Jefferson County 911 Dispatch leaders have launched a new feedback system to learn how the public rates the agency’s performance.
PowerEngage, which went live Jan. 1, uses text messaging to allow those who call 911 to give their opinions on both emergency and non-emergency calls for service. The system, which is managed by PowerDMS software company, costs 911 Dispatch $2,200 per year.
The PowerEngage system sends text messages four hours after an incident and asks citizens to complete a short survey about their experiences. The surveys are not sent between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. to avoid bothering people in the late evening and overnight period. Any calls the agency receives during those hours will receive a survey the following day.
“It’s literally on a score from one through five with five being the best, how do you rate your experience?” 911 Dispatch Chief John Whitehead said. “The next question is, do you want to provide any additional comments about your telecommunicator or call taker? That’s it. If they don’t want that, they can type in ‘stop,’ and we’ll never text them again.”
He said the information collected is protected.
“We have stated for years we are providing a top-notch service for Jefferson County,” Whitehead said. “This literally quantifies our statement. It’s no longer anecdotal. Now, we’ve got numbers to back it up.”
The new system is voluntary, he said, but early returns show people have responded well to it.
PowerEngage sent out 2,192 surveys in January; 942 patrons responded. The surveys came back with a 97.92 percent positive rating, according to information Whitehead provided.
He said 911 Dispatch officials like what they see so far from the feedback.
“Everywhere you go – you go to a hotel, you get off a plane, you shop somewhere – they send you a survey,” he said. “A lot of people just delete those.
“So, I think I was pleasantly surprised at how many we were getting back. But, I was not surprised at the high 90th percentile of public satisfaction that we’re getting.”
He said if a negative comment comes through the system, 911 Dispatch uses it as a tool for improvement.
“The additional benefit is in the event someone provides an unsatisfactory score, it gives us specific comments,” Whitehead said. “Then, we use that within our quality assurance program. We use that to train specific telecommunicators.
“We don’t use a negative as a means of discipline. We use a negative as a means of learning. What would you do different? We use that to continually train our people to get better day-in, day-out.”
Some calls are excluded from the feedback system, he said.
“There are specific call types – sensitive call types – where we will not be asking for survey results because of the emotions behind them or the sensitivity behind the call,” he said.