New Year’s Eve is the last hurrah of the holiday season - one last night to enjoy big parties, overindulge in food and drinks, and celebrate with friends and family.
While there’s plenty of fun to be had on New Year’s Eve, the New Year’s Eve holiday period is also one of the most dangerous periods to be on the road - it’s got one of the highest numbers of alcohol-related driving fatalities of the year.
At KOVA, we want you and your family to have a happy, safe, and healthy New Year, so we’re sharing these public safety tips for the holiday.
And as we all know, one of the biggest things you can do to ensure your safety is to keep your drink with you at all times, even when you go to the bathroom. If you must leave your drink for a minute, give it to a close friend whom you trust.
And if fireworks aren’t legal where you live, then obviously you shouldn’t engage in this activity. Law enforcement is generally even more vigilant than usual on holidays, especially New Year’s Eve, so you can be fairly sure that you’ll end up facing the consequences of your actions.
We at KOVA are grateful to our public safety workers for working hard this holiday season to make sure the rest of us have safe and happy holidays. If we can help your public safety agency improve its functionality with a software solution like workforce optimization or Situation Management technology, please contact us!
The advent of smartphones has changed a lot of things about our daily lives. We tweet and post our Facebook status on the go, we take pictures of everything from our dogs to our food, and we can summon up a song, movie, or TV show while we’re out shopping, or on the beach.
Another thing that the smartphone has changed? Public safety. Now that almost everyone has a little camera and video recorder in her pocket, there’s a whole lot more data out there, and much of it can be valuable to public safety and law enforcement officials.
Take a purse-snatcher, for example. If someone comes up behind a woman, snatches her purse, and takes off running, there’s a good chance that someone who saw the incident will pull out their cell phone to start recording. Maybe they won’t get a shot of the thief’s face, but they may record some identifying feature, like hair, or clothes. That person would also have a record of the exact time and location at which the theft happened, whereas the victim may be too shaken to remember precise details like that.
So how can law enforcement and public safety officials make the most out of crowdsourced data?
Citizens have always been an important part of keeping a community safe, whether through calls to a tip line or by responding to a missing persons flyer—today they just have more ways to engage with law enforcement, and with less effort. Departments that aren’t taking advantage of this resource could be missing a valuable opportunity.
Johns Creek officers can send out notification bulletins as well as report on incidents like robberies or car accidents. The app also links with the department’s Facebook and Twitter pages, allowing users to easily interact with the police force.
This kind of security software allows for multiple people at multiple locations to view real-time data and collaborate as needed. Security software operators can pull data from social media feeds, public safety apps, and phone- and web-based tip lines. When this information is added to data that comes in on traditional channels, officers and officials can create a more complete picture of any given incident.
While public safety officials must use their judgment when investigating claims that come from crowdsourcing, there’s no question that the power of the crowd can be of huge benefit to police departments and other public safety organizations. If you’re planning on implementing physical security information management software to help reach your public safety goals, KOVA can help—contact us today!
Police officers, firefighters, EMS workers, 911 dispatchers—these are the brave individuals who selflessly serve and protect our communities.
These people have some of the most difficult, and thankless, jobs around. But they’re not in it for the thanks. These men and women do what they do out of a strong sense of duty and the desire to make their neighborhoods, towns, and cities, safer, stronger places.
That’s even more reason why we should go out of our way to thank them for their service this holiday season. Here are a few ways you can show your appreciation for everything these people do to make our lives better.
This holiday season, consider writing a letter or card to one of your community public safety departments just to thank them in general for the good work they do. You could pick a station that serves your area, for example, and drop off the note with a wreath, or some other festive accompaniment. Are you a teacher? Your class could “adopt” a fire, police, or EMS station and write cards of thanks to the workers there.
Of course, coffee is a welcome treat any time of day, so if getting there at 6 a.m. is a stretch, just drop it off when you can. Workers are in and out of stations all day, so chances are someone will be there to enjoy it at some point.
We hope this list gives you some good ideas for how to thank your community’s police, fire, and EMS workers this holiday season. We at KOVA care deeply about the public safety organizations and people we work with, and want to express our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for all they do to protect and serve the rest of us in our communities.
To learn more about how we’re working to make public safety workers’ jobs easier in the field, read about our app, SilentPartner.
