Welcome to a Special Demonstration of CritiCall

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• For selecting the best public safety
• Dispatchers Call-Takers Telecommunicators
• use

Pre-Employment Testing Software
Click on screen or use the scroll bar to view the
next slide
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The job has changed drasticallyyour employment
tests should reflect these changes!
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What is CritiCall?

• CritiCall is a nationally validated, computerized
  pre-employment selection test for choosing
  successful public-safety dispatchers and
  call-takers
• CritiCall is designed to address the federal
  Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection
  Procedure and the CALEA Standards for Public
  Safety Communications Agencies

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CritiCall can tell if your job applicants can
actually perform important job-related tasks
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CritiCall Testing can

• Reduce Adverse Impact Work-sample testing has
  been shown to reduce adverse impact against
  protected groups of employees in some settings
• Lower Turnover Persons selected using
  work-sample testing frequently stay on the job
  longer
• Measure the right skills for todays
  communication center The important job-related
  skills measured by CritiCall do not require any
  previous telecommunicator job experience or
  special training on the part of the applicant

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CritiCall was created by the Biddle Consulting
Group (BCG)

• BCG is a Human Resource Consulting company with
  over 30 years experience assisting public safety
  agencies in selecting their employees
• BCG has extensive experience in computerized
  testing and product support
• BCG provides a wide range of Equal Employment
  Opportunity services to clients nationwide

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CritiCall is based on a National Job Analysis
Study

• CritiCall was first developed and validated in a
  nationwide study involving 49 agencies from 12
  states, varying in size and type
• State, County, City, Local, Regional, University
• Police, Fire, Ambulance, and Cross-Functional
  Communication Centers

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Since then, CritiCall has been adopted and
validated by hundreds of public safety agencies
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• Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and
  Training has approved CritiCall for the hiring of
  telecommunicators and/or emergency medical
  dispatchers
• California Peace Officer Standards Training
  (POST) Standards Section 1018c indicates that
  acceptable alternatives, such as CritiCall, can
  be used for pre-employment testing of
  public-safety telecommunicators instead of the
  POST test

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The U. S. Department of Homeland Security has
chosen CritiCall Pre-employment Testing Software
for testing emergency-dispatch job applicants at
the four Federal Protective Service E-9-1-1 mega
centers. 9-1-1
Magazine, April 2005
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One Texas city reported it cost 88,000 for the
recruitment, testing, selection, training, and
probationary supervision of a single dispatcher
Selecting the wrong person can be very expensive!
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You can reduce turnover using CritiCall

• Research indicates that 80 of newly hired
  telecommunicators who leave before finishing
  probation leave because they had inadequate
  job-related knowledge, skills, and abilities
• CritiCall measures important knowledge, skills,
  and abilities needed to be a successful employee
  prior to hire!

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A comment from a satisfied CritiCall user

• In 2000, before we started using CritiCall, we
  successfully trained and retained only 15 of our
  new hires. In mid 2001 we started using CritiCall
  and our retention rate rose to 54. In 2002 we
  did even better, and retained 86 of our new
  hires. And, believe it or not, in 2003 we had a
  100 retention rate. We have a lower number of
  new hires in 2003 due to the successes of the
  previous year, but for an agency that employs 60
  plus dispatchers well stand behind our record
  anytime. CritiCall was definitely not the only
  change we made to our hiring and training
  practices, but I consider it to be one of the
  most integral parts. Thanks again for a great
  product and feel free to call on me anytime!
• Susan Koch, Training Coordinator, Washington
  County 911, OR

We will gladly provide references upon request!
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CritiCalls System Administrator Program
JUST CHOOSE CLICK
CritiCall screen-shot
With just the click of the mouse, you can access
all of CritiCalls many features!
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CritiCalls built-in Test Creation Wizard makes
it a snap to choose those test modules that are
appropriate for the job as it exists in your
agency
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Easy to Customize
You can easily customize many areas of CritiCall
CritiCall screen-shot
Its a snap to customize the test administration
features
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CritiCall screen-shot
APPLICANTS JUST SIGN ON AND GO!
CritiCall is self-administering and self-scoring!
The applicant just signs on and takes the test.
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Re-Testing is Safe and Easy

• There are three versions of every CritiCall test
  module
• CritiCall automatically administers a different
  version of the test each time an applicant takes
  the test
• Applicants who re-test are never given the same
  test two times in a row!

