The communications center promoted a supervisor to oversee a shift of 16 emergency dispatchers. A year later only 9 remained. Five had resigned to seek other opportunities and 2 had transferred to other departments within the county. To find out what led to the departures, the communications center manager looked at the exit interviews of the five staff members who resigned. The communications manager discovered that each staff member told a similar story. The new supervisor lacked crucial leadership skills, such as displaying appreciation, being committed to their team (often was not available) and had poor communication skills. More importantly, the exit interviews hinted at a potential universal problem: The center was promoting supervisors based on technical skills rather than supervisory skills. The communications manager had a couple of options. They could change the promotion process and qualifications, or they could train those supervisors that were lacking the necessary skills or a combination of both.
The goal of any dispatch center is to keep valued emergency dispatchers. A high turnover rate can be a predictor of low performance, and, in this industry, this could cost someone their life. If emergency dispatchers are leaving a communications center in increased numbers, finding the why is critical. One of the most helpful tools in your toolbox is one that few communications managers consider. And that is exit interviews. According to Harvard Business Review, many organizations do not conduct exit interviews. Some may collect data but do not evaluate it. Some may analyze it but don’t distribute it with those leaders that can help act upon it. Then there are a few that go through all the motions of collecting, analyzing, and sharing the data and follow up with an action plan.
In today’s economy, your emergency dispatchers are the most prized asset that drives the communications center’s success. You can have all the great technology in the world, but that human sitting beneath the headset is the most valuable as they are the ones that are making it all work. Thus, communications centers need to learn their emergency dispatcher – why do they remain, why do they resign, and how the communications center may need to change. A well-thought-out exit-interview process can provide the needed feedback in all three of these areas.
I am not aware of any research demonstrating that exit interviews reduce turnover, but I do not know that communications centers that engage their emergency dispatchers and show appreciation are more likely to have emergency dispatchers that are satisfied with their work and less likely to leave. If conducted well, an exit interview – whether it be in person, a completed form, a survey, or even a combination of all these – can be the catalyst to increase the communication center manager’s ability to actually listen to their emergency dispatchers, reveal what is or is not working within the communications center, highlight potential hidden challenges or even positive outcomes and collect data that the agency can act on. Exit Interviews may be one of the most useful tool in the toolbox yet the least understood tool in engaging emergency dispatchers and increasing retention by showing Comm. Center staff that their views matter.
Overall Goal of Exit Interviews
A well-designed exit interview program will help the communications center gain understanding into what emergency dispatchers are thinking, what issues are within the communications centers, and where emergency dispatchers are going instead of staying with the communications center. In developing an exit interview strategy, communications centers define the goals of the program. Here are a few examples:
· Uncovering Issues Related to Human Resources
Communications centers that use an exit interview strategy almost always have a goal that is often focused too closely on wages and the agency’s benefit package. That could be, as oftentimes, communications center wages are close in line with other clerical positions. People need a certain level of wages to maintain their financial health, but unless their salary is out of alignment with their peers, money is not what usually drives them away from this career. There could be many other human resources-related practices that can affect an emergency dispatcher’s decision to resign. One Communications Center Manager recalled that their exit interviews showed that the agency did not do well in relaying to lower-level emergency dispatchers of the various pathways available within the center.
· Gain Insight Into Emergency Dispatchers View of the Work
When less tenured staff is leaving, the exit interview can help identify issues with the job itself. We often hear in a combined communications center, that some radio positions are being avoided by emergency dispatchers due to how field responders treat them over the radio. Exit Interviews can also find issues with the working conditions. Communication Centers that do not often get breaks to decompress, eat away from their console, etc. can lead to turnover. Break times need to be fair. Not to disparage smokers, but often times, smokers get more breaks than non-smokers. This can cause rifts between emergency dispatchers, and they may feel that they are not being treated the same. Exit interviews can help communications center managers increase emergency dispatcher morale, efficiency, and effectiveness if done correctly.
· Identify Communication Center Managers/Supervisors’ Leadership Qualities and Effectiveness
During the exit interview, the agency may discover positive information regarding how its communication center manages its emergency dispatchers. However, you may also find out that you have some toxic ones as well. A Communications Manager discovered during their exit interviews that they had a supervisor that was micromanaging, and it was becoming a significant issue. The information from the exit interviews, led to the creation of a training program to build upon supervisor’s skills and make them overall better at their jobs.
· Gather Data About Your Competitors
During the exit interview, see how your center ranks against other centers or even other employers. This can include the amount of time off, the ability to move up within the communications center, health insurance, pet insurance, bonuses, retirement, and other benefits. Not only will this allow a comparison, but it also will allow you to find out who is stealing your staff members.
· Solicit Ideas For Improving the Communications Center
Exit Interviews should not only cover the emergency dispatchers’ immediate experience but allow larger areas to be explored as well. One best practice is to ask every emergency dispatcher that leaves voluntarily something like “I just do not understand why the agency doesn’t just (BLANK)”. This is a great open-ended sentence, and you may be surprised what the emergency dispatcher will come up with that may help with the efficiency of processes, or something else that will make the job easier for everyone else. In addition, the information may reveal trends.
And Finally…
Show every departing emergency dispatcher appreciation for their service and thank them for serving the center, the field responders, and the community. Remember that a negative experience spreads like wildfire and how that departing emergency dispatcher(s) speaks about your agency can have dire consequences on recruitment in the future.
To find out more about how we can help with your recruitment efforts, click here to schedule a conference call.