call taker

technologist

scheduling coordinator

senior project analyst

project manager

E-Comm 9-1-1 | Emergency Communications for British Columbia Incorporated

I was really proud and excited to work as a 911 call taker for e-comm.  That all changed once I entered the building as an employee and began working with e-comm.  The workplace culture is ego-centered and the communication is fragmented, derogatory and full of behind your back gossip.  It is an accepted practice at e-com to "talk about you but never to you" and only provide negative feedback and daily criticism about how you could have done better with processing a call despite taking into consideration the complexity of the call which can destroy someone's self esteem and doesn't make it enjoyable to be working their.  Due to e-com being a call center for 14 police jurisdictions in Victoria, there has been no attempt to streamline the call processing for each jurisdiction into one set of guidelines to follow which leaves room for mistakes which you will be reamed out by a watch commander as well as the supervisor and e-com has no interest in improving that system.  The most difficult part of the job was the attitude of dispatchers and constantly walking on eggshells as they have not problem yelling at you across the floor in front of all your colleagues if you weren't able to get some information from a caller.  Apologies and esteem building do not exist in e-com so if you aren't able to not let that bother you, then you might fare well in that environment.  There are no guaranteed hours and it is recommended that you have a second job, the benefits are poor, there is no overtime pay and the days are long.  The coffee is free and abundant and that is probably the only positive thing I can say about e-comm.

I became my authentic self thanks to my experience as a police call taker.
The courses and mentoring offered were not easy.
 I saw people taking to it easily. I witnessed some from my training group excel.
 I experienced the intrusive thoughts one gets from comparing my journey with those who seemed to just "get it". 
I passed mentoring once and doubted myself the second time around. 
I lacked the confidence to stick to it and vocalize my true opinions when provided feedback. That's not on my 2nd mentor or my 2nd supervisor. That was on me. 
I began the journey of being a later in life diagnosed neurodivergent. 
If I had not gone through the experience of becoming a PCT, I would most likely still be undiagnosed.
The career entails dynamic learning through calls that are never the same. Scenarios that are so untraditional, it often causes your heart rate to elevate. 
When those emergency calls happen, the one thing I want to remind everyone reading this is: Your entire OPS floor is there to guide you and you are not alone. 
I felt a sense of both bewilderment and a deep sense of gratitude after every shift. The callers never knew who I was and for that call, I always hoped I had made a difference during what was most likely one of the worst moments of their lives. 
I appreciated how my colleagues would support me, the kindness with constructive feedback from management as well as other PCTs. 

A typical day at E-Comm starts early and ends late with a deep feeling of frustration and angst. You will learn how people with very little practice experience think a company should be run. E-Comm has all kinds of academical text book types in executive technical management and line level managers who have never worked any else other then the bubble that is E-Comm. The hardest part of the job is the lack of clear, intelligent, and logical decision making - poor decisions are the norm and take a long time to occur thru useless never ending meetings that will have wanting to run a away screaming when you hear the pretzel logic this management team thinks is normal. Meetings will be called during your vacation time or days off and you are ordered to attend - no real vacations at E-Comm just more work. You will work 10 to 14 hour work days, work on weekends, work on Stat holidays and all of this is the stated normal expectation of management - further you will not get overtime and just wait till you read the employment contract!

Was very excited to successfully make it through the arduous application process -- this job is not for everyone and they make that clear -- but once through, now you have to deal with management and a culture of passive-aggressive bullying. If you question the status quo or are anything but a "yes" person, you will not fit in. If you don't feed management's ego, you will not fit in. But if you just go with the flow, do as you're told, and are okay with just being a number and not a person, you will be fine.  Police and fire agencies need competent calltakers and dispatchers, and those jobs are honourable. It takes a special person to flourish in this industry... but E-Comm is no longer the place. They are taking on too much, there are too many agencies, and the training is inadequate. They are literally bursting at the seams.  One would be better off with an independent municipal department or detachment. The rumours about E-Comm are actually true, and I don't recommend this employer.

I hope I never have to call the police. The first 6 weeks are great in class the theory portion is wonderful. The people who are in charge of on the job training are not trained first. They brought various police detachments together into one call centre then started training classes the way Ecomm wanted it to be but didn’t bother to get their on the floor trainers on board, so you were tested and rated on the Ecomm method but trained by either RCMP or municipal police. The groups did not work collaboratively and they talked badly about the other, listening to your trainer talk about others in your class and gossiping sure didn’t make anyone feel. When testing time came around we did not have the skills needed to pass and were set up to fail. I didn’t mind failing but they emotionally scarred me to the point that I wasn’t sure I could assist a person when they called in. These people are bullies and would not trust them with me life. 

Your typical day consists of 12 hours with 90-minute breaks which can be broken up as the employee wishes. It is hard on your body, as most shiftwork is. The 12-hour desk work can be hard on the eyes and the back. 

Management is very quick to point out what you're doing wrong but never praising what you've done right. Team leads are not engaged and frequently talk to other employees about your mistakes behind your back. Some dispatchers are keen to power trip on call-takers and brand new 911 queue agents.

There is quite a lot of talk of psychological support, but very little is done.

Overall the pros of the job were the supportive coworkers and having the opportunity to use Ecomm 911 as a stepping stone to policing or other administrative work.

This line of work is not something you can get into for the money, it is hard, stressful, and requires more of yourself than a lot of the jobs out there. You will hear things that the majority of people will never hear. It feels incredibly rewarding to get to help people in their worst moments. 

The downside of E-Comm, is the upper management. There is little to no care for the wellbeing of employees, there is extreme favouritism at play, an environment that fosters a lack of trust in your supervisors, and the list really goes on. I highly suggest looking deeply into your options for emergency communication jobs, and potentially choosing somewhere else. Perhaps choosing somewhere that not only vouches for your mental health, but continues to act on what they say. 

Lots of unfulfilled promises. 

Mgmt was oblivious. HR was useless. They have no idea how to train, support or encourage their staff. And on-boarding…..what a joke !!  Worst work place environment I have ever been in and will never do again. The best part of the job was answering the calls and helping people in distress. The team and department I worked with were horrible and cruel to each other. Training was non existent and I was abandoned on my second day by my trainer and told to figure it out. 

- As of late, E-Comm 911 has been promoting pre-probationary call takers into dispatch roles as management wants to promote them before they "develop but habits" like the more senior call taker.

The "bad habits" 100% stem from poor management, poor guidance and current senior dispatchers being extremely rude with poor attitudes.

- No break covers and staff constantly below minimum requirements you 

- Far too many useless middle managers who have no real experience managing/supervising 



They tell you what you want to hear, they say things to support you and they encourage you. However, it's all a lie!! Majority of the people are slithering Snakes in the Grass and management is the ultimate wolves in sheep's clothing. It's incredible how archaic the technology is, considering this is our 911 hub for the entire province. The amount of money they pay you will never compensate what you have to go through working here, or trying to survive here.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Call taker 9 salaries reported	$37.10 per hour
Technologist 1 salary reported	$48.22 per hour
Scheduling coordinator 2 salaries reported	$40.65 per hour
Senior project analyst 1 salary reported	$56.97 per hour
Project manager 1 salary reported	$42.00 per hour

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