911TRAININGCONNECTIONSUE PIVETTA, EDITOR

A N E W S L E T T E R F O R E M E R G E N C Y C O M M U N I C A T I O N S

And 7 Great Resources For Overcoming Them

7 TRAITS OF A

WORKPLACECHaoTIc

omm Center teams work like a well-oiled precision tools — when a critical call comesin, or the phones and radios are swamped on

a full moon Friday night. We all can agree commcenters ROCK when it comes to doing great team-work on the phones and radios. But we often hearteamwork comes to an abrupt halt when it comesto getting along or be a team off the phones andradio; extra data entry, agree on a chair, buy in on

a new policy, implement some in house training,get past gossip, eliminate back stabbing or admin-istration bashing. Here are 7 Deadly Habits and7 Useful Tips for more teamwork off the phonesand radios and 7+ recommended books for yourPROFESSIONAL LIBRARY, learning or In ServiceTraining. I have used (or written) all recommendedbooks and can guarantee good information forcomm centers within the pages.

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A N E W S L E T T E R F O R E M E R G E N C Y C O M M U N I C AT I O N S

NEW RELEASE BOOKS – ORDER NOW $74.95 – Stress Trio9-1-1 Wellness, Stress Less Workbook Buy one for each employee! Less than a stress workshop.Plus 2 additional books: Console Yoga and 10-20 Journal. Every chapter has self-directed learning assignmentsto help take responsibility for stress. UNIT ONE Understanding Your Stress / UNIT FOUR Neutralizing

Negativity / UNIT FIVE Us Versus Them / UNIT SIX Difficult People ...more chapters on line.

Winging It! Q n A from Supervisors 50+ questions that supervisors ask with answersfrom Sue Pivetta who has worked with supervisors and managers to handle those ‘people problems’ for years. Down to earth, practical answers to real questions asked by comm centersupervisors. Supervisors who reviewed this book said they were copying pages and passingthem out to all supervisors! It’s a very good thing, motivational, inspiring, hard hitting, honest, easy to read and interesting. $24.95

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3 TRAINING CONNECTION •6

NOT KNOWING TEAM RESPONSIBILITIES ‘OFF’ THE PHONES AND RADIO

IT’S NOT MY JOB

It is very clear what the role of a Call Taker orEmergency Radio Dispatcher is — SEND withSPEED. However does your staff agree on, andaccept his or her role when it comes to internalcommunications, enforcing procedures for the team,stress management, support. and decision making —not associated with call taking and dispatching?

Has everyone talked about his or her part in creatinga safe and positive work environment? Do you havean ethics statement and did the team create it? Forexample, would it be ethical to talk to officers abouta trainee who made a mistake on a call? Do yourtelecommunicators know exactly what to do whena fellow worker abuses the equipment in frustrationor anger? What would someone do if a dirty jokeor picture was distributed in the center?

Suggested Reading #1: Overcoming Negativity by Sue Pivetta at 911Trainer.com is the most practical, useful and logical approach to negativity in the workplace that has been written. Actualy the ONLY book for 911 that has been written on this subject! Highly recommended.

NOT KNOWINGHOW TO TALK TOONE ANOTHER

NO ONE LISTENS ANYWAY

Poor communications skills can

be blamed for probably 99% of the stress and dysfunc-tion at an agency. And the simple truth is — internalcommunications skills can and should be taught butare not. The purpose of communication is to get yourmessage across to others. This is a process that involvesboth the sender of the message and the receiver. Thisprocess leaves room for error, with messages often mis-interpreted by one or more of the parties involved. Thiscauses unnecessary confusion and counter productivity.

Suggested Reading #2: Difficult Conversations:How to Discuss what Matters Most by Stone,www.amazon.com

The training should be a dialogue where each personis required to read the section and discuss the principlesand practice the techniques offered.

RESISTANCE TO NEW POLICIES OR CHANGEWE’RE TREATED LIKE MUSHROOMS

If a rowing team changes direction people don’t beginto question and complain, there is ‘trust’ in the personwho knows what direction the group is supposed to goto get where the team is supposed to be getting to. Noneed to question every decision. However, when peopledon’t understand the direction they are going nor thechange of course, demands will create resistance.Telecommunicators are adults many ‘demands’ treatworkers like children so don’t be surprised if workers

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act like children and refuse to cooperate and questionand resist.

Suggested Reading #3: “Winging It, Supervisors QnA”by Pivetta at www.911trainer.com.

