I was so fortunate to have been contacted by the Impact Dispatch team! I was asked as a guest to write a piece for them in regards to being always referred to as just a dispatcher. You can find that article here. Let me give you the Background on the masterminds and creators of Impact Dispatch. This training and awareness crew is comprised of a two-woman team, Halcyon & Jennifer. Halcyon works more on the social media and public speaking side of things and Jennifer is the mostly silent partner who contributes years of experience and positivity. I was so excited that they agreed to do a quick interview for me! There is nothing I love more than to support other dispatchers and in this case support two women who are out to empower our dispatch world! I hope you love them as much as I do!
“We rise by lifting others”
Hi Ladies! First things first! Where are you living these days?
Impact Dispatch is based out of Nebraska, right in the middle of it all.
How did you find yourselves creating this business?
We both noticed and had a lot of conversations about the negativity and the lack of good general mental and physical health that tends to occur in many dispatch centers. We really enjoy trying to make our center a more positive place, along with other smaller centers we work for. In Nebraska there is definitely a need for ongoing education and more support for dispatchers, so we kind of ran with that and voila! Impact Dispatch was born.
I couldn't agree more! Tell me a little bit more about what your business is about?
Impact Dispatch is a source for dispatchers to find training, wellness information, and encouragement. Not only our own training or support, but links and information from other dispatchers and dispatch businesses. as well. We also provide online and in person training courses, as well as our #BeAnEncourager products.
I know this kind of ties in with the last two questions but what really makes you passionate about his project?
We’re both very passionate about dispatching, we love seeing how much dispatchers can do and what can be accomplished when there’s teamwork. We love when there is an overall positive dynamic in a center, so we really just want to help make that become a reality for more people. We both love to train as well, and Halcyon is working on getting a 2nd degree in training and development.
What has been your favorite interview/article/type of client so far?
We don’t really know that we have a favorite, but we love the people we’ve met through this adventure, collaborations we’ve done, such as with you. It’s just fun to find and work with people who have the same passion as you.
Well thank you, it was such a pleasure being able to connect with you two! Lets talk about who would your ideal client be?
Our idea client is of course a dispatcher, but especially a dispatcher that wants to learn, grow, advance and does not want to spend an outrageous amount of their own money to do it. We are also glad to take on those who are encouraging and/or want to be encouraging within their own center.
We can never have enough encouragers in our call centers! Okay here comes a mouthful...Are your training classes certified? If so is it throughout the country? Or just by state? Who would you recommend your classes to?
Our training courses are not currently certified, but we are in the process of getting a them certified in a couple states. It’s definitely not a quick process and if anyone has any tips or tricks or contacts to help move it along we’d love that info. We do offer certificates though to those who complete them that can be turned in for CE credit to their center. We recommend our courses really to anyone that wants to learn. We have about 10 courses on our site right now, as well as a couple that can be purchased for a whole center on our website. We are also able to teach them in person if that’s what a center would like so we try to keep our trainings pretty versatile
That's amazing! Good luck getting them certified! Thank you still for providing helpful information & new perspectives. This is great for seasoned dispatchers, trainees or those that are interested in dispatching! Aside from being certified where do you see your business in 5-10 years?
We see Impact Dispatch growing and being a successful support for dispatchers throughout the country and the world. We hope to expand our training and what we can do to encourage dispatchers.
What should people know about your business?
That we’re continuing to grow, so we’re open to feedback and hearing what people think the dispatch world needs or maybe needs more of.
What has been your biggest challenge so far?
Technology. Neither of us are the best at this part so it’s just been a learn-as-you-go type thing. Give us CAD, radio or Microsoft products and we are all about it, but a lot of things outside of that are foreign lands to us.
I am completely on that same technology struggle as you two! If you could pick a song to best describe you or your business what would it be?
This is a tough one. We’re going to go with “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong. Our main motto is “Be an Encourager” and the more we lift each other up the more wonderful the world will be, and as dispatchers we see the worst of the worst, but we have to remind ourselves there is still good in the world.
That song is such a classic!! I love the reasoning behind that song! Now on to some fun get to know you outside of dispatch questions! Name something on your bucket list!
This is a tough one for both of us.
Jennifer-I really don’t have a bucket list, I kind of just come up with what I want to do as I go and then do what I can to make it happen.
Halcyon-I’m kind of similar, but I would love to be able to do more speaking and traveling, whether it’s through Impact Dispatch or another adventure.
Okay fair enough! What is your favorite indulgence?
Jennifer-Getting outside, whether it’s to hike or kayak and some Starbucks, either together or separate.
Halcyon-I’m all about a good crime documentary and some wine.
All of those are my cups of tea! Name one thing that you miss.
Jennifer-Probably dispatching fire since I’m now at a Law only center.
Halcyon-The food in Memphis from when I lived there. There is no food like southern food.
Last question, in honor of paying it forward & supporting others what business/podcast inspires you?
Jennifer-Loves Mary Kay and their goal to empower women and that they give back through different women focused charities.
Halcyon-Huge Rachel Hollis fan, her books and podcast are awesome. I also love Goal Digger with Jenna Kutcher.
Thank you both so much for taking time out of your day to share more with me & everyone else on my blog about you & your passion for dispatchers! I see nothing but positivity coming from you and a bright future helping current and future dispatchers! You two are amazing, thank you again so much for sharing!
I hope this peaked your interests with Impact Dispatch! If you would like to dig a little deeper into their courses, blog & some merchandise please check out their site here. You can also follow them on Instagram @Impactdispatch
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