Hello and welcome to Denver 911. I hope that you find the information on our website interesting and helpful. The website content was developed in collaboration with our employees, supervisors, trainers and the management of Denver 911. Our web page is managed and maintained by line level employees who have taken ownership of the look and feel of the site; I’m seriously proud of the work they do.
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
Our goal is to exceed our customer’s expectations and we do this by using basic process improvement strategies; there is no policy, no protocol, no process that isn’t subject to review and recommendations for improvement. We constantly review our policies, our service levels, our technology, training, employee expectations and quality of service. And just when we think we’re done, we start the process all over again.
Over the past five years we have made changes to our hiring program that help us better identify people who can do this work well. We have continually improved our training program by soliciting feedback from our customers and the trainees themselves. We have improved the way we evaluate the quality of our service and have enhanced our operation schedule so that we have the right number of people on duty at the right time.
HIRING PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
We improved our hiring by verifying that our job descriptions are accurate and represent the work of our team members. Job announcements are reviewed to verify that they match the job descriptions so that we are recruiting people who have the knowledge, skills and abilities required to be successful. Testing has been validated to ensure that we are using the most appropriate tools to find the best people for these extremely challenging and rewarding careers.
IMPROVING TRAINING
Our Training Team strives to provide state-of-the-art training to our new and tenured employees by consistently assessing current programs, developing new and appropriate curriculum as needs arise, verifying that the current training documentation is accurate and that our training reflects appropriate Center Policies and Procedures. In 2010, Denver 911 achieved a national accreditation for our training program, having met the Association of Public Safety (APCO) standards.
SCHEDULING AND QUALITY ASSURANCE
We have refined our operation schedule to make sure that we have the optimum number of people on duty at all hours. We then enhanced our Quality Assurance (QA) program to verify that training has been effective, that the employees have the knowledge to do their jobs and that we’re meeting the high expectations we’ve set for ourselves. Trends from our QA work are then reviewed with the Training Team and when appropriate, modifications are made to improve training.
TECHNOLOGY ENHANCEMENTS
We reaffirmed partnerships with the vendors that help us do our work and supply our systems; we recommitted to our relationships, verified our business requirements and worked to ensure that the vendors understood our expectations. All of our systems are up to date and are working as designed.
PERFORMANCE MEASURES
One of the most important performance measurements that we monitor is how fast we answer the phone and we made some great gains over the past few years.
In 2007 we answered 49% of our 911 calls on the first ring; and in 2011 we finished the year at 94.6%. The national standard we use is published by the National Fire Protection Association and the goal is to answer 95% of 911 calls within 15 seconds or less. In 2010 we met that goal at 95% and in 2011 we surpassed the goal at 96.6%.
I attribute these performance improvements to the dedication of the men and women who answer Denver 911 calls, the supervisors and managers who lead the teams, the technology team members who work to ensure our systems are optimized and the training team members who prepare our teams to be successful.
THE TEAMS AT DENVER 911
Our employees are taking on new responsibilities and assuming leadership roles in the Center; I’m excited by the results we have experienced and am looking forward to 2011 and 2012. It is only by working together that we can bring premier service to the citizens of the City and County of Denver.
My personal measure of success is that the citizens of the City and County of Denver and the customers of Denver 911 are served quickly, efficiently, courteously and with the utmost respect. I welcome any comments about your experience and can be reached at 720.913.2025, carl.simpson@denvergov.org or by clicking this LINK
Carl Simpson
Executive Director, Denver 911