Welcome to episode #014 of The Crisis Intelligence Podcast, with Melissa Agnes and Chris Boddy
Like many others, the Toronto Police Service is looking for opportunities to build efficiency and effectiveness within their agency. As a result of this, they’re doing some interesting things. For starters, they’ve developed a Strategy Management Unit with a strong customer service component. Within this unit, they’re in the process of developing a customer service strategy for the Toronto Police Service, with a heavy focus on internal customer service to start. Their thinking is that if they improve customer service internally, it will have a positive effect on their external customer service.
I found this to be quite an interesting (and great) approach – a police department focusing on customer service. As I chatted with Staff Sergeant, and head of this customer service unit, Chris Boddy of the Toronto Police Service, I was interested in understanding what customer service means to their Police Agency and how it differs – or doesn’t – from a corporate organization. What I uncovered is that the Toronto Police Service is doing some great things when it comes to humanizing their police officers, building a community of trust and credibility within their city, and teaching their officers to be safe on social (which is uniquely important for police officers as they can potentially put themselves and their families in danger by revealing too much), as well as teaching them how to use the web as an investigative tool. (So cool and important!)
Chris and I also discussed another new unit at the Toronto Police Service, which they call the Toronto Police Operation Centre. This unit will be manned 24/7 with an active social media presence. Within this episode of The Crisis Intelligence Podcast, we look at the strategy behind this unit for crisis communication and emergency management – and a whole bunch more.
This episode of The Crisis Intelligence Podcast discusses:
- The Toronto Police Service’s new customer service program.
- Their new 24/7 Operation Centre and its crisis communication strategy.
- How they overcame the common challenge of wanting to approve messaging before it gets posted online.
- How they trained their staff (police officers and civilians) to use social media safely – and what that means.
- How they’re focusing on humanizing their police officers in order to build community trust.
- Challenges they’ve faced along the way.
The Toronto Police Service has taken a strategic and unique approach to utilizing social media for communications, both everyday communications and crisis communication and emergency management. Have a listen. It’s one you’ll enjoy!
Running time: 46:10
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Thanks to Chris for taking the time to have this informative conversation with me!
Author of Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World, Melissa Agnes is a leading authority on crisis preparedness, reputation management, and brand protection. Agnes is a coveted keynote speaker, commentator, and advisor to some of today’s leading organizations faced with the greatest risks. Learn more about Melissa and her work here.
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