Seminars

Departments must develop a systematic approach to training with emphasis on consistency and quality training. All seminars emphasize the importance of professionalism and the safety responsibility the telecommunicator has for the officers and the callers. The telecommunicators will learn how to handle calls the correct way with examples, lecture material and audio and visual calls of actual situations. The class atmosphere is relaxed, informative, humorous at times, and realistic with emphasis on class participation. JoAnne Hollmann is a telecommunicator with over thirty years of experience. She can share and relate to the questions and problems the telecommunicators may have because she has handled similar situations.

If interested in hosting any of the below seminars, and receiving free seating for your telecommunicators, please contact JoAnne Hollmann. All seminars can be tailored to meet the needs of your department.
 

HANDLING CRITICAL CALLS EFFECTIVELY
CALL-TAKER/DISPATCHER CRITICAL INCIDENT SEMINAR

This is a two-day seminar designed to improve the skills of experienced call-takers and introduce inexperienced ones to skills needed in dealing with such incidents as life threatening emergencies, crimes in progress calls, officer in trouble and similar type situations where immediate officer dispatch to the scene is necessary. Topics include: (1) roles and responsibilities of the telecommunicator (2) review of the basics of information gathering (3) man-made and natural disasters and how to be prepared to gather and dispatch information to field personnel (4) officer safety issues (5) suicide and crisis negotiations for the telecommunicator and (6) handling personal stress when these situations occur and your center is involved.
 

BASIC TELECOMMUNICATION SEMINAR

This basic training program is geared for individuals in their first year as a telecommunicator. The topics covered include roles and responsibilities of the telecommunicator, customer service skills, information gathering techniques, basics of radio broadcast, handling critical calls (such as suicides, domestics, etc.), understanding some of the officer’s duties, and managing the stress as it relates to the telecommunicator’s position. Emphasis is placed on the officer and caller’s safety and professionalism of the telecommunicator. This is offered from a 24-40 hour program.
 

ESTABLISHING OR ENHANCING ON A TELECOMMUNICATION TRAINING PROGRAM

The goal of this seminar is to provide departments direction in the type of training program that will fit their needs. We are not “reinventing the wheel”. We are offering ideas, solutions to common problems and pitfalls, and concepts that have worked for other departments.

This seminar is directed towards the communication supervisor to increase the hiring of qualified employees, reduce the rate of dropouts and turnovers and provide greater insulation against litigation. Also included are the communication-training officers, who have the insurmountable job of training new employees into self-reliant telecommunicators. This is a two day seminar.
 

MAKING CHOICES/BEING IN CONTROL
STRESS REDUCTION FOR THE CALLTAKER/DISPATCHER

Law enforcement, by the very nature of the work, can cause a great deal of stress to those that work in the field. Call takers & dispatchers are often the first contact with people in critical, life and death situations and after even a short time it can take a toll both physically and mentally. This can result in illnesses, strained family life, and other personal problems. This seminar discusses a variety of methods, coping techniques and how to make choices to reduce the stress. Topics include: Stress identification, sources of stress, and symptoms of stress that can lead to burnout, dealing and managing the stress and improving life. This is offered as a one-day seminar.
 

USE OF SUPERVISORY PRINCIPALS IN THE COMMUNICATION CENTER

This seminar is designed primarily for new public safety communication center supervisors, especially those with less than three years of experience who desire to improve their practical leadership skills. Participants will learn to relate modern supervisory principles to their individual work environment, identify traits and practices of successful supervisors and explore techniques they need to promote high performance, cooperation, and job satisfaction among their communication center workers, whether they are dispatchers or call-takers. This is offered as a two-day seminar.
 

MANAGEMENT OF THE COMMUNICATION CENTER

This two-day seminar is designed for those assigned as communication center managers or administrators. The topics focus on those, which administrators need to know, and are able to implement so their units perform at the highest level. The program is for the new communication enter administrator, but those with experience should find the content to be and excellent refresher, as well as a means to gain new knowledge. Topics for discussion include: climate of management within a communication center, power and politics, developing personnel recruitment and screening procedures, administering the background investigation, formulating and implementing policies and procedures, planning for problems and overcoming them, developing a cooperating relationship with other centers, and handling media and designing a public education program.
 

DEALING WITH THE PUBLIC EMPATHETICALLY AND EFFECTIVELY

This program will consider a training area rarely afforded to communication center telecommunicators…enhancement of their public relations and customer service image. The telephone is the primary link between the caller and the telecommunicator. When the call-taker answers the telephone they represent their department. It is vitally important the call-taker do so in a manner that shows professionalism, courtesy and empathy to the caller. Topics to be covered during the program include: Roles and responsibilities of the telecommunicator , attitude and image of the Telecommunicator, Telecommunicator danger zones, handling calls of different nature with various techniques , different types of callers and examples of successful call taking.
 

IT'S DANGEROUS OUT THERE

Information received by the FBI Unified Crime Report for 2011 stated 72 law enforcement officers had been killed due to criminal actions. The largest number of officers slain were by answering disturbance calls, mostly domestic disturbances. This class will focus on how a Telecommunicator should deal with domestics and suicidal callers, which have been proven to be the most dangerous situations officers can face and also the most stressful for the Telecommunicator. Class Topics: Statistics and myths involving domestic abuse situations, the cycle of domestic abuse and how it can be broken, understanding the victims and aggressors, roles and responsibilities of the Telecommunicator to help minimize the dangers when handling disturbances, statistics an myths involving suicides, understanding the suicidal caller and making a bond or connection with them and techniques to crisis negotiations on the initial call to the suicidal subject.