Increase 9-1-1 Recruitment & Retention with Mental Wellness Support

Learn how apps for mental wellness can help your emergency communications center overcome low retention rates, understaffing, and recruitment roadblocks.

October 3, 2022

Article Highlights

The problem: Attracting 9-1-1 telecommunicator candidates

If you’re having trouble keeping your emergency communications center staffed lately, you’re not alone. Emergency communications centers across the country are facing unprecedented challenges with 911 telecommunicator recruitment. Because an understaffed 911 dispatch center reduces service delivery and causes citizens to spend more time on hold, you need to address the underlying issues driving these recruitment and retention issues.

Emergency communications work – while rewarding – comes with a unique set of stressors. Over time, telecommunicators can get burnt out from the fast-paced and emotional nature of their jobs. This is particularly true at agencies that provide little to no access to mental wellness resources, which leads ECC employees to feel unheard and unsupported. 

To complicate things further, many states don’t legislatively classify 911 telecommunicators as first responders, meaning their wages are often not competitive enough to prevent telecommunicators from leaving for the private sector. Likewise, individuals considering a job in public safety may be reluctant to apply for these high-stress positions. 

Unfortunately, a failure to attract quality telecommunicator candidates leaves emergency communications centers understaffed, causing overworking and burnout in existing employees. As would-be candidates catch wind of the working conditions at certain agencies, they avoid applying to job openings, perpetuating the cycle of low 911 recruitment. If not remedied, understaffed 911 dispatch centers will have an increased liability risk over time as they fail to meet their service level agreements and uphold national ECC standards.

The solution: Complete wellness solutions for telecommunicators

The mental health and social support resources that PowerDMS’s 911 dispatch app, PowerLine, offers can help your agency support employee retention and solve public safety recruitment challenges. PowerLine provides 911 telecommunicators with access to complete wellness solutions whenever and wherever they’re needed. Individuals who feel overwhelmed by the demands of their jobs can visit PowerLine’s extensive content library, which includes videos, articles, and audio content that speaks directly to the personal and professional challenges they face. 

Telecommunicators can also seek guidance from PowerLine’s nationwide network of volunteer peers. Individuals who want to talk with someone who has faced similar challenges can get anonymous, one-on-one support from a telecommunicator outside their agency. Additionally, volunteers in PowerLine’s peer network moderate topic-specific discussion groups for those who want to connect with multiple telecommunicators at a time. 

Your agency can also include in-app access to local support systems you’ve already established, including vetted therapists, clergy, local peer volunteers, or any other service providers. Our partnership with professional clinicians provides peer volunteers with training and access to an escalation resource in case they encounter suicide warning signs. Finally, to ensure that telecommunicators never have to worry about facing judgment for getting the help they need, your employees’ usage of the resources in PowerDMS’s 911 dispatch app is completely anonymous

The benefits of a 9-1-1 dispatch app

By offering complete wellness solutions to employees, you demonstrate the importance of telecommunicator mental health and establish your agency as an employer of choice. Because employees are getting the help they need, this ECC mobile app also helps your center experience:

  • Fewer sick days
  • Reduced burnout 
  • Fewer response errors
  • Better citizen and stakeholder services

These benefits lead to better overall retention of current staff, saving your agency money on training and onboarding costs. Simply put, PowerLine supports 911 telecommunicator stress management, morale and wellness, and overall job success so candidates feel excited to apply for work at your agency. 

Get started

Schedule a no-obligation demo today to learn more about how the PowerLine employee wellness app can improve telecommunicator wellness and counteract understaffed 911 dispatch centers.

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