KEY SKILLS of a DISPATCHER

• Be calm - nobody likes a loud and stressed Dispatcher, it makes it awkward and uncomfortable for everyone and generally puts our team in a bad light. If people aren't calling up to attend incidents, leave it there, you can only ask. If there are on-going issues with certain officers, ask to speak to an on duty supervisor to escalate this. Likewise, people that are having issues with radio protocol, calmly remind them of what it is in text based or in person, if they continue, speak to a supervisor. Don't start having a shouting match over the radio trying to talk over them.

• Be assertive - there are times you will need to take control, especially when it is incredibly busy. If you need people to stop talking or calling up on the radio try saying "All callsigns standby unless urgent", if they have an urgent message to pass, let them. This will give you ample time to finish an incident, call or other admin tasks.

• Don't stress - as we've stated, if incidents can't be resourced so be it, as Dispatchers we can only try to resource every job that comes in. Potentially we'll just need to leave it open and try asking for officers in 10 minutes time. Don't let updating incidents and assigning units consume your role if you're by yourself. Sometimes it can be better to broadcast the information required and assign units once they've arrived rather than multitasking this or neglecting other bits.