Security Systems News is a monthly business newspaper that reaches 25,100 security installers, product distributors, central stations, engineers & architects, and security consultants. Our editorial coverage focuses on breaking news in all major se
Issue link: https://ssn.epubxp.com/i/841321
12 june 2017 www.securitysystemsnews.com 2017 Monitoring Source Book Morgan Hertel "Everybody can't be a cowboy," Hertel said. "You have to know when it's time to say, 'I need help.'" Hertel and other supervisors stressed the importance of intense applicant screening first, then keeping new hires fresh and alert by stimulation through aggressive training. Meeting demands of the job head-on by presenting professional growth challenges seems to work. Rapid Response conducts interviews, tests for personality types, drug use and background checks. The interviews follow paper, reference and test screening. The company looks for stamina and speed. Applicants get tested for intelligence and typing. After Day One, there's a month in a highly structured classrooms with a professional trainer. "If they make it through our rigorous training, they are tethered to a trainer on the floor for two or three more weeks," Hertel said. "For 90 days they are Q- and-A'd to death. ... There's constant learning." Crist of ADS struck a similar tone as he spoke about the need to address pressure that can affect rookies and veterans in different ways. "From a training perspective, we put them in a laboratory environment," Crist said of inexperienced operators. Although ADS considers it on-the-job training, "We make sure they are not thrown to the wolves." Novices will witness a trained operator who is in a live environment—"It's the only way to prepare for the real thing," said Crist, noting that the newbie may begin by operating software while the trainer talks to a customer on the line. "Then they switch. Then they'll do both," he said. "We'll allow customer support specialists [ADS' preferred term for operators] to receive alarms at a lower [safety risk] level. … Alarms can range from a communications failure with an alarm panel to a silent panic alarm at a financial institution." In the latter example, the operator does not Continued from page 3 C en TRAL first make contact with the financial institution—they must first dispatch authorities and wait. "There are action patterns that are important to adhere to. You could be jumping off script. There's a danger with someone with even five or six years of experience to go off script. You can get someone hurt that way." Newhook is emphatic about the importance of keeping veteran operators on their toes by challenging them to diversify their skill set, both technologically and in terms of interpersonal communication. "Sometimes it looks like busy work," he said of the role-hopping within the company. "But sometimes busy work is not bad. It can be an opportunity to use another side of the brain. Like anything else, you're seeking a balance. This is an agile environment." Training time with new and veteran operators merges technical trouble shooting with verbal/communications skills and assessments of the employee's level of empathy and fast decision-making. Adapting and learning is embedded into American Alarm's DNA, according to Newhook. "I've never been averse to change," Newhook said. "Fortunately, my team eats it up." "The training can be intimidating at first," said COPS' Smith. "The terms and the industry as a whole are unfamiliar to new employees. So, they're not only learning new processes, they're also learning a new language and a new way of thinking." As for established operators, said Crist, "The best thing we do [to manage pressure] is that we are purposeful about helping our folks be successful in other roles in the organization. We seed talents." Crist's career has included work in contact centers and leadership. "My responsibility to our employees is to help build careers, and to the organization it's to seed talent for elsewhere in the organization." Some ADS operators are on the job for 15 years or more, according to Crist. "Some do it for 17 years with no sign of fatigue," he said. "For others, they may do it for three months and decide this is not for them. It's our job to help some folks realize this may not be right for them. Otherwise we are not doing them or our customers any favors." SSN Free webcast! Sponsored by: Thursday July 13 • 2 pm ET Standards in Evolving Technologies Webcast Series Brought to you by: www.securitysystemsnews.com/webcasts There's no charge to register. Sign up online today!