The holiday season is a wonderful time for all kinds of reasons - but for many people it’s also one of the most stressful times of the year.
This can be especially true for public safety professionals like law enforcement, firefighters, 911 dispatchers, and EMS workers. Part of this is due to the fact that so many of them have to work on the holidays, potentially missing out on quality time with family and friends.
But another, often bigger, reason for stress during this time is the fact that if they’re called into action on Christmas Eve, for example, the people they’re helping are likely to be having an even harder time than usual. Calling an ambulance for a family member is always scary; doing it on a day that’s supposed to be one of love and celebration is even scarier.
Because of this, it’s very important that public safety professionals find ways to de-stress this time of year. Here are a few helpful things you can do that will help you relax and refresh your mind and body.
Public safety workers got into their jobs because they wanted to help people - that’s at the core of what they do. But helping people in life-threatening or crisis situations day in and day out can take its toll on the emotions, leaving you feeling depleted instead of fulfilled.
But there are small things you can do for people that will still make you feel great, without taking the emotional toll. Is an elderly person struggling to get their groceries in the car? Help them out, just because. See a mom or dad trying to get a stroller down stairs? Give them a hand - they’ll thank you, and the child will enjoy it too.
These little things will brighten up both your day and that of the person you help. And since these situations are hardly life and death, they’ll allow you to feel all the good that comes with being helpful and kind, without the stress that accompanies helping people in crisis situations.
Nothing replenishes our emotional stores like spending quality time with the people we love. Yet even though this is something we all know, somehow it’s also an activity that we seem to have trouble making time for.
It’s vital, however, in order to maintain and strengthen our relationships with each other. So the next time you’re feeling really stressed, try arranging a coffee or dinner date with someone you care about, and take the time to really listen and talk to one another. Leaving your distractions at home will only make your get-together more enjoyable.
Even if cooking is not something you usually enjoy, it can be fun to put make a recipe that’s easy, quick, or just different from what you generally eat. Sugar cookies are a breeze to whip up, and you can decorate them as simple or fancy as you like - just a swipe of icing will do, or you can go all out and paint snowman or Santa faces on them.
According to the Huffington Post, focusing on a recipe can distract you from outside stress, while ending up with a tangible, finished - and delicious! - product will give you a feeling of satisfaction.
Sunlight is a proven mood-lifter, so take the time to get outside and soak some up this holiday season. Many people suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, without realizing it, and sunlight can help alleviate these symptoms.
But even if you’re not a SAD sufferer, being in the sunlight still has major benefits. It stimulates your brain to release serotonin, the hormone which helps you feel happy, calm, and focused. And if you can, go for a walk or a run outside on a sunny day - exercise boosts serotonin, too.
Public safety professionals have to prioritize taking care of themselves if they’re going to be able to take care of others. To learn more about stress and this industry, read our blog post on the types of stress that 911 dispatchers often suffer from.
If KOVA can help your public safety organization improve its functioning through workforce optimization software, situation management software, or one of our other offerings, please contact us!
Working during the holidays is, unfortunately, often a fact of life for contact center agents. It can be hard to be one of the people for whom the holiday season means just another busy day on the job, instead of spending time relaxing with family.
When you’re manning the phones while everyone else is digging in to their holiday feasts, it can be understandably hard not to feel a little resentful. That’s why it’s so important for contact center managers to go the extra mile when it comes to agent morale around this time of year. Here are a few ways to keep your workforce happy during the busy holiday season.
We at KOVA hope that you, your families, and your work families have a happy and safe holiday! If we can help you improve your contact center with our workforce optimization solutions, contact us today!
Everyone knows that losing contact center agents to turnover is expensive. In fact, according to Quality Assurance and Training Connection, replacing one frontline agent can cost anywhere between $10,000 and $12,000. And when you multiply that by the high numbers of agents who end up leaving their jobs within a couple of years—between 30 and 45 percent—the costs become almost astronomical.
So what are the most effective ways to reduce call center agent turnover? Here are a few steps you can take to make sure your best agents decide to stick around.
Although this kind of pre-offer skill evaluation is gradually becoming more standard, many contact centers are still sticking to the typical resume-interview-offer order of things. While this can give you some idea of whether the person is a good fit, it’s nowhere near as useful as actually asking the candidate to perform a simulated call (with, of course, enough information about your company and the job requirements to help them succeed).