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CritiCall has tests that measure the ability to

• Quickly accurately enter data copied from a
  page and/or heard on a headset
• Make decisions and perform more than one task at
  a time (multi-tasking)
• Compare / Contrast data
• Listen to calls and summarize or answer questions
  about the calls
• Use information from an alphabetized list
• Prioritize
• Plus

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CritiCall also has tests that measure the ability
to

• Read maps and understand directions
• Determine most likely events
• Read and comprehend written text
• Accurately spell easily-confused words
• e.g., The doctor has lots of patience vs. The
  doctor has lots of patients.
• Identify clearly-written phrases
• Perform job-related Math
• and more!

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Another comment from a satisfied CritiCall user
Our agency uses the CritiCall program as a
pre-hire testing format and it has enabled us to
find and hire the most qualified applicants.
Being able to hire the most qualified individuals
for the dispatch center has allowed us to spend
our training budget more wisely. I would
recommend the use of CritiCall to other agencies
looking for pre-hire testing formats. Cynthia L.
Geiger Training Coordinator, Berks County
Communications Center
We will gladly provide references upon request!
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You can also develop administer your own test
questions for Promotion or Training Testing with
CritiCall
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CritiCall screen-shot
CritiCalls Validation Wizard feature
automatically guides your agency through a basic
content-related validation study of the
job-relatedness of CritiCall testing by asking
your experienced employees a series of simple
questions
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CritiCall Report
CritiCall uses the information from the
Validation Wizard to create an extensive report,
which can be presented as evidence of
job-relatedness and non-discrimination
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CritiCall Never Becomes Outdated

• CritiCall is constantly updated to meet the
  ever-changing needs of the Public Safety
  Communications Community

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OutstandingService and Support

• With every CritiCall system, for the first full
  year you receive
• Complimentary software upgrades
• Complimentary software updates
• Unlimited toll-free telephone support

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Another comment from a satisfied CritiCall user

•   We couldn't be more impressed with the test.
  It simulates our work environment so closely and
  weeds out people who wouldn't be able to handle
  the our jobs. I love the fact that the stress
  factor is there, because that is what it's like
  to answer multiple phones, multiple officers on
  the radio, run tags, enter a call, and continue
  to our jobs. We have invited several surrounding
  agencies to come and see the test and if it is
  something that could help out in their centers.
• We have been using it to test for about the last
  year and our turn-over rate is at 0 for the ones
  we hired using CritiCall. This has cut down the
  people we bring into our hiring process which
  saves us time, and saves our Detectives time on
  backgrounds. The hiring process is lengthy
  enough, we want to be sure the people we are
  spending the time on have an above average chance
  of making it in our field.
•   Thank you so much for creating something that
  has positively affected our center. I would
  highly recommend CritiCall to anyone needing a
  new way to test.
• Gale Pruett, Communications Supervisor,
• Franklin Police Department, TN

We will gladly provide references upon request!
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• CritiCalls consultants support the public-safety
  community by contributing articles to
  publications such as the National Journal of
  Emergency Dispatch, 9-1-1 Magazine, Public Safety
  Communications (APCO), Emergency Number
  Professional (NENA), and other magazines and
  journals about personnel selection and other
  organizational issues

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• CritiCall representatives present educational
  sessions at national/regional communications
  conferences such as APCO, NENA, and the National
  Academy of Emergency Dispatch (Navigator)
• CritiCall products and services are proudly
  exhibited at national and regional conferences
• CritiCall Users Group meetings are held at the
  national public-safety telecommunication
  conferences

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Another comment from a satisfied CritiCall user
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 will gladly
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, Maryland
We will gladly provide references upon request!
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In Summary, CritiCall

• Uses a combination of work-sample and other
  testing to measure computer-related and many
  other skills that are needed prior to the first
  day on the job
• Is virtually self-administering and self-scoring
• Can lower turnover / save money
• Can decrease training supervision time
• Is easily validated specifically for your agency
• Can be used to create your own tests

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Bona-fide public-safety agencies can obtain a
free demonstration version of CritiCall to review
by calling 800-999-0438
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Did you know?
CritiCall also offers optional personality
testing specifically tailored for public-safety
dispatcher and calltaker applicants
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Thank you!Please call us at 800-999-0438 for
more information
Pre-Employment Testing Software Press the Back
button to return to the biddle.com website Or
visit the CritiCall website at criticall911.com