Why I Work at Emergency Reporting

It’s really quite simple: the people. There’s more to it, but it all comes down to the people that make up this company. I’ve been with Emergency Reporting since 2011, first as a part-time Regional Trainer and then becoming full-time in 2013 as the DoD / International Trainer. During these five years, I’ve always been a remote employee either working from home or on the road teaching. But I’ve had the privilege of visiting the home office in Bellingham, Washington multiple times and have spent enough time there to gain a solid understanding of the company’s culture.

 

Culture Starts at The Top

An organizations predominant culture invariably begins at the top just like in fire departments. Our co-founders, Dave Adams and Adrian Mintz, each add something special to the company culture.

Adrian is one of most tech-savvy individuals I’ve ever met. He understands the complexities of our underlying technology and is instrumental in keeping our system on the leading edge of innovation.
Dave is the ultimate people person. He genuinely wants the best – not only for his company, but for the people that work here as well. Whenever I spend time with him at conferences or training events, he is always positive and upbeat. He respectfully engages our competition in a friendly manner to build lasting relationships. Internally, he never seems threatened or insecure about other leaders succeeding. Frankly, he’s happy to see everyone in the organization succeed.

Another component of our culture is mentorship. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the mentoring I’ve received from David Nokes, our Director of Strategic Alliances. I’ve learned more about the business world and software industry from him than I would have by spending years in the classroom. And I’ve had the opportunity to mentor many of our Regional Trainers to pay it forward.

 

Building Trust

It’s no secret that I have tremendous admiration for Chief Alan Brunacini (ret.) of the Phoenix Fire Department. He wrote the book on customer service and set the standard I would strive for during my 22 years in the fire service. His insight also helped me decide what type of organization I would want to join upon retiring from the fire service. That company would have to place a very high value on customer service, both internally and externally, or I’m out.

I know I matter to the organization when both the president of the company and my immediate boss always return my phone calls the very same day (usually within an hour) or they send an email apologizing for not getting back to me. Everyone at Emergency Reporting is shown respect, and everyone is expected to give that same level of respect to our customers. Our Support Team exemplifies this in a big way. They make every effort to ensure you talk to an actual person when you call. This dedication to superior service coupled with a 97% customer satisfaction rate shows that we’re serious about building trust with our customers. And that’s what it really comes down to trust. I cannot say it better than Bruno in Essentials of Fire Department Customer Service, Do whatever is required to create high-quality, long-term, lasting, genuine trust, trust, trust, trust, trust, trust, trust, (& 93 more trusts)

 

The Value of the Team

This article from Fast Company explains one of the signs of an enviable workplace culture is that the The team believes they are more important than the task.

Being part of Emergency Reporting is not just about completing assignments and punching the clock. It’s about embodying the value placed on the people doing the work. Admittedly, this isn’t easy to measure, but you know when you arrive at the office and interact with managers and fellow employees. There’s the clear sense you are valued as person and our culture drives the feeling of being a valued member of a winning team.

 

Technology and the Human Factor

Even though I am a part of a company that provides software as a service, I know that Emergency Reporting is still about the people: The service we deliver to our customers and the way we treat each other inside the organization defines who we are. Once people discover the terrific product we provide, there are some questions that should follow:

  • Is this a company I want to do business with?
  • Will they be there after the sale to help me succeed?
  • Are they trustworthy?
  • And for someone like me, Is this a company I want to work for?

If the answers to these questions are a resounding Yes!, then you have something really special in our rapidly changing, highly competitive world a workplace with highly-valued individuals working together in an enviable culture to deliver exceptional products and service. That’s Emergency Reporting.