Season 1 Episode 5 Samantha Hawkins - The Traveling Trainer

What separates a 911 center that's just getting by from one that's genuinely excellent—and how do you close that gap? In this episode, host Lori Henricksen sits down with Samantha Hawkins, a nationally recognized 911 trainer and QA evaluator with Motivations, to dig into what a real quality assurance program looks like in emergency communications and why it might be the most underutilized tool in the industry.Samantha's path from Cobb County Department of Emergency Communications in metro Atlanta to her current role as a PSAP professional trainer, traveling dispatcher, and QA evaluator gives her a perspective that's both frontline and big-picture. She's seen what works, what doesn't, and what happens when centers skip the QA conversation altogether.The episode unpacks what quality assurance in 911 actually means—think less "gotcha" culture, more coaching and continuous improvement. Samantha walks through what evaluators are really listening for: protocol adherence, tone and delivery, how call-takers handle confusion, whether they're keeping callers informed, and where freelancing creeps in and why it matters. She makes a compelling case for why standardized protocols—whether from APCO, IAED, PowerPhone, state