Creative Testing Solution for Public Safety Agencies

It’s no secret that recent years have been difficult for organizations in both the public and private sectors. Recent reports are showing that private companies are hiring again and the economy is slowly recovering. The rebound is a little slower for government agencies, though. Resources are still lean but the demand for their services is high.

When resources are scarce, people tend to be most creative and innovative. Take a look at the South Bay Regional Public Safety Training Consortium in the South San Francisco Bay Area, and you’ll see an example of this. The South Bay Regional Public Safety Training Consortium created a program in conjunction with CritiCall Testing Software to help public safety agencies substantially cut costs and time in their testing and recruiting process.

Traditionally agencies were doing their own employment testing.  Doing so required that the agencies purchase the tests, provide a venue, handle the registration, provide the staff to proctor the test (typically overtime) and absorb all the costs to do so. Quite often, several hundred applicants would register to take the tests and a much smaller number would show up. This resulted in a lot of wasted resources.  Other times, agencies have been overrun with applicants that could not be supported at their testing venue, or within the time allocated.

The South Bay Regional Public Safety Training Consortium went to the different agencies and said, “We can do the testing for you and charge the applicant for the exam. Rather than the agency picking up the tab, the applicant can do that.  Because the applicant will leave with a “scoring certificate” that he or she can shop around to each agency to which an application is placed, it is a win-win-win for all of us.”

Here’s what happened…

What the South Bay Regional Public Safety Training Consortium found was that because they charged the applicant for the exam, several things occurred:

1. The applicants showed up – they didn’t fail to appear – because they had made an investment.
2. The applicants came more prepared for the assessment because of that investment.
3. The scores that the applicants achieved were higher than those previously earned.
4. Most importantly, there was a substantial savings to the agency.  San Jose Police Department, the first agency to try this testing model, saved nearly a quarter of a million dollars in just the first test administration alone by having the South Bay Public Consortium handle test registration, administer, proctor and score the test.

What about the applicant?

Something else they discovered – the applicants liked it. Even though they were now paying a fee to take the exam, they benefited from it.  The old way meant that the applicant had to take a separate exam for each agency. Under this model, they took one exam and received a certificate that was good for multiple participating agencies.  This meant a savings in time, gas, childcare, and other costs because the applicant only had to drive to one testing location instead of multiple ones.

Today…

The South Bay Regional Public Safety Training Consortium now offers standardized, validated cost effective solutions for public safety pre-employment assessment and recruiting. The Academy manages training, certification and testing for the following public safety positions:

• Public Safety Dispatcher
• Police Officer
• Corrections Officer
• Probation Officer
• Firefighter

CritiCall, our public safety dispatcher testing program, has partnered with the South Bay Public Safety Training Consortium in offering the dispatcher pre-employment testing. CritiCall tests dispatchers and call taker applicants for the critical skills and abilities necessary for success for this stressful, demanding position.

Do you represent a San Francisco public safety agency looking for an innovative solution for saving pre-employment testing dollars?

To find out more information or to join the South Bay Regional Public Safety Training Consortium, contact:

Libby Flores
South Bay Regional Public Safety Training Consortium
3095 Yerba Buena Road
San Jose, CA 95135
(408)270-6458
www.theAcademy.ca.gov

Are you interested in the consortium model but you’re not located in the San Francisco Bay Area?

If you are not from the San Francisco Bay Area but are interested in the consortium model for your agency, contact:

Michael Callen, Director: Product Division
Biddle Consulting Group, Inc.
193 Blue Ravine Road Ste. 270
Folsom, CA 95630
(916)294-4250
www.criticall911.com