December 14, 2022 2 min read
Stevens County 911 Builds a Positive Workplace Environment with Guardian Tracking
Industry:
Solution:
“Something goes wrong. You write them up, do the paperwork, but the next week they do three good things and nobody remembers. Getting Guardian Tracking is one of the best things we’ve done to improve positivity.”
Rick Anderson
911 Coordinator
The Challenge
As the primary dispatch center for the entire county, Stevens County 911 services six cities, 15 unincorporated communities, and a population of over 47,000 spread across 2,541 square miles. In addition to the services provided to residents of Stevens County, the center also dispatches fire and EMS for the eastern half of Ferry County and facilitates communications between Border Patrol and local law enforcement regarding the 40 miles of the border the county shares with Canada.
Before implementing Guardian Tracking in 2018, the center was documenting and tracking performance data using a manual paper system.
The Choice
Rick Anderson, who manages the dispatch center, said he was recommended Guardian Tracking by another dispatcher from a neighboring county.
“We were at an APCO conference. My colleague from another dispatch center grabbed me and dragged me over and said, ‘You got to come see this thing. We’re using it and we’ve had really good results with it,’” Rick said.
After that, the decision to adopt the solution was easy.
“We liked what we saw, and we could afford it,” he said. “Before, performance records were in a file cabinet. We would make a copy of each record, put it in the file folder, and then it just got lost from there.”
The Change
Through Guardian Tracking, Stevens County 911 has:
- Simplified documentation and tracking of all performance-related information.
- Improved records management and ensured consistent documentation when there are performance concerns.
- Fostered a positive environment and ensured dispatchers receive the recognition they deserve after noteworthy performance.
“We’re in a funny business because when you don’t hear anything, generally, that means things are going well. But we’re really trying to foster positivity. With staff shortages and rollover, it’s been tough, but we’re in a better place now than we’ve been for a while,” Rick said.
Dept. Profile
- Guardian Tracking 2018
- 2 supervisors, 13 dispatchers
- 47,426 population
- 3,200 mi² area
To read more client testimonials, check out our Success Stories.
