How To Not Train A Dispatcher

Dave Dooley (The Tall Kid), is a Public Safety Dispatcher II for the City of Mountain View (CA). He started his career in 1972, and has been everything from rookie to 9-1-1 Director for a county in Oregon. His current duties include Tactical Communicator for the Regional SWAT Team (Mountain View and Palo Alto). This article can be found on page 114 of the Nov/Dec 1998 issue of 9-1-1 Magazine.

Scenario #1:

It's February, 1972. The Tall Kid is complaining about his crummy part-time job. His buddy tells him about an opening coming up where he works. "Become a Dispatcher for the local Police Department! They hire 18-year-olds who plan on a career in law enforcement. You get to help people and get involved in your community." "Hmmm...," thought The Tall Kid, whose father and grandfather had law enforcement careers. "This could be kinda cool!"

So The Tall Kid applied and, miraculously, got the job. He was living large! Gonna help catch the bad guys! Chicks are gonna dig the uniform! Gonna save the day for everybody! Gonna be the best (and why not? The police must have the best training on earth!).

Then reality came to call.

When The Tall Kid reported for duty on his first day, he was turned over to a "trainer" whose primary approach to training was "Sit over there and type these reports. I hate typing reports. But watch what I do so you'll know what we do and how we do it." So The Tall Kid sat and typed reports for 2 weeks all the while watching the "trainer" and listening to the "trainer" and being very impressed with what he saw.

The Tall Kid asked the "trainer" about the APB machine in the corner. How did it work? How did it convey news of crimes and mayhem from all over the country? The Tall Kid was very curious about this noisy machine. The "trainer" said that you put "floormats" (formats) into the "CLUTCH" (CLETS) machine, and you would get back vehicle registrations and drivers license histories and warrants and "...all kinds of other stuff." The "trainer" also said that if The Tall Kid needed to know which "floormat" to use, there was a list tacked to the wall above the "CLUTCH" machine. "Just look on that list and it'll tell you what to do."

As a result of this "training," The Tall Kid's first day by himself was notable. Not for his saving of the world or righting of all wrongs, but for the totally inept (but wholehearted) attempt at dispatching. He couldn't process incoming calls, because he only heard what the "trainer" said during phone calls. He couldn't keep status on units because, even though he knew what they said and where they were, he had never been shown the radio status cards or the timestamp; he'd never been taught how to use the status board. He didn't even know what a Code 7 was.

Scenario #2:

Fast forward to 1977. The Tall Kid now has 5 years experience under his belt, and has a pretty good handle on call processing and tracking unit status and how to use the "CLUTCH" machine. The Tall Kid goes to work for a much larger police department many miles away from his home town. He is assigned to a trainer who does everything his first trainer didn't do. She has manuals and handouts and written tests. The Tall Kid, with his prior experience, aces the tests and proceeds through the training program at a record-breaking pace.

Until...

One day the trainer was working the main radio channel with 25 units in the field. The Tall Kid watched and listened. Even though he'd only worked with five or six units in the field, this looked and sounded pretty easy. So The Tall Kid, wanting to impress his trainer with his abilities, volunteered to work the main channel (while the trainer watched over him, just in case).

So the trainer traded places with The Tall Kid. And then she left the room...

When she came back fifteen minutes later, there were radio status cards still fluttering like snowflakes to the floor and The Tall Kid looked like he'd been pulled through a knothole backwards.

When the trainer got everything settled down and figured out, it was determined that all field units were safe and sound (but nervous), and none of the pending service calls were too far over time.

Scenario #3:

Fast forward to today. The Tall Kid, having survived some pretty bogus "training" stunts at the hands of others, now trains new people where he works today. Trains them as thoroughly as possible. (Ever wonder what the chemical make-up of your printer ink is? The Tall Kid knows.) But the first thing The Tall Kid does looks a lot like what his first "trainer" did. He sits down and talks to the trainee. About everything but the job. The Tall Kid gets to know the trainee so that during the actual training, if the trainee is having trouble grasping a concept, The Tall Kid can use analogies that have meaning to the trainee. The Tall Kid also covers each and every piece of equipment, each and every policy, each and every procedure (including a historical perspective of why we do some of the seemingly silly things we do).

If you want to succeed as a trainer - if you truly want to demonstrate your abilities to yourself and everyone around you - you should think about the training stunts you suffered through and make sure your trainee doesn't have to go through the same thing. Your trainee's abilities (or lack thereof) are a direct and glaring reflection on how well or poorly you train them.

Don't make them muddle through on their own. Someone could get hurt - or worse.

Do teach them from your Department's documented policy and procedure manuals.

Don't abandon them and expect them to figure things out under pressure. The old philosophy that baptism by fire is best just doesn't cut it in these litigious days. Someone could get hurt - or worse - and you could end up on the ugly end of a lawsuit.

Do stay with them until you are comfortable with them performing tasks on their own.

Don't theorize or guess about training tasks or policies.

Do know what you're talking about. Nothing is more confusing and nothing will destroy your credibility (as a trainer and a dispatcher) than guessing wrong about policy and procedure.

Don't expect a trainee to comprehend everything the first time they experience whatever it is.

Do learn to use analogies that relate to the trainee's prior life experiences. You're here to facilitate.