Consider incorporating some kind of test assignment into your hiring practices—it will not only help you weed out those who are obviously unfit for the position, but help you identify people with outstanding abilities, too.
One way you can help your agents achieve this is to make their software easier to use. No one wants to have to toggle in and out of 10 different programs to get their customer the information they need. Consider implementing programs that integrate all the data your agents use.
The same is true for those on the supervisory or management level. Workforce optimization programs like the Verint Media Recorder Workforce Management system can help your managers gain insight into every area of the organization, so they can staff appropriately, automate time-consuming tasks, and more.
Another way to increase your employees’ job satisfaction is to offer flexible scheduling, like allowing them to work from home for a certain amount of time per week or month, or offering three-day weekends at regular intervals.
And if you really want to increase employee retention, seriously consider using at-home agents. According to studies, contact centers using at-home agents experience a 35-50 percent lower employee turnover rate than those that don’t.
Are you working to reduce employee turnover at your contact center? If you’re looking to make your agents happier by implementing better software, KOVA can help. Contact us about our workforce optimization solutions today!
Contact centers sometimes get a reputation as tough places to work, but they really don’t have to be. Any job can be stressful if you’re working in an environment that doesn’t encourage productivity and success. Maybe the culture at your contact center hasn’t been as strong as you would like lately, or maybe you’re just looking for ways to keep things running smoothly. Whatever the case, we’ve put together some tips for you so that you can end the year on the right foot, and begin the next year the same way.
Keeping the workplace transparent and freeing up lines of communication are two of the best ways to maintain a positive work environment. This means keeping employees updated on important decisions that affect them. Without transparency, you allow speculation to run rampant, and employee morale will suffer accordingly. Being up front and honest with your employees will make life easier for everyone. Understand that this goes both ways, though. You want to make sure that it’s easy for employees to provide feedback without negative consequences. Keep the lines of communication open and flowing, and you’ll see that your employees are much happier.
Nothing saps morale like a long meeting that doesn’t come to any definitive answers, or seem to provide any benefit. Keeping meetings short and to the point is a great way to keep your employees happy and productive. A meeting that drags on and on is going to tire out everyone, yourself included. You won’t be able to keep every meeting as short as you’d like, but making the effort will result in a better work environment.
If you want a positive and productive work environment, you should be making sure that your training is top notch. Training should be hands-on and give the employee everything they need to succeed on a daily basis. If you don’t have the time you’d like to individually train your new employees, try using videos in your training program. We’ve all seen terrible training videos before, but it’s easier than you’d think to find or create great training videos. Employees work better when they’re confident in their own abilities and knowledge. Adequately training all your contact center employees is key to keeping things running smoothly.
Remember, training should never stop completely. New products, software, and services all require more training if they are going to be implemented successfully. Employees may not always think they need it, but keeping a few days out of the year for retraining and refresher courses is a good idea. This also allows you to evaluate your employees and help maintain a high level of service and productivity.
At KOVA, we understand that the daily pressures on you and your staff can sometimes keep you from achieving the culture you want for your contact center. Contact us today to learn more about our Verint Media Recorder Workforce Optimization suite, and what it can do help your contact center succeed.
There are plenty of different ways we keep ourselves and our loved ones safe at home, but once we leave the friendly confines of our house, we open ourselves up to a variety of new dangers. Luckily, we also have quite a few public safety measures in place to keep us safe and secure. The layers of security woven into our everyday lives are complex, and they are constantly evolving. The 911 emergency line wasn’t even in use until the late 60’s, so we can see that there have been some pretty significant changes along the way. But what’s next for public safety? Where are the trends pointing now? Let’s explore where public safety is going in the next year.
The calls for police officers to wear body cameras have been gathering more steam in the past few years, and it looks as though more precincts are going to be outfitting their officers with body cameras in the coming year. Currently, only about one in three police departments use body cameras, but the number is on the rise as communities around the country call for more transparency and accountability from their police forces. While there are still policy and implementation issues to work out for police departments, the interest in body cameras seems likely to increase in the coming year.
