International Control Room Week 2020
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This week is International Control Room Week and we are celebrating the incredible work of our Control Room staff.
Over the last seven months, call handlers and dispatchers have been faced with intense pressure in their roles as COVID 19 swept across the country.
They are on the front line, often the first team that members of the public contact in the hope they can answer their questions around new guidelines and restrictions.
All they can do is direct people to the gov.uk website.
Due to the nature of their work, it was impossible for everyone in our call centre to work from home - people were physically needed in the room to answer 101 and 999 calls.
But, team leaders quickly made it possible for the staff that needed to isolate to be able to work from home, and those that did were working relentlessly in the background to support their colleagues.
Staff were able to assist with jobs such as responding to social media and online contact, as well as by creating crimes for investigation by officers out on the streets of Derbyshire.
In the Control Room, a Covid-secure way of working was quickly found, with staff split across different floors and buildings to ensure social distancing could be followed.
This change to the way of working has been felt by so many people across the organisation this year, and Chief Officers have expressed their thanks and pride in how people have dealt with this.
Superintendent Stephen Pont, who leads the Contact Management and Resolution Centre, said: "This week we are celebrating the incredible work of our call centre staff. Every time they answer the phone, receive a message on social media/Live Chat, they don't know what is going to be on the other end, but they deal with whatever faces them with professionalism, compassion and pride.
"They really are on the front-line, helping people through their darkest times, so this week please join me in thanking each and every one of them for the work they do."