Provided by Spillman Technologies Inc.
One thing that impacts almost every person, regardless of what industry they work in, is technology. And with the present-day rate of innovation and discovery, technology is constantly changing, making everyone else scramble to keep up. For professionals in the public safety industry, this challenge can be magnified as they try to cater to the needs of various agency roles, as well as the needs of their community. For example, dispatchers need innovative software that helps facilitate quick and efficient call response, while officers need body-worn cameras that easily integrate with the existing software. In addition, community members need a quick and easy way to interact with their agency and view statistical information. Selecting the right technology for an agency can be a daunting task, and making sure it stays up-to-date can be even harder.
Why is Technology a Priority?
The technology used at an agency touches every single employee. From dispatch, to incident handling, to reporting, technology influences each step of the process and therefore must remain as high a priority as hiring the right personnel. There are a couple of ways to help keep technology a priority. The first is having leadership support behind every technology decision or purchase. Administrators must be involved in the process of choosing technology that will impact the lives of not only the personnel at their agency, but also the members of their community. Chiefs and sheriffs are the leaders who detail the vision and direction for their agency. Therefore, they are the best individuals to supply a specific, strategic plan to help maintain a level of state-of-the-art technology for their personnel.
The selection process requires a considerable amount of due diligence, and administrators are often too busy to know everything they need to in order to make a well informed decision. They must make sure that the technology that they purchase aligns with the vision and mission statement that they have set forth for their agency. But they also need to know that it will work for every department and team within the agency. That’s where the next step comes into play: creating a technology committee.
What is a Technology Committee?
A technology committee is one of the easiest and most effective ways to define technology’s place within an agency. A typical committee is composed of representatives from each department or team impacted by the technology used at the agency. Bringing these teams together under one committee helps unify the agency and ensures that no one unit is isolated or working against another unit. Administration should always be on the committee as well to maintain the overall vision for an agency to ensure that, for example, even the public safety software in place aligns with that vision.
In this example, with an agency choosing a new software provider, the technology committee can attend each of meeting and vendor demonstration and then help spread the information down to each department. Any concerns or questions can then be funneled back up through the committee, which helps everyone at the agency have a voice. When the committee meets to make a decision on which software to implement, each representative can make sure the needs and concerns of their team members are being addressed with the decision. This also helps administrators identify problem areas that they may not have known about or considered otherwise during the decision process. After implementation, the committee should monitor and give formal structure to the technology system in place.
With this structure in place, it is again easier for communication and instruction regarding the technology to move down to all parties, without leaving anyone in the dark. Because technology is always changing, keeping the committee in place at all times helps the agency to constantly assess how the technology is performing and what points could be improved upon. Members of the committee can help administrators understand additional needs they have, what technology is available for those needs, when to replace it, and how to budget for it. Together, the committee members work to get the results they need from their public safety technology.
Lastly, the committee should create a policy and procedure for the agency’s technology strategy. Administrators must formalize a process by actually writing it down. They should create a written record of the procedure for how they organize their technology committee, such as who serves on the committee, how long they serve, and how rotations in and out of the committee work. A process that is written down is much more likely to succeed and makes each member accountable for its proper implementation. In addition, by making succession plans, administrators help ensure that the committee and the strategy will last longer than a few years, or even the term of that chief or sheriff.
In today’s public safety industry, there is no excuse for an agency to have technology at the bottom of the priority list. Technology committees provide agency administration with a tangible way to implement their software goals and ensure that technology as a whole remains a priority.
