- Resources
Resources
- Documents for Managers
- Professional Organizations
- Staffing and Retention Resources
- Resources for Call Center Managers
- General Resources
Staffing and Retention in Public Safety Communications Centers
Documents for Managers
An Effective Practices Guide and Staffing Workbook - This guide for practitioners is based on the results of the National Study and six geographically distributed site visits. Effective practices that are supported by the research or endorsed by research participants are presented in three chapters (Staffing, Retention, and Employee Satisfaction). A detailed discussion and instructions for estimating the number of employees needed for coverage and volume-influenced positions are presented in the final section. Download EPGuide.
Staffing Workbook - Taken directly from the Effective Practices Guide and Staffing Workbook, this document only addresses staffing issues and the formulas. Download Workbook.
Staffing and Retention in Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs): A Supplemental Study – 2018
APCO commissioned a follow-up study with George Mason University Center for Social Science Research that builds on both the 2005 and 2009 reports to observe how these conditions have developed over the past nine years, to reassess the perceived utility and utilization of Project RETAINS, and to add a new section detailing the use and knowledge of new technologies in ECCs. Download Study
APCO Project RETAINS Compiled Report - The intent of this deliverable is to synthesize the findings of both reports to assist public safety communications professionals. The main topics covered in this report include the effects of the economy, salary, next generation technology in communications centers, psychological distress, the dispatcher position and consolidation. Download Report.
APCO Project RETAINS Next Generation Report - This report on the second national study sought to extend knowledge of communications center staffing issues not addressed in the first study and to gauge the degree to which Project RETAINS had proved useful. This areas of focus for this study included current staffing challenges facing communications centers, the current national turnover rate, analysis of organizational commitment and psychological distress and guidelines for staffing a dispatch position. Download Report.
A National Study - Reports and Surveys - This summary report of all Project RETAINS research, includes the results from Study I, which surveyed both managers and employees, and Study II which surveyed managers, but not employees, of center with 76 or more employees. Download Report. Download Surveys.
Technical Report - This document provides detailed information about the statistical tests and analytical procedures that were used along with item-by-item analyses. Download Report.
Professional Organizations
- Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International, Inc. https://www.apcointl.org/
- National Emergency Number Association Home Page. Resources for 9-1-1 communications centers. http://www.nena.org
- International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) home page http://www.iafc.org/
- International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) home page http://www.theiacp.org/
- Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. http://www.calea.org
Staffing and Retention Resources
- Leese, Steve. 2016. "Next Generation 9-1-1 Staffing" Public Safety Communications Online.
- Public Safety Communications Online. 2015. "Stress and the 9-1-1 Telecommunicator"
- Dunaway, Cindra. 2013. "Retaining Personnel" Public Safety Communications Online.
Resources for Call Center Managers
- Department of Labor standards for overtime pay located at: http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/wages/overtimepay.htm
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Police, Fire, and Ambulance Dispatchers" Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2016-2017
- Fry, Richard. 2018. "Millennials are the largest generation in the U.S. labor force"