NO ACCOUNTABILITY PROCESSESPEOPLE GET AWAY WITH MURDER HERE.Commitment is demonstrated through accountability,which can be loosely defined as “following throughon what is expected,” or more simply stated, “keepingyour word.” When commitment is questioned, trust (a key element of accountability) becomes impaired.People at work often do notkeep their word because theyare centered in self insteadof centered in what is bestfor the team. People becomecentered in self when theyforget that their job is to serve. However it must alsobe noted that people do what they feel is best for self

and with accountability for tardiness, negativity behaviors,non attendance at meetings, sick leave abuse, no followthrough on projects will create a NEW perceptionabout what is best for self — to do the right thing orpay the consequences. Administrators and supervisorsmust also keep their word to keep fair and consistentwith accountability processes.

Suggested Reading #4: The Forgotten Secret toPhenomenal Success by Hernacki www.amazon.com

ZERO CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN PLACECAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG? NO, NOT REALLY. What do you do when there is a conflict? How do youfeel about conflict? Is conflict actually a welcomedevent so that you can bring better understanding,uncover unspoken feelings, deal with current stressorsand create improvement where needed? No, notsurprised. Mediation and peer mediation teams are anew concept. Most people don’t know there is a processto working with conflict that actually and absolutelyturns conflict into opportunity. Put in place a PeerMediation Team plan today and you will find thatyou will have more peace at your agency.

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‘Commitment isdemonstrated

through accountability.’

#4 #5

TRAINING TRAINERS - GREAT FOR DISCUSSION

5 TRAINING CONNECTION •6

Suggested Reading #5: eBook BECOMING THE PEACEMAKER can be purchased and downloaded pdf at www.911trainer.com go to the BREAKROOM.

KNOWING WHAT IS WRONG AND DOING NOTHING

NOTHING CHANGES IF NOTHING CHANGES.Often challenges at the workplace are ongoing andassumed to be a part of the culture. Actually there aremany steps you can take to begin a process of change— all solutions begin with anacknowledgement that thereis an ongoing problem thatmay have solutions. Stressand Negativity are two ongo-ing challenges that seem tobe just a part of the culture but actually are insteadproblems that can be neutralized by looking to manyof the sources, instead of always mopping up after the‘effects’ have been realized. Effects such as high

turnover, sick leave, conflict, poor work habits, andlow job satisfaction.

Suggested Reading #6: Professional Pride eNews — Got Negativity, Got Solutions? This series can be accessed by signing up for the eNews at www.911trainer.com and requesting back issue from info@911trainer.com. The series has been very helpful to agencies by offering in service workshops, templates and surveys regarding making lasting change by involving the staff.

DEALING WITH ‘EFFECTS’ INSTEAD OF CAUSES

WHO IS THE ENEMY HERE?Let’s say you do not havean evaluation process orform that is honored,respected and useful inplanning needed training,retraining or motivation.You know it’s a problembut what can you do?There isn’t enough time to allow all the supervisorstime to revamp the system let alone time to listen totapes and provide evidence of skill levels and adherenceto policy and procedures. Or let’s say your SOP is sadlyout of date. Maybe you don’t have a good trainingmanual. Or you send people to training just to give

‘There are manysteps you can taketo begin a process

of change...’

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them a break yet really aren’t sure the training is whatthey need. Your budget is used up by turnover andovertime and people you hire aren’t really fit and quitor are let go. You know your training program needs tobe changed but the amount of energy and time neededseems overwhelming considering how hard everyone isworking anyway. You’re putting out fires when youshould be eliminating the fuel source.

Time isn’t the enemy — lead-ership priorities and skill atproviding effective leadershipare. Great leaders are able todefine priorities and get stuffdone — regardless. Time is

money — great leaders can find money if they canmake the time. Great leaders can make the time if theyfree up time by delegating. But delegating means givingmore work to overworked people — so what’s a leaderto do? Figure it out.

There are thousands of leader-ship books out there. I countedthe ones on my shelf — 32;most of them have been read,some of them used. There is nogreat mystery to leadership —it’s getting stuff done. To getstuff done first define what stuff needs to be done. Next prioritize based on possible LOSSES or potential harm. Next list all solutions tried and if they worked and solutions not tried and cost. Let’s take one issue and explore how it’s handled. STRESS. Determine the source of stress for your people. So then stress is not the enemy, not addressing stress is.

Suggested Reading #7: 911 Wellness, Stress Less Trio by Pivetta found at www.911trainer.com. This book approaches stress at its ‘source’, which is personal responsibility, education and skill building for each member of your staff. 10 Unit surveys - it's good.

7 DEADLY HABITScontinued from page 5

‘There is nogreat mysteryto leadership— it’s getting

stuff done.’

‘You’re puttingout fires whenyou should beeliminating thefuel source.’

Start a High School or College Vocational Course in your area now and improve your retention and get a trained

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