Meeting a person is the core of the work of an ERC operator

While technology keeps evolving, emergency response centre services will continue to be provided first and foremost by humans to humans. This requires social interaction skills and the self-awareness to identify your reactions and limit stress.

The operating environment of emergency response centres is undergoing a change (Ministry of the Interior 2022a, 15-17). The ageing of the population, technological advances, the increasing number of social emergencies and mental health assignments, phenomena linked to young people who are troubled or do not feel well and interpersonal challenges related to multiculturalism can all be heard on the emergency line. 

In her Master’s thesis, Senior Teacher Titta Lindholm, Emergency Services Academy, studied the competence requirements of ERC operators when meeting a customer during an emergency call. The purpose of the thesis was to describe the competence requirements and determine the competence and capabilities ERC operators considered necessary for handling an emergency call.

“In the interviews, many ERC operators felt they needed more tools for meeting the customer. The transition from an acute need to a prolonged and perhaps chronic social emergency requires flexibility.  According to my thesis, the operators felt that the core competence of the job is self-awareness, which means recognising one’s own reactions and feelings. This was considered a concrete way to strengthen interaction competence,” Lindholm says.

Interaction competence improves the accuracy of a risk assessment

During the thesis process, Lindholm reviewed a Norwegian study, according to which investing in the interaction competence of ERC operators could reduce the time spent on risk assessment and decision-making. Overall control increased and situations were identified more accurately.
“In recent years, Emergency Response Centres have invested heavily in training related to the ERC information system, technology and risk assessment. In contrast, the study showed that some people felt they needed more training and capability in meeting the customer. In fact, it is important to keep in mind that the time invested in this is not taken away from something else: the ability to meet the customer in the right way is a requirement for situational awareness and therefore also the accuracy of risk assessment.”

The competence requirements of an ERC operator as a whole consist of sub-areas where the competence supports overall control. For example, any challenges related to IT skills during an emergency call may significantly impact interaction and even cause tunnel vision. It is a cognitive phenomenon that narrows down human perception and affects performance and decision-making.

“Tunnel vision makes it impossible to identify the customer’s situation, which can be fatal for the customer. Interesting research information concerning this has emerged, in light of which the significance of stress management and self-awareness becomes greater than ever. This makes seeking new solutions for cognitive ergonomics important in future,” Lindholm notes.

Changing customer relationships

While the change in the technical environment of ERC services is easy to see, it is also important to make the change in customer relationships visible. For example, an increase in digital services and a decrease in locally accessible services can create situations, in which calls to the emergency number are made in increasingly wider variety of situations. 

“Emergency responders find it stressful when the person making the emergency call does not answer any questions and just demands an ambulance claiming that they have the right to get one. On the other hand, the caller may be a person who is hard of hearing, elderly or speaks a foreign language, or they may be a young person following an incident taking place somewhere else via a social media live stream. All of these require a lot of very different kinds of competence. It is important to recognise the change in customer relationships so that further education for operators is targeted properly.”

A matter close to the heart

For Titta Lindholm, interaction is a matter close to her heart. She has worked as a teacher at the Emergency Services Academy since 2012, but her interest in interaction during emergency calls arose already at the Emergency Response Centre of Central Finland in Jyväskylä in the 1990s.
“At that time, the Ministry of the Interior launched a project that tried combining the emergency response centre functions of different authorities under the same roof. Operators with a background in rescue and the police started working in the same room. I started to keep track of the different types of interaction styles of the operators and how they affect the way the operator assesses the situation.” 

“I was also interested in how the customers behave in an emergency. They don’t always scream and cry; instead, customers may also be paralysed or reluctant to tell about the situation. I paid more and more attention to active listening, situational assessment and identifying the situation accurately with the help of social interaction skills. Later on, I also got involved in developing the training. Meeting the customer remained close to my heart,” Lindholm says.

The Emergency Services Academy currently has applications open for the Emergency Response Centre Operator degree programme. The application period for the degree programme starting in August 2025 (course 47) will be open until 10 January 2025. 

What is Lindholm's message to those who are thinking about finding a new profession?

“It is essential that you learn about what kind of job you are seeking. This job isn’t just about answering the phone, which is what you sometimes hear. An ERC operator must be able to handle a variety of customers and changing situations over the phone in the course of their duties. The core of the work is being able to manage multiple events, such as using information systems and talking to the customer at the same time. An ERC operator must be able to manage overlapping events and tasks and apply the information they receive flexibly. The work is demanding, and the expertise and decision-making of an ERC operator has a significant impact on the assessment of people’s emergencies, instructing the customers and how smoothly official assistance can be provided.” 

In 2010, Lindholm was awarded the PRO112 recognition of the Emergency Response Centre Agency for the development of interaction and customer service training for ERC operators. She has also been involved in several further education events for operators.

Read more about the ERC operator degree on the website of the Emergency Services Academy