½ day event featured leaders in 911 who have successfully changed their ECCs’ cultures in a bid to stop the rising turnover that has become synonymous with public safety communications. The leaders shared invaluable insights on retaining good employees, addressing the problematic ones (yes, even when that means helping them find the door), and changing their leadership styles to be a little more flexible and holistic, focusing more on the person and less on metrics and KPIs. One key takeaway that resonated through the summit: culture is key.
The Unsung Heroes of Public Safety
Public safety communications professionals have long existed in a hazy, nebulous area between the heroism of public safety and the demands of the service industry. Our field responders – police, fire, and EMS – are called to a career of courage and personal sacrifice. Because of the element of danger in exchange for modest benefits, public safety is one of the noblest professions, second only to military service. Joining the ranks is a calling and a privilege. Why don’t we look at ECCs in the same light?
ECC personnel are THE first responders to the worst moments of the human experience: violent crimes, accidents, medical emergencies, and heart-wrenching cries for help. They take a chaotic event and classify it, organize the information, and calmly communicate what they are hearing to field responders. They anticipate what will come next to ensure that the appropriate resources arrive quickly and have an idea of what they are walking into. On a great day, ECC staff deliver babies and convince the suicidal person to step back from the edge of the bridge they’re standing on. Public safety communicators save lives, even though they risk their own health and well-being in the process. The profound impact of other peoples’ traumatic incidents on ECC personnel has only recently gained widespread recognition. In order to retain high quality personnel, leaders in public safety need to change the narrative that ECC employees are less heroic than their peers on the road and they need to invest in the idea that public safety telecommunicators are professional first responders who are also deserving of career development initiatives and special risk classification.
A Calling, Not Just a Job
Working in the ECC requires a unique blend of skills: empathy, resilience, incident prioritization, and the ability to stay calm under the most intense pressure. ECC personnel impact lives with every decision they make, both good and bad. The only way to become better at one’s job is by gaining experience. The institutional knowledge that leaves the ECC when a veteran employee walks out the door can be devastating to the organization and to the community. It is critical that we start treating public safety communicators as professionals who are called upon to make an impact. Agency leaders need to ensure that their ECCs provide career paths, meaningful recognition programs, and a culture that encourages the same level of respect provided to sworn and field personnel. When we raise the bar on our own internal culture, we will promote excellence and convince our staff that this is a career they can flourish in and be proud of.
In the high-pressure, thankless world of public safety communications, recognizing exceptional work isn’t just a nice gesture – it’s vital for maintaining morale, boosting performance, and retaining top talent.
Recent data has suggested that the average turnover rate in emergency communications centers (ECCs) hovers around 25% (IAED). In a profession that is strengthened by institutional knowledge, having employees bail out after just a year on the job can be devastating. In public safety communications, institutional knowledge isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about lives. The veteran dispatcher’s ability to recognize a pattern in a distress call or a supervisor’s understanding of the community’s unique needs can make all the difference in a critical situation. When this knowledge is lost due to turnover or lack of recognition, the impact ripples through the entire agency, potentially compromising response times and responder safety.
A pizza party won’t retain employees
There’s a reason pizza is universally understood and loved. What’s not to love about piles of gooey cheese and sauce?! There are even gluten-free and vegan options. Pizza is fun, but the occasional “thank you” box won’t retain your employees.
A culture of recognition fosters a sense of belonging and appreciation. Employees who feel valued are more likely to be committed to their roles, motivated to excel, and invested in the success of their team and the agency. By prioritizing recognition, ECC leadership can create an environment where employees feel empowered and fulfilled, leading to increased retention rates and a more resilient workforce. For less than a box of pizza, you can implement a zero (or low) cost formal employee recognition program that celebrates your team’s successes.
Praise in public (when appropriate)
One of the easiest things you can do to recognize your employees is to publicly praise them. Did the whole team just pull together during a pursuit? Give high fives all around, tell them what a great job they did, and send an email to your boss (CC the team) outlining what happened and each person’s role in the incident.
For those who go above and beyond, print certificates of appreciation. You can find templates online and through word processing apps, like Word. Fancy paper optional.
Praising in public can backfire. It’s important to know how your individual employees prefer to receive positive feedback. Where some enjoy accepting accolades, others prefer a quiet pat on the back without all of the fanfare.
Peer-based recognition
One ECC implemented a super simple peer-based recognition program by making space on the center’s bulletin board for co-workers to pin index cards with words of appreciation. The board quickly filled up with positive messages and cost almost nothing to maintain. After a period of time on the board, the index cards went into the employees’ work files for consideration during the performance evaluation period.
Career development & mentorship
Because career development initiatives and mentorship take significant time and effort, they are often put on the back burner. Mentorship can be an excellent reward for high achievers who want to continue learning or who aspire to promote. Investing in employee growth can be a game changer when it comes to retaining the best and brightest.
Whatever types of recognition you choose, be sure to tie it in to your agency or ECC’s goals, vision, and values. Make sure that recognition is timely. Telling someone they did a good job for a call they worked more than a month ago is nice but the attention is not as impactful as it could have been in the moment, or a day later. Finally, be sure to mix it up. Send an email, write a personalized note, or verbally thank the member for their service.
In the realm of public safety communications, where every call carries the weight of urgency and every decision impacts lives, recognizing and appreciating those on the front lines is not just a morale booster – it’s a strategic imperative. By cultivating a culture of recognition that extends beyond a simple “thank you,” we can empower these dedicated professionals, bolster their resilience, and ultimately strengthen the fabric of public safety itself. The time to invest in recognition is now, for the benefit of those who serve and the communities they protect.
