When it Comes To Telecommunicator Training, Completion Doesn’t Always Equal Retention

Every emergency communication center (ECC) is dependent on training. New hires complete onboarding, seasoned dispatchers renew certifications, and agencies provide mandated hours to stay in compliance with state mandated training and industry certifications. But completing training and retaining it are two very different things, and that gap is where a lot of dispatch training programs quietly fall short.

That difference was the focus of a recent Vector Solutions webinar, Raising the Standard: The Forgetting Curve Problem in Dispatch Training, featuring Leslye Harrell, M.Ed., CAPM, RPL, Product Manager at Vector Solutions and former 911 Operations Manager, and Rob McMullen, Industry Analyst with Octave and former NENA President. Drawing on their combined experience, the two discussed why traditional training models often fail to produce lasting results and what agencies can do instead to build training that actually sticks.

At the center of the conversation was a concept many training officers recognize by name but rarely build their programs around: the “Forgetting Curve.” Understanding it, Harrell and McMullen explained, is the first step toward moving away from training that simply checks a box and toward training that changes performance on the console.

Why Traditional Training Falls Short

It’s a scenario that will sound familiar to most dispatch centers: training happens as a single, front-loaded event. A new telecommunicator moves through online modules, spends time in the classroom, completes on-the-job training, and is then released to the console largely on their own.

“It’s a lot like drinking from a fire hose. It’s really quick, and then we send them out,” Harrell said.

The problem isn’t that this initial training is bad. It’s that learning is treated as finished once the classroom portion ends, when in reality, retention starts to decline almost immediately afterward. Harrell pointed to the Forgetting Curve, a concept developed by psychologist Herman Ebbinghaus in the late 1880s, which shows that without reinforcement, most of what a person learns in a single session is gone within days.

“If we don’t reinforce training or if we don’t reinforce learning, we forget, and we forget over time,” Harrell explained. “It’s not because the training failed or anything, it’s simply how memory works.”

In a real-world example from her own center, Harrell described what happened after a new CAD system was rolled out, which included thorough vendor-led training months before go-live. The vendor did a great job delivering the training, but there was a three-month gap between that training and the day the new system actually went live. By the time it did, dispatchers who thought they had a handle on things ran into real struggles at the console.

McMullen described the same pattern from his own experience going through a CAD go-live.

“The muscle memory is not there for you,” he said, describing how a single training event, however well delivered, fades without reinforcement.

The same pattern showed up with state-mandated training like telecommunicator CPR, which both said was a near-weekly occurrence in their centers. A new policy or state mandate would come down, often unfunded, get pushed out through a quick training push and an email, and then quietly stop being revisited. Months later, when a dispatcher missed a step in the field, the conversation of how to get training to stick would again be revisited.

Harrell added that the challenge has only grown as dispatch has become more complex, with evolving technology, layered protocols, cybersecurity concerns, and rising caller expectations all competing for the same mental space which a telecommunicator has to manage.

From Compliance to Retention

Compliance-based training is the traditional model most centers know well. It covers mandatory topics like harassment training or annual fire extinguisher certification, but it’s delivered as a single event and rarely revisited.

“The training’s delivered once. Maybe it’s on an annual basis, but it’s just once per year,” Harrell said.

Once the box is checked, the employee moves on and the material typically doesn’t come up again until it’s due for renewal.

Retention-focused training takes a different approach. Rather than delivering information once and hoping it holds, it builds in touchpoints over time, a hands-on session followed by a policy review a few days later, then a short online refresher weeks after that.

“Instead of a one and done approach, we’re revisiting these concepts over time,” Harrell said.

McMullen noted that the shift toward retention-focused training is already underway, though it isn’t happening evenly across the industry.

“There is a shift occurring on the retention side of it,” he said, but added that larger agencies with dedicated training staff and multiple people supporting the program are further along than smaller centers running one or two dispatchers per shift on a shoestring budget.

Those smaller centers, he explained, are often doing everything they can just to keep their heads above water, which tends to keep them anchored to a compliance-based approach even when leadership understands the value of doing more.

That said, obviously compliance-based training isn’t going away. Agencies will always have training requirements to meet, but the overall goal should be building retention-focused practices around those requirements rather than treating compliance as the finish line.

The Four Pillars of Retention-Focused Training

 

To help centers move from concept to practice, they can utilize a four-pillar framework built around reinforcement, retrieval practice, contextual application, and quality assurance integration, that can be layered onto an existing program without a full rebuild.

 

1. Reinforcement

Reinforcement, the first pillar, means treating training as an ongoing process rather than a single event.

