Austin Police Department West Point Leadership Academy Project

Why 3-1-1? Reduce an already overburdened system –Currently taking almost one million calls per year Reduce response time for officers –Taking more police reports over the phone, taking about 5000 per month now Improve the quality of life –Single point of contact for police services

Problems With Implementation Initial cost Educating the public Training current staff Space allocation Database for APD personnel Database for City services

Areas of Interest Getting the supervisory staff onboard Employee resistance to change Shift assignments Creating training manual Creating S.O.P.’s

Application of WPLA Theories Adult development Equity Expectancy Job design Decision making VDL Managing conflict Situational leadership

Select Strategies Adult development- almost all employees are in the early adulthood or the entering the adult world stage Equity- restore the employee’s perception of equity in a manner consistent with organizational goals Expectancy- provide outstanding training to all employees to ensure success

Select Strategies-continued Instrumentality- designate certain lead positions for only those that are proficient at –Allow shift bids by skills acquired Valence- will the employee want the promotion or the desired shift?

Select Strategies-continued Job design-combining tasks: personnel will now take PBX, 3-1-1, as well as Vertical loading- allow call takers to train additional personnel, including supervisors Forming natural work units- all call takers will be in a new area together Establishing client relationships- allowing call takers to call back customers to ensure satisfaction

Select Strategies-continued Opening feedback channels- conduct monthly meetings with management –Job surveys done monthly for six months, then each quarter Superordinate goal- show pie charts and graphs that allow all employees to see the role they are playing in the reduction of response times Liaison group-to meet monthly to discuss issues pertaining to particular functions

Select Strategies- continued Decision making-allow the employees to design the templates they will be utilizing –Allow employees to schedule training and staffing levels Situational Leadership-enlighten supervisors to alter their behaviors as the employees progress in development of the new skills VDL- bringing more personnel into the “in group” to have additional resources

Take Action Form a group to work on templates Form a group to work on the training manual Form a group to work on the S.O.P.’s Create quality assurance checklist Create APD database Create citywide database

Take Action-continued Create new job survey Establish monthly supervisory meetings to discuss overall issues Conduct new shift bids Rotation of all personnel as soon as training is complete

Assess Results Quality assurance database- in comparison with current levels Statistics for response times Statistics for call volumes Job surveys done monthly for six months, then quarterly Employee turnover rates