16.4 Performance Management, Employee Feedback & Customer Service
Key Takeaways
- Performance management is a cycle: plan goals and desirable behaviors, set and communicate standards, gather employee attitudes and opinions, measure results and give feedback, implement improvement strategies, and evaluate the results.
- Standards for telecommunicators should be job-related, measurable, and communicated in writing, drawing on job descriptions, SOPs, QA forms, and performance data such as answer times and CAD accuracy.
- Appraisal methods include graphic rating scales, behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS), management by objectives, critical incident records, and multi-rater feedback, and rater errors such as halo, leniency, central tendency, and recency must be trained out.
- Improvement strategies range from coaching and individual development plans to performance improvement plans (PIPs) with specific expectations, support, timelines, and consequences, with discipline handled through progressive processes.
- Customer service in 9-1-1 serves callers, field responders, partner agencies, and elected officials, and it depends on service standards, a consistent complaint process, satisfaction feedback, and transparent reporting.
16.4 Performance Management, Employee Feedback & Customer Service
Quick Answer: Performance management is a continuous cycle. Managers plan goals and desirable behaviors, set and communicate standards, listen to employee attitudes and opinions, measure results and give feedback, implement improvement strategies, and evaluate the results. Good standards are job-related and measurable, and appraisals work best with clear rating anchors, documentation throughout the year, and trained raters who avoid errors such as halo, leniency, central tendency, and recency. Struggling employees receive coaching and, when needed, a performance improvement plan (PIP); discipline follows progressive processes (17.3). Customer service extends to callers, field responders, partner agencies, and elected officials, supported by service standards, a consistent complaint process, and satisfaction feedback.
1. The Performance Management Cycle
| Stage (ENP BOK) | What Managers Do | 9-1-1 Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Performance planning | Identify goals and the behaviors that achieve them | Location verification on every call; protocol compliance; teamwork during surges |
| Setting and communicating standards | Put expectations in writing and make sure employees understand them | SOPs, QA evaluation forms, answer time targets, attendance rules |
| Employee attitudes, opinions, and satisfaction | Gather feedback on morale, workload, and barriers | Engagement surveys, stay interviews, labor-management meetings |
| Measuring results and feedback | Collect performance data and discuss it with employees | QA scores, CAD accuracy audits, commendations and complaints |
| Implementing improvement strategies | Coach, train, redesign work, or begin formal improvement plans | Coaching sessions, remedial training, PIPs |
| Evaluating results | Check whether performance improved and adjust the approach | Trend reports, follow-up reviews, updated standards |
| Customer service and stakeholder satisfaction | Measure how well the center serves the people who rely on it | Caller and responder surveys, complaint trends |
Discipline and corrective action, also part of this domain, are covered in 17.3.
2. Performance Planning: Goals and Desirable Behaviors
- Start with the job description: Essential functions (19.3) define what employees must be able to do.
- Write SMART goals: Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. For example: "Maintain QA location verification compliance at or above the center standard for each quarter."
- Describe behaviors, not just outcomes: A telecommunicator controls answer time only partly, but fully controls behaviors such as verifying location, following the protocol, and entering accurate CAD notes.
- Plan development, too: Pair performance goals with growth goals, such as completing CTO training or an EMD certification.
3. Setting and Communicating Standards
Effective standards are:
- Job-related: Tied to real duties and outcomes.
- Measurable: Observable through QA review, CAD data, or direct observation.
- Attainable: Challenging but realistic with proper staffing and tools.
- Consistent: Applied the same way across shifts and supervisors.
- Documented and acknowledged: Provided in writing, explained in orientation, and acknowledged by the employee.
Where employees are represented by a union, evaluation criteria and procedures may be subject to bargaining or contract terms (17.3 and 17.4).
4. Employee Attitudes, Opinions, and Satisfaction
- Engagement surveys: Anonymous surveys identify workload, scheduling, supervision, and equipment problems. They only build trust if leaders share results and act on them.
- Stay interviews: Ask current employees what keeps them and what might make them leave (19.4).
- Focus groups and committees: Labor-management or employee advisory committees give structured input on schedules, policies, and technology.
- Warning signs: Rising turnover, sick leave use, grievances, and declining QA scores often signal morale problems before surveys do.
5. Measuring Results and Giving Feedback
Sources of Performance Information
QA reviews (16.2), MIS and CAD data (answer times, abandoned call handling, CAD entry errors), direct observation, peer and responder feedback, and caller commendations and complaints.
