Emergency Telephone Answering

One aspect of crises and emergencies which is often ignored, or at best underestimated, is the calls received from the public, agencies, the media and other organisations, either concerned about family members and friends, or wanting more information about the incident.

Reports indicate that a significant crisis can enormously increase the number of phone calls received by an organisation. In recent times, the provision of a special information number following the Port Arthur shootings is a good example of the increasing awareness of how important it is to recognise that a crisis will generate a rapid increase in phone calls. These calls need to well managed, or they can create a great deal of stress for the staff expected to respond to such enquiries.

Personnel who take on a phone answering role after a crisis situation will be challenged by having to cope with the stressful conditions which can arise during an emergency. An increasing number of organisations are now seeing the availability of trained personnel to handle crisis phone calls as an important part of their "Emergency Plan".

While once such a task was delegated to the "PR Department", there is greater recognition that dealing with people under conditions of extreme stress is not a skill which can be taken for granted. This has resulted in professionally presented courses providing information and skill development regarding 'crisis telephone answering' during and after emergencies. The initial training is generally a brief program, with participants receiving annual refresher sessions, as well as being involved in emergency exercises.

A typical course content would include:

• Information on people's reactions under crisis.
• Specific phone communication skills aimed at defusing emotion.
• Techniques for handling inappropriate calls and redirecting media calls.
• Confidence-building strategies.
• Simple stress management tools for call receivers.
• Crisis scenario problem-solving and practice.

Ansett Australia has established a national Emergency Telephone Response Team in Sydney. Team Co-ordinators, Belinda Haggar, Liz Lux and Mandy Chee Quee will be key people implementing this program, which was recently presented by Michael Tunnecliffe.