The threat posed by terrorism is on the minds of many people across the globe, and the fight against that threat is increasingly being waged on digital fronts. A new app called See Something, Send Something was recently unveiled, and it gives the average citizen the ability to report suspicious activity directly to law enforcement officials. The app is currently in use New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Louisiana, Colorado, and Virginia, but look for more states to embrace the app in the coming year. This app combines the fight against terrorism with the public’s love of smartphones, and it will definitely be expanding in 2016.
For a huge amount of Americans, checking social media is a daily routine. Originally, social media sites like Twitter and Facebook were for keeping up with friends, but they are increasingly being used as a source of news and updates. Many people no longer think to flip on the television if there is an emergency, but instead look to their phones for instant updates on social media sites. In the event of public emergencies and inclement weather, emergency service providers can quickly get instructions and warnings to the general public through social media outlets. The use of social media to disseminate information to the general public is only going to increase in 2016.
At KOVA, we understand the complex nature of public safety initiatives, and our cutting edge public safety software solutions can help simplify and streamline the needs of any organization. Contact us today if you think your organization could benefit from our help.
When people talk about the next big thing in public safety, “smart cities” is a term that inevitably comes up. The idea behind the smart cities movement is that by utilizing technology and data, we can create cities that are sustainable, healthy, and safe—in other words, cities built for the next generation and beyond.
Smart cities advocates are developing lots of innovations in the sphere. One of those is situation management software, like our Nextiva Physical Security Management system or the Verint SMC system.
By integrating data from many different sensors, this kind of software allows for better contextualizing of security data, and therefore a smarter, more efficient response.
Another recent development is smart streetlights. Developed by GE, smart streetlights are designed to do a lot more than just generate light. For one thing, they feature highly-efficient LED light bulbs that can last up to 20 years and save 50 to 70 percent of the electricity used by a standard streetlight.
Not only are they much better for the environment, but they can save cities huge amounts of money on electricity bills. This is an important feature, as over the past decade, some cities have resorted to simply turning their streetlights off, in order to save money. Efficient streetlights could therefore mean safer streets.
That’s just the beginning of what smart streetlights can offer, however. The lights come equipped with a series of sensors that can detect environmental conditions like light and weather, so the light can dim or brighten, and turn on and off as needed. They also are equipped with video so they can record and report traffic violations or accidents. The data can then be used to enhance public safety initiatives.
But perhaps the most important feature of these smart streetlights is the fact that cities that use them have access to GE’s Predix internet of things platform. Developers can then use the platform to create apps based on the data that the streetlights collect. The apps could be different for each city—it all depends on what each government wants and needs.
Now, there’s a new technology that’s being integrated with the smart streetlights in order to reduce crime. Called ShotSpotter, this system recognizes the sound of gunfire, pinpoints the exact location of the shots, and analyzes the shots, sending all the information to local law enforcement and PSAPs in less than a minute.
Currently, ShotSpotter is actively used or contracted to deploy in 90 cities across the country, including New Haven, CT; Oakland, CA; San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.
The technology can also be used to keep schools and colleges safer—one San Francisco high school deployed ShotSpotter on its campus this fall, with the hopes, of course, that the system will never go off.
The integration of ShotSpotter into the smart streetlights will enhance functionality for both the streetlights and for ShotSpotter. The most typical use of ShotSpotter on its own involves placing sensors in areas of high gun violence, rather than covering an entire city. This is primarily due to the cost of deploying the system.
By integrating the system into the streetlights however, entire cities can be covered without incurring that full cost. ShotSpotter and the smart streetlights can share the hardware that comes with the streetlights, so all that needs to be added is some ShotSpotter software and inexpensive microphones. This will make it much easier for cities that want to use ShotSpotter to cover as many square miles as they want, rather than just focusing on problem neighborhoods.
KOVA is proud to be a part of the movement toward smarter, safer cities, by providing PSAPs and public safety organizations with the software they need to collect, analyze, and distribute data more efficiently.
Technology like ShotSpotter are typically stands alone, but can be much more valuable when integrated into all of the data solutions you already have. Our Situational Awareness Platform can tie ALL of your solutions together into one interface that can be driven by Standard Operating Procedures you set so incidents are handled easily with little room for error.
Our public safety solutions can also help your organization improve communications (Impact 360 for Public Safety); upgrade to Next Generation 9-1-1 standards (Audiolog for Public Safety); and improve your emergency alert notification system (KEANS Services). Contact us today!