“Learning shouldn’t stop after that first exposure,” Harrell said, whether that means revisiting a topic days later, weeks later, or on a recurring schedule.

 

2. Retrieval Practice

Retrieval practice, the second pillar, focuses on the specific challenge of high-acuity, low-frequency events, calls that carry serious consequences but don’t happen often enough for the information to stay top of mind. Critical incidents, like an officer involved shooting or natural disasters would be two examples of these types of calls.

McMullen described adapting national training scenarios, like a warehouse fire, into versions that matched the realities of his own rural agency, such as a grain bin fire or an anhydrous ammonia leak, so the scenario would actually be one his dispatchers might face. He also pointed out that low-frequency call types often cluster on certain shifts, meaning one crew may handle a particular type of call regularly while another rarely sees it at all, which makes it even more important to build shared scenarios that every shift can train on together.

Harrell agreed, adding that reinforcing information dispatchers rarely use is incredibly important so it’s easier to retrieve under pressure.

 

3. Contextual Application

The third pillar, contextual application, means grounding training in real, agency-specific scenarios rather than generic examples, so dispatchers are practicing the calls they’re actually likely to receive. Harrell pointed to concepts like active shooter response as an example. Sending a dispatcher to a class is a start, but reviewing the center’s own policy against what was taught, and running practice calls based on that policy, is what actually turns outside training into something the team can use.

 

4. Quality Assurance

Quality assurance is the fourth pillar and ties performance data back into training rather than treating QA and training as separate functions. McMullen acknowledged this was an area his own center struggled with, largely due to limited staff and competing priorities that made it difficult to dedicate time to reviewing calls consistently.

 

Even so, he stressed how directly QA connects to improving performance.

“It’s vital that we do that,” he said of linking QA findings to targeted retraining, adding that when a dispatcher struggles with a specific call type, going back to identify what needs to be retrained is what actually closes the gap.

Harrell noted that modern QA platforms, like Frontline QA Tracker, make this far more manageable than the spreadsheet-based tracking many centers relied on in the past, giving supervisors a much clearer way to spot patterns and target coaching.

It’s also important for agency leadership to be open to feedback after real events, rather than dismissing input from dispatchers who were on the call.

“We trust our folks to save lives,” McMullen said, arguing that centers should extend that same trust when it comes to hearing what dispatchers learned from an event and using it to improve training going forward.

Practical Strategies for Getting Started and How Technology Can Help

Like other public safety agencies, many ECCs and PSAPs are contending with shrinking budgets and increasing responsibility. For that reason, easy, low-cost options are often the best way for an ECC to introduce the four pillars of retention.

Micro-training, short five-to-ten-minute sessions delivered during roll call similar to what law enforcement and fire departments already do, is one example, along with gamified refreshers using tools like Kahoot or Jeopardy-style formats to tap into the competitive spirit many dispatchers bring to the console.

McMullen also pointed to the value of involving dispatch in fire and police department training whenever possible, including ride-alongs, joint exercises, and even informal events like a cookout where fire apparatus and equipment were brought in so dispatchers could see and understand what they were sending to a scene, as a way to build familiarity and camaraderie across disciplines.

Online and asynchronous training, also came up as a practical, budget-friendly option, particularly since the pandemic changed how comfortable centers became with it.

“One thing that COVID taught us is online training is the way to go,” McMullen said, pointing out that it also removes real costs tied to sending staff to in-person events. “You don’t have to pay for the hotel. You don’t have to pay for their lunches. You don’t have to pay for mileage.”

Harrell added that asynchronous options also give night-shift staff a way to complete reinforcement training on their own schedule, without having to flip their sleep patterns to attend a daytime session.

Most importantly, it’s vital to remember that the goal isn’t a perfect program on day one.

“Focus on progress rather than perfection,” Harrell said, encouraging leaders to pick one or two changes, like adding scenario-based practice around a high-risk, low-frequency protocol on a monthly basis, rather than trying to rebuild an entire training program from scratch.

McMullen echoed that sentiment, noting that if a new approach isn’t working, centers shouldn’t be afraid to adjust course rather than dragging the whole team through something that isn’t landing.

To learn more about how online training and quality assurance can support operations at your agency, please request a demo today.

Vector Solutions has partnered with Frontline Public Safety Solutions to provide a suite of industry-leading software solutions for emergency communication centers. The suite includes training management systems, online training courses, DOR and quality assurance management, asset management, shift scheduling, community engagement, policy management, early intervention and professional standards, performance management, and accreditation management.