Appraisal Methods
| Method | How It Works | Strengths | Cautions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graphic rating scale | Rate traits or duties on a numeric scale | Simple and familiar | Vague anchors invite rater error |
| Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) | Each rating level describes specific observable behavior | Clear and defensible; reduces subjectivity | Takes effort to develop |
| Management by objectives (MBO) | Employee and supervisor agree on objectives and measure achievement | Focuses on results and development | Objectives must be within the employee's control |
| Critical incident method | Supervisor records notable effective and ineffective events all year | Specific examples for feedback | Requires steady documentation |
| 360-degree (multi-rater) feedback | Input from supervisors, peers, subordinates, and partners | Broad perspective, useful for leaders | Needs trust and confidentiality; best for development |
| Narrative essay | Written description of performance | Flexible | Hard to compare across employees |
Common Rater Errors
| Error | Description | Prevention |
|---|---|---|
| Halo | One strong trait inflates all ratings | Rate each dimension separately against anchors |
| Horns | One weakness drags down all ratings | Same as above |
| Leniency | Rating everyone high | Calibrate with other supervisors |
| Strictness | Rating everyone low | Calibrate and review against standards |
| Central tendency | Rating everyone in the middle | Require examples for each rating |
| Recency | Overweighting the last few weeks | Keep notes throughout the rating period |
| Similar-to-me | Favoring employees like the rater | Training and multiple raters |
| Contrast | Rating one employee against the previous one instead of the standard | Compare to written standards only |
Feedback Practices
Give frequent informal feedback, recognize good performance promptly, and hold formal reviews on a set schedule. Nothing in a formal appraisal should surprise the employee.
6. Implementing Improvement Strategies
- Coaching: A private, specific conversation about the gap, its causes, and next steps.
- Individual development plan: Training, mentoring, or practice scenarios targeted to the gap.
- System fixes: When the cause is a tool, staffing, or process problem, fix the system (the Just Culture approach in 16.2).
- Performance improvement plan (PIP): A written plan that lists specific deficiencies, measurable expectations, the support and training the agency will provide, check-in dates, the review timeline, and the consequences of not meeting expectations.
- Progressive discipline: Used when misconduct or continued failure to meet standards warrants it (17.3).
- Recognition: Reinforce improvement and strong performance through awards, commendations, and informal thanks.
7. Evaluating Results
After improvement efforts, compare performance data with the baseline, review whether standards remain realistic, and update training or processes if many employees struggle with the same standard. Widespread shortfalls often point to a system problem rather than individual performance.
8. Customer Service and Stakeholder Satisfaction
Who the Customers Are
- Callers: Expect a prompt answer, professionalism, and help.
- Field responders: Need accurate, timely information and radio support.
- Partner agencies: Depend on reliable transfers, mutual aid, and data sharing.
- Elected officials and governing boards: Need performance information and responsiveness.
- The community: Judges the center through media coverage, public education, and personal experiences.
Building a Service Program
- Service standards: Answer times, courtesy expectations, and response to administrative inquiries.
- Complaint process: Log every complaint, acknowledge it promptly, review recordings and CAD data, respond to the complainant, and track trends. Protect employee due process during reviews.
- Satisfaction feedback: Caller callback surveys, responder surveys, and partner agency meetings.
- Transparent reporting: Annual reports and dashboards on call volume, answer times, and improvement efforts.
- Balancing protocol and service: Explain to the public why telecommunicators ask questions even while help is already on the way.
9. Operational Traps & ENP Exam Watch
- Behaviors Over Traits: Rate observable job behaviors, not personality traits.
- BARS Reduce Subjectivity: Behaviorally anchored scales describe what each rating level looks like.
- Recency Error: Documenting performance all year prevents overweighting recent events.
- A PIP Is Specific: Deficiencies, expectations, support, timelines, and consequences all belong in the plan.
- Customers Include Responders: In 9-1-1, field units and partner agencies are customers alongside callers.
A supervisor rates a telecommunicator 'excellent' in every category because the employee is outstanding at calming hysterical callers, despite documented attendance problems and CAD accuracy errors. Which rater error is this?
Which appraisal method describes specific, observable behaviors at each rating level, such as what a 3 versus a 5 looks like for location verification?
Which element belongs in a well-constructed performance improvement plan (PIP)?