CritiCall Success Stories

I have never experienced this type of customer service before…

I want to let you know how much I appreciated the assistance of Howie Pearsol (CritiCall Client Relations Manager). I just installed CritiCall 5.2 late this afternoon and we had an issue with our computers. We need to use the software starting at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow!

I left Howie an urgent email at 4:53 this afternoon and he called me from his home…I have never experienced this type of customer service before and it is amazing!

It’s so easy to complain but most of us never recognize those who go beyond their “normal” routine. I hope you will let Howie know how much his willingness to help us after-hours really means to me. He definitely deserves the “atta boy” for service over and beyond tonight.

– Nancy J. Paladino, Chief Examiner, Spokane County Civil Service Commission

CritiCall has been one of the most significant gains in the recruiting process…

911 is a support system that very few people think about until they need to dial 911 – Our emergency communications centre is the first voice of hope that anyone hears when calling for help. It impacts people in an extraordinary time of need. Our challenges and endeavors succeed because of our people involved, and by engaging the best people our organization can accomplish great deeds. Our best assets are the people who work in our emergency communications centre. The utilization of the CritiCall Pre-employment testing software affords our organization the ability to minimize the recruitment process time and ensure that our human resources are optimized so that best fit solutions are incorporated into our recruiting process. The fusion of the key characteristics, skills and traits required in emergency communication specialists is quickly identified with the CritiCall testing package. Since deploying the CritiCall testing software into our recruitment process our turnover rate has decreased dramatically and operational performance has increased, creating greater employee satisfaction, morale, and optimal customer service to our key stakeholders and the community we serve. In my 25 years of public safety emergency service I can say, without a doubt, that the development of the CritiCall testing software has been one of the most significant gains in the recruiting process in the arena of public safety.

– Kim Gutwin, Supervisor of Regional Communication, EMS Division, Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region

I have been involved with test writing and development in the public sector since 1992, and CritiCall is one of the best testing tools for public safety dispatching I have ever seen. Not only does it allow for customization to the individual organizational needs, it provides a built-in validation module which is extremely easy for subject matter experts and HR analysts to use and understand. Candidates frequently tell me they have never taken a test which is so closely relates to what they do on the job. After I demonstrated this product to another agency in our valley, they purchased it immediately! I’d recommend this product to any public sector organization that wants a valid and reliable tool for their public dispatching recruitment process.

– Jeanne Hudgins, Senior Employment Analyst, City of Henderson (Nevada)

 CritiCall is one of those main factors that weeds out people that aren’t suitable for the job. CritiCall saves us time by having applicants take themselves out of the hiring process. They come out of testing saying, “I know I can’t do this job, if that (the testing) is what it (the job) is like.” CritiCall saves us money, because training is extremely expensive and we find out quickly who to train, and who to not. We will use CritiCall for many years to come. CritiCall is one of those tools that we cannot do without.

– Lori Powers, Director E911 Centre, City of Windsor Police Service, Windsor, ON

 [Using CritiCall] has helped speed up the testing process. We went from testing quarterly to now testing as soon as we have pre-qualified applicants. We have saved money and resources and hired more qualified individuals in the process.

– Amy Smith, Human Resources, City of Jacksonville Beach, FL

 The candidates we have now are of a much better quality than we have hired in the past so we are completely sold on the software. We believe this software will pay for itself just by the sheer fact that we aren’t putting people through a training process in our Dispatch Center and then finding out that they can’t handle the job or don’t like the job.

– Tonia S. Ward, Administrative Assistant, Fairborn Police Department, OH

 We completed a hiring session earlier this month. CritiCall, as has been our practice, played an important part in the selection process. We are very pleased with the program. The quality of hires selected has improved greatly since we incorporated CritiCall into our operations.

– Jim Copenhaver, 9-1-1 Administrative Coordinator, Harrison County Bureau of Emergency Services, WV

As an “observer” of the dispatch employees, I can say that the caliber of employees we have hired since implementing CritiCall has significantly improved. We’ve hired about fifteen this year and they are smart, inquisitive, motivated, excited, they learn quickly and appear to have a good work-ethic. Prior to implementing CritiCall it was common for us to spend an entire day interviewing candidates only to have just one or two with which we were impressed enough to advance them to the background check phase; sometimes we didn’t have even one person at the end of the day! Since using CritiCall, our interview board members are advancing 70% to 80% of the candidates to the background check phase. As you recall, it took me a long time to implement CritiCall implemented, here. The benefits of using CritiCall have been validated and — having pushed for it — I feel a bit validated too!

– Marianne Wolf, Support Services Manager, Yolo County Communications Emergency Service Agency, CA

 We currently use CritiCall for the initial screening in our hiring process and are extremely pleased with the results and the software in general. I love it! The biggest reason is because it’s very hands on (computer based) so it not only tests applicants’ ability but also gives us a view of their comfort level using computers on their own and with no direction. The score reports are great because I can show the applicant — directly from the printout — what their scores are as compared to what is passing. It’s hard for anyone to argue with the results when they are right there in black and white.

– Annie LaFleur, Supervisor, Weld County Regional Communications, CO

 In 2000, before we started using CritiCall, we successfully trained and retained only 15% of our new hires. In mid-2001, we began to use CritiCall and our retention rate rose to 54%. In 2002, we did even better, retaining 86% of our new-hires. Believe it or not, the next year we had a 100% retention rate! CritiCall was not the only change we made …, but I consider it to be one of the most integral parts.

– Susan Koch, Training Coordinator, Washington County 911, OR

 In case I hadn’t expressed this to you, I want you to know we are very happy with your product. It does a great job of separating out those with the requisite abilities from those without, and it’s face validity is a big plus.

– Don White, Personnel Analyst Supervisor, Columbus Civil Service Commission, OH

 CritiCall testing has allowed us to test in areas that our previous standardized testing didn’t. It allows testing of multi-tasking skills, data entry, and other vital tasks related to hearing, understanding, and responding to various tests in a computer environment. I believe we have been able to save time by not hiring people who do not have the skills to work in a computerized environment. This testing and improved pre-service training regimen has improved our retention of new hires.

– Sandra Simonds, Communications Manager, York County Communications

 CritiCall has made the testing process comprehensive and it can be tailored to the needs of the organization.

– Robert Farr, Communications Training Assistant, Phoenix Police Department, AZ

 Prior to using CritiCall, we had to run candidates through three separate tests, which unreasonably extended the testing process. Now our testing is done quickly, efficiently, and with a more up-to-date process which more closely simulates the day-to-day operations of our dispatch center. It’s like coming out of the Stone Age!

– Robert Hansen, Lieutenant, Medford Police Department, OR

 The program is user-friendly on both the administrator and the applicant. Biddle [Consulting Group – the publisher and distributor of CritiCall] has been very accommodating when needed.

– Sherrie Matthews, Training Coordinator, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, FL

 [CritiCall] has dramatically reduced our turnover rate since we started using it over two years ago. We have not lost anyone to training failure and our turnover is less than half of what it was in prior years.

– Kathy Sukus, Operations Manager, Rock County Communications Center, WI

 CritiCall covers each of these key areas for us and is a very realistic simulation of our dynamic environment, not to mention it requires very little to no time to administer and is very easy to implement. I just wanted to let you know how pleased we are with CritiCall. I would be happy to share the word with others considering your product and you are welcome to add me to your reference list.

– Cindy Thomas, RESPONSE Services Center, Columbia, MD