D.C. Call Center Offers Dispatchers Massive Bonus for Showing Up

Washington D.C. is offering 911 dispatchers an $800 bonus for showing up to all their scheduled shifts.

At a Glance

Staff at Washington, DC’s 911 call center are being offered an $800 monthly bonus for attending all scheduled shifts.
The incentive was announced via an email from Office of Unified Communications director Heather McGaffin.
The bonus aims to address staffing issues at the call center.
Unscheduled call outs are causing hardships for other employees who have to cover extra shifts.
Staffing at the 911 call center was critically low.

911 Dispatchers in DC Offered $800 Bonus

The Office of Unified Communications in Washington D.C. announced that 911 dispatchers will receive an $800 bonus for attending all scheduled shifts. This measure aims to address severe staffing issues within the call center, as it has struggled to meet minimum staffing levels.

Director Heather McGaffin sent an email to employees stating the new incentive. “Starting immediately all 911 employees who show up for all of their scheduled shifts will receive an $800 incentive for the month,” McGaffin wrote. She emphasized the importance of staffing for the agency’s success: “Unscheduled call outs of all kinds are up and causing a hardship for fellow employees who are continuously getting stuck, coming in early, and being asked to come in on days off.”

Ongoing Staffing Issues

The call center has faced chronic understaffing, with minimum staffing levels unmet 88% of the time in July. In June, 31 of 65 shifts were understaffed, marking an increase from 16 of 66 shifts in May. These shortages place immense pressure on existing employees, who are frequently required to cover extra shifts due to unscheduled call outs.

Concerns have arisen that the dispatch system in D.C. is unreliable. In 2021, an audit reportedly revealed a number of issues — not just staffing problems but also a lack of training and oversight. “We basically found a dysfunctional agency, all across the board,” said city auditor Kathleen Patterson.

The staffing woes have spurred the institution of this pilot program, which takes effect immediately and applies to the month of August. The call center’s operational problems are not limited to staffing. It has also experienced significant technological challenges, with the emergency call system going offline multiple times this year, resulting in one instance where a family couldn’t reach 911, leading to the death of their 5-month-old baby.

Emergency call center dispatchers in the District will get an $800 bonus if they show up for all of their scheduled shifts for a given month, officials said Tuesday in an internal email. https://t.co/5uUeyqQQO0

— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) August 14, 2024

Broader Issues at the Call Center

Additional incidents have highlighted broader failings in the system. DC Councilmember Charles Allen acknowledged the ongoing challenges, stating, “Not a week goes by that I don’t have a constituent reach out who couldn’t get through, had to wait a long time for first responders to be dispatched in an emergency, or had the wrong – or no – response arrive on scene.”

The situation was deemed critical enough for the DC Fire and EMS to create a shadow dispatch operation due to the system’s unreliability. OUC did not respond immediately to requests for comments on the new incentive program.

Despite the current challenges, the Office of Unified Communications continues to recruit actively, aiming to resolve these staffing and technological issues. The OUC spokesperson, Anna Noakes, expressed appreciation for the hard work of the team and reaffirmed the commitment to improving agency performance.