News

Members of the OFCA may write and submit articles for posting, as well as view regular columns that will appear on the site. Check this section for updates and details; the columns that will appear here will cover topics that are relevant to your interests!

 

Food For Thought

 

TEXTING, CELL PHONE & E-MAIL MANIA – what message are YOU sending??

All members of the OFCA are “Communicators” in our own right. We are front-line Communicators in Dispatch. We are Supervisors in Communications Centres. We are Managers who oversee the Supervisors and front-line Communicators. We are Technicians and Teachers and Service Providers. We have two things in common – we all play a vital role in the delivery of emergency service communications – and we all rely on modes of instant connection - texting, cell phones and e-mails in order to communicate with each other and perform our daily duties.

Yes, technology can be a wonderful tool. However, there is the danger of losing ourselves and our ability to communicate effectively in the process.

How do we know when we’re crossing that line? See if you recognize yourself in any of the following:

• You are part of an interview panel, but still checking messages and offering apologies because you’re “expecting an important message”.
• You schedule meetings with others and all the while stop to check your messages every time the notification on your phone activates, offering “sorry” each time.
• You attend meetings or training seminars and sit texting as the Facilitator or a fellow attendee addresses the group.
• You sit chatting one-on-one with a co-worker and text/check messages throughout the conversation.
• You conduct routine communications with co-workers two offices down (or in the same room!) via e-mail or text rather than walking over to speak with them or dial their phone extension.
• Your children text you 50 times a day while you are working, because they can.
• Even though the law dictates otherwise, you are still texting/dialing while driving.

So what if we’re guilty of one or two or all seven points? Does it matter? Is any harm really done?

The harm lies in the breakdown of professional relationships. It lies in making our peers and colleagues and facilitators feel that they are truly not worth our time – that they are far less important than whatever messages we desperately need to send and receive. Liken it to an endless rotation from the phone call you are on to your “call waiting” at home. When we constantly switch from line to line, who would believe that our conversation really matters to us?

There are certainly efficiencies to be realized through modern technology. Parents can stay in touch with their children. Storm warnings, assignments, directives, updates and breaking news – they all reach us faster than our grandparents would have ever dreamed possible. Yes, there are many reasons to be thankful for our ever expanding ways to communicate quickly.

Just as there are reasons to wonder if we are trading in one skill set for another….

In specific situations, there will always be the ‘need for speed’ when communicating with others. Still…

I would rather sit face-to-face with a co-worker or hear their voice on the phone rather than risk misinterpretation of e-mails that leave the reader surmising what tone was intended with the typed message. We’ve all had someone misunderstand our message at one time or another.

I would rather have a Facilitator start the session by saying “Please, all cell phones and Blackberry’s are to be turned off until break”, so that respect is shown for all concerned and the seminar content is actually given the attention it deserves. Somehow, we all forget that there are others in place to handle emergencies in our absence – yet we sit poised and ready to respond as if the fate of the world depended solely upon us. Yes, there will be those days where we must be on stand-by for an important message – but it is really about critical incidents or more about habit and the need to remain in the loop?

I would rather schedule in quality family time each day to update each other and enjoy eye contact and conversation with a young person or partner than to carry out the bulk of our relationship through some form of technology. And I would rather have those I love return safely home, rather than have them texting or calling while driving to let me know where they are.

We live in a world of fragmented, detached relationships – both personal and professional. We may be in touch with technology, but we are out of touch with each other. And at the end of the day, if I can validate someone by giving them my full attention in person or by turning off my cell to listen attentively, then I have treated someone with the caring and respect they deserve.

 

Terry Hubbard

Professional Standards Setting Body Update

My role as a member of the Professional Standards Setting Body is to not only attend the meetings on a regular basis, but actively support the concept, philosophy and operational decisions of the PSSB. I actively participate in the decision-making process and hope to always make positive contributions at the meetings on behalf of Communications in the Fire Service. I am then asked to report back to our Association.

This year the Company Officer’s Standard is due to be updated. This Standard is undergoing a significant change and will nicely fit with the Ontario Senior Officer Standards. Generic Competencies will be decided upon that will apply to all divisions of the fire service. As well Communications Specific Competencies will appear in the new standard. I believe this is a great example of how the process is changing and recognizing Communications in the Fire Service. When this document is complete if you are in a supervisory role you will be able to refer to this new Ontario Officers Standard and find all the skills specific performance objectives that apply to your job.

I look forward to keeping OFCA members informed of the progress of the Professional Standards Setting Body.

 

Sue Dawson