'It's toxic': Chatham 911 Center employee survey alleges lack of training, faulty technology

A survey of Chatham 911 employees contains allegations that the call center is a toxic workplace, that they don't receive enough training and pay, and are forced to use faulty technology, including a computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system implemented in October 2023. Savannah Morning News obtained the staff survey via an open records request.

Chatham 911 employs 90 workers, and more than 87% responded to the questionnaire, which was conducted by Chatham County Human Resources at the request of 911 Communications Director Diane Pinckney. Of the 78 employees who answered the survey, 35 were communications officers, 17 were supervisors or managers or department heads, 10 were call-takers, and six were administrators.

A review of the survey, filed in December 2023, comes as Chatham 911 faces increasing scrutiny for unanswered calls, long wait times for ambulance dispatches, and complaints about lack of attention and urgency by emergency medical technicians, as detailed in a Board of County Commissioners workshop in mid-January. The workshop also revealed that staffing shortages coupled with a high number of calls from both residents and tourists, some that are not emergencies, has hampered Chatham 911's efficacy and efficiency.

In late February, SMN reported that there were about 25,000 more abandoned 911 emergency calls in 2023 than in the previous two years, despite the total number of 911 calls remaining about the same.

More: With rise in complaints about Chatham 911, officials details staff shortages, mapping issues

More: Had trouble reaching 911? Chatham County attributes abandoned calls to technical glitches

‘This is the most unprofessional environment I have ever worked in’

Responses in the survey point to decreasing morale.

In the survey, employees said supervisors rarely visit the center during their 12-hour shifts. If the supervisors do, the employees said, it is to discipline an employee. But, employees also said, discipline is doled out unfairly; those who are favored by the supervisors, are disciplined less than those who are not. Other times, the whole group is disciplined for one employee’s mistake, instead of solely the employee who committed the error, said the employees.

“We NEED help,” one employee wrote in the survey. “Tell the public the truth about what is going on here. We are busy and can't answer the phones and be on a channel too. You put too much on an already tough job and the public thinks they are right about everything. We ARE mentally, physically and emotionally tired!”

“The environment here is awful to say the least,” said another employee. “It's toxic and horrible to be in. We have stressful jobs as it is, but when you dread getting up to come here it makes it worse. Bullying happens, nasty comments are made for no reason, and no one is held accountable. It's one thing to joke with people, but it's another to make fun, bully, and harass others and you wonder why we can't maintain staff levels.”

Chatham County Public Information Director Catherine Glasby declined to make Pinckney available for an interview. In response to an emailed list of questions, Glasby wrote that efforts were already underway to improve working conditions at the center.

"Regarding the toxic work environment, management is actively involved in resolving conflicts and addressing workplace issues. They work closely with 911 supervisors and Human Resources to handle conflicts as they arise,” she wrote.

‘The procedure to request time off is biased and unfair’

Most survey respondents expressed displeasure with the procedure to request time off, and some employees were not satisfied with the amount of time off they were ultimately approved for.

After the COVID pandemic began in March 2020, the 911 center went from an 8-hour shift to a 12-hour shift ― a protocol that hasn’t changed, according to multiple employees and confirmed by Glasby. Despite the increased number of hours worked, the amount of paid time off the employees receive has stayed the same. The schedule allows employees to receive two weekends off a month unless they choose to work overtime, added Glasby.

Employees said they are only allowed to request time off on a month-to-month basis. Additionally, time-off requests are based on seniority, with supervisors receiving priority for sick leave over lower-level employees, which Glasby also corroborated.

Employees added that there is a “six-month black out period for new employees,” meaning new employees are barred from taking time off for the first six months of their employment.

To prevent employee burnout, Glasby responded that the 911 Center does not have a mandatory overtime requirement. The normal schedule is 15 days per month with every other weekend from Friday through Sunday off. "This schedule was selected by the 911 Center personnel," Glasby said.

Most employees would rather work fewer hours, but can’t due to understaffing at the 911 center, according to the survey. Glasby did confirm that the department was down 16 employees. This staff shortage has led to a requirement that employees provide a doctor's note needed for one or more days of absence.

Glasby explained, “When staffing levels improve, the requirement will be removed, and sick leave usage issues will be handled on a case-by-case basis.”

‘Change back to the old system and upgrade that’

The survey also revealed additional errors in the state-of-the-art computer-aided dispatch system, which was installed six months ago.

Some employees said they didn’t want the CAD system in the first place. When the new CAD system was implemented, the employees said it had bugs in it, sometimes causing it to crash unexpectedly.

Some employees have taken issue with the large number of call-types within the new CAD system, which they claim are too general in the information they provide. Employees have said they reported the issues with the technology to management, but there have been no fixes to it, much less acknowledgement. Employees also added that they haven’t received sufficient training to learn how to handle the technology.

“Change back to the old system and upgrade that to be honest,” said another employee. “Why fix something that wasn’t broken?”

Glasby affirmed that issues with the technology have been addressed since the survey was taken. In January a planned upgrade occurred that fixed the bugs. Since then, she added, 911 Center staff have received additional CAD training "on top of the 10,000 training hours they already had before the implementation of the CAD system."

Training will continue, Glasby said, and there will be an update to the 911 telephone system once the County Commission approves it in April.

‘We are constantly being given more work/duties without more pay’

Employees also expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of career advancement within Chatham 911. One employee said only a select number of employees can attend annual telecommunications conferences. Those chosen, the employee said, are based on a vote during telecommunications week by employees.

Some employees complained that those with less dispatch experience were promoted instead of them. Other employees complained that they had to wait for other employees to retire for them to be considered for promotion.

Some employees felt like they should be paid a more competitive salary. Call-taker trainee positions start at an annual salary of $37,938, according to Glasby. Upon completion of training and assignment to a shift, a 10% salary increase is given. Not including overtime, call-takers may earn an annual salary of $45,904.99.

‘We have had employees make suicidal statements’

Considering call-takers work in a high-pressure environment when people are in distress and in emergency situations, some survey respondents said that did not receive enough mental health support or training.

One employee alleged Chatham 911 Deputy Director Russ Palmer forced them to pay for their own training. Another employee said that they were not provided counseling after a co-worker’s suicide.

“We are given a [Chaplain] (who calls us by the wrong name), or maybe a counselor for a day if we need to talk to someone,” said one employee. “We are never given debriefings like the police to provide some sort of closure. We worked our own [co-employee's] suicide while on shift with no relief. Knowing she was deceased we had to finish our shift.”

According to Glasby, two Chatham 911 employees have died, one in 2016 and another in 2018. "Employees were offered EAP services and chaplains were brought in to talk with staff.”

In December 2023, the department officially brought on a chaplain. The chaplain and Pinckney met with staff in February 2024, said Glasby, who added that employees can request Employee Assistance services or the chaplain through HR.

One employee wrote, “I hope these surveys are used to improve the 911 center.”

Drew Favakeh is the public safety and courts reporter for Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at AFavakeh@Gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Chatham 911 Center employees allege unfair, unprofessional environment