What happens when you start supervising your work bestie?
When I was promoted from dispatcher to shift supervisor at my emergency communications center (ECC), I felt a whirlwind of emotions. After five years with my agency, I took the official leap into leadership. I was energized and excited about my new role! I couldn’t wait to make positive change and be a (self-described) Voice of The People. When the initial excitement wore off, I discovered that the transition was far from easy. Not many people talk about this aspect of supervision, but there is a level of discomfort and loneliness that bubbles up when you are faced with counseling your new subordinates (AKA former co-workers) and making unpopular decisions because it is the right thing to do. Despite the personal conflict, promoting was one of the best decisions I ever made.
One of the most valuable stances that any organization can take is to prioritize mentorship among its members and promote from within, rather than rely solely on recruiting external candidates. This shows employees that there is a potential career path for them and that leadership has a basic understanding of what first-line employees do for the agency. No doubt, we have all had at least one leader in our chain of command who either never donned a headset or who wasn’t humble enough to make room at the table for the ECC subject matter experts. It is easy to suss out those who do not fully appreciate the important role of first-line employees. In such a tight knit community, they stick out like a sore thumb (IYKYK). We need buy-in at each level of the agency in order to get things done, so we need leaders with practical, hands-on experience who can advocate for all employees. If you’re even entertaining the idea that you could be that person for your agency, we need YOU! Here are some things you can do to socially transition into your new position of leadership:
1. Redefine Friendships
Becoming a shift supervisor, manager, or director means that you’re going to have to give up or redefine friendships. It’s a bummer and it can take an emotional toll. The good news is that you will have former co-workers who have a level of maturity and professionalism which allows them to respect your new role. Your professional relationship with those employees can evolve into one of deep mutual respect. There will be others who try to keep you locked into the role you once held in their life. For those who don’t quite get it, it is important to treat them with equal amounts of respect and fairness while maintaining a professional distance.
Critically important: Be aware of perceptions of favoritism. Everyone on the shift knows who you hung out with before you were promoted. You cannot treat that person with any deference now that you are a supervisor (don’t be exceptionally hard on them just to prove a point, either).
2. Recognize That You’re Growing
There might be questions about who you are as a leader versus who you were as a subordinate. You will have to reconcile the person that went out to the bar with a group of co-workers for $10 all-you-can-drink night (which ended in you passing out in the bushes outside a Waffle House) and the person who takes care not to share too much private information at work and skips out on the rowdy pub crawls. You might have been known to call out for an occasional mental health day and now, as a supervisor, you have to counsel a subordinate for a pattern of absenteeism. It’s going to be awkward and you might feel like a hypocrite. The only way to get through it is to grow through it.
Critically important: You are a leader, both on and off duty. You cannot expect others to reliably come to work if you do not reliably come to work. Show up and be the best version of yourself and the rest will fall into place.
3. Acknowledge the Emotional Toll
One evening, it was unusually “Q” (I am superstitious and won’t say the word) in the comm center and my team settled into little pockets of conversation while I sat at my supervisory console, probably filling out schedules or some other administrative task. It was then that I felt an incredible wave of loneliness wash over me. It became clear that there was an invisible line between me and my team. Where I used to be the person involved in making plans and developing inside jokes, I was the outsider. The feeling of exclusion almost physically hurt. Years later, when I was promoted from being one of a group of ECC Managers to a role overseeing all of the ECC Managers, the same painful feeling washed over me. It was like the tide coming in, over and over again. My former friends now saw me as The Man, not as one of them. I wasn’t included in new group texts or invited out for margs. I didn’t even have a co-worker on my same operational level to commiserate my feelings with. Being someone else’s boss when what you really want is to be liked isn’t for the faint of heart. Many times, those states of being are contradictory. If you don’t have a tough exterior, be ready for scrapes and bumps along the way.
Critically important: You might be someone’s boss, but you are a human being, first and foremost. Don’t ever accept anything less.
4. Get a Life
I know so many people (myself included) who live, eat, and breathe public safety. When you spend so much time at work and some of your duties are emotionally-charged, it’s easy to feel like the ECC is your home and your team is your family. You experience trauma together. You laugh together. You get frustrated at the same field unit who mumbles into their mic together. When your job feels more like a calling, it’s easy to commit your life to the cause. Once you’re settled in and have a good feel for your new job, start cultivating your hobbies. Join social groups to make new friends. Work on projects that spark your creativity. Stay physically and mentally active by doing things outside of the public safety realm. This also helps lessen the emotional toll previously mentioned.
5. Keep Your Eyes on the Prize
When things get difficult and you are challenged by an unpopular organizational change, troublesome employee behavior, or some new curveball, remember why you became a supervisor. You wanted to make a positive impact on your work environment. You wanted to give back to your community, at large. You wanted to learn new skills and see a whole new perspective of your ECC’s operations. Take a step back and a deep breath, but keep pushing through. It will get better.
Being a part of ECC leadership can be rewarding and provide you with invaluable new skills and knowledge. Along the way, you will connect with people on a new level and develop lasting professional relationships with people both inside and outside of your organization. Your previous life as a dispatcher, call taker, teletype operator, or other line-level role within the ECC is critical to helping you remember where you came from and what the real priorities are. At the same time, redefining relationships with co-workers-turned-subordinates can be uncomfortable and alienating. The discomfort won’t last forever. Stay true to who you are, your agency’s mission, and do right by your subordinates!
