On May 17-18 more than 200 attendees from public safety communications gathered for the first-ever 9-1-1 Staffing Crisis Summit in Herndon, VA. Sessions varied in topic from an overview of the staffing situation in the U.S. to more specific recruitment and retention strategies from ECCs across the country.
The Great Staffing Challenge: The Status of Employment Throughout the U.S.
Amber Clayton of SHRM presented the factors contributing to the nationwide staffing shortage affecting nearly every industry. She discussed that retention should be the organization’s main focus. A toxic workplace is very costly for organizations and a top reason people leave — 65% of people looking for a job say it is because of their current culture.
But how do you develop a positive culture? Ms. Clayton suggested organizations conduct cultural assessments and employee engagement surveys. These should be done anonymously and through a third party to ensure honesty and candor from your staff. Organizations should also consider what today’s employees want from their employers: diversity, equity and inclusion; and unconscious bias training — and consider leveraging modern technology (such as social media and AI) for recruitment.
Hiring Out of the Box
The second session featured a panel of ECC leaders discussing the solutions they have found to overcome outdated thinking and adopt innovative practices to attract high-quality applicants. The panelists provided a variety of creative ideas they are using at their own centers:
- Tina Buneta, Colorado: She discussed a new video system they implemented for interviews. The ECC prerecords questions and then candidates can answer and do the interview on their own time. Finally, one idea her ECC has been considering is purchasing a table at Comic-Con because the skills that many gamers have can be transferrable to public safety communications.
- Tim Martindale, Montana: They needed to change the culture inside their ECC to recruit applicants better. They also worked on updating their branding and logo to gain better name recognition in the community.
- Amy Patin, Texas: They decided to implement dispatch sit-ins for citizens, mayors and directors of other departments to foster a better understanding of what the ECC does. One unique thing that they did was bring the sit-ins to a technical school so students could see how 9-1-1 works.
- Kelle Hall, Texas: They changed their interview process and began testing for multitasking skills so people with no relevant experience can see if they are cut out for the job. She also noted that hiring bonuses get people in the door but it doesn’t keep them, so they put their money towards increasing salaries rather than hiring bonuses.
After the panel discussion, the audience broke into groups to make a plan they could implement back home.
A Culture of Excellence: Building Success from Within
Neha Rajebhosale, Practice Director for the Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center, presented on the Ritz-Carlton culture. She discussed best practices for activating and sustaining a culture where valued and empowered employees own the customer experience. Throughout her presentation, the audience broke into table discussions to answer various questions related to creating a culture of excellence.
The second day of the 9-1-1 Staffing Crisis Summit began with welcoming remarks from APCO President Angela Batey as well as an award presentation to Kelle Hall in gratitude for her work on the program for the Summit.
Seriously Stop It
Dr. Steven Edwards challenged the audience with the question “Are we in a staffing crisis?” He pointed out that staffing has been a challenge in ECCs for the past 20 years, but because we are in a time of change right now, it’s being called a crisis. COVID-19 reshaped the work environment, and now work environments are being reimagined and forcing change.
Dr. Edwards pointed out that retention is the hard work and culture is the glue. He cited an article by Matt Berg in the May/June 2023 issue of PSC that focused on leadership creating a healthy work culture. He also looked at a recent DEI survey where findings “were surprising” in that the multiple choice responses were neutral, but the narrative showed major toxic work environments. To which he said, “Seriously stop it”. These environments are what make it hard to recruit, so how do we improve culture?
Changing culture requires value, support and capacity. Dr. Edwards emphasized that everyone must be all in and approach change with a level of commitment and determination. Echoing what was said the previous day during the session on the Ritz-Carlton culture, Steve said that belonging is key in creating a positive culture. Leaders must create means for staff to be seen, connected, supported and proud. The session concluded with audience members sharing some of the unique ways that they have changed the culture within their agencies, including rewriting policies and protocols and removing bottlenecks to change.
Retaining Rock Stars
Panelists in this session were asked a variety of questions about changes they have made within their centers to address recruiting issues. Brett Loeb from Colorado talked about making the job more accessible and efficient, for example, making keyboards optional. He emphasized that a fixed mindset can often get in the way of good hiring practices.
Shannon Price from Texas recommended doing stay interviews rather than or in addition to exit interviews. Find out the good, the bad and the ugly to make changes needed to keep the rockstar employees. One major change made in her center was hiring two counselors to be available when needed and destigmatizing mental health in public safety.
Discussion among panelists continued as they shared other changes made within their ECCS, such as:
- Letting others be the face of your center – it doesn’t always have to be leadership
- Creating an environment where everyone can share ideas and the opportunity to run with it.
- Having difficult conversations with leadership about budgeting for professional development.
The shared ideas had a common theme — creating a culture of belonging and pride.
The Crisis Is Real
The afternoon continued with speaker Sharon Weinstein, a global leader in the healthcare space, who began by asking, “Who is responsible for your stress? You are!” Continuing the theme, Ms. Weinstein asked what we should do when we’re overwhelmed and running on empty. Step back and push the reset button. It’s time to take our temperature. So what does that mean? Taking the temperature means measuring your thoughts, energy, mood and perspective.
Where does one start to manage stress and temperature — you start with mindfulness. Taking the time to give yourself a break and be mindful to schedule this time. By making time for you, others will observe and do the same. It’s imperative to create work/life integration by creating quiet time.
Sharon then asked the audience to decide on one goal they want to achieve in the next year and how they plan to get there. During audience participation, attendees shared their goals and how they planned to achieve them — what is the pathway to success. Finally, what is the solution? How will you feel when you achieve the goal? She then shared the five steps to success: simplify, digital detox, hydrate and nourish, rest and relax, and mindset.
APCO’s Commitment to Serve
To close out the Summit, Ms. Batey and Ms. Hall asked audience members to share their main takeaways and things they plan to bring back to their centers. They also asked the audience to share with them ideas for this event in the future.
Thank you to those who joined us at the 9-1-1 Staffing Summit and to our event sponsors. We look forward to seeing you at the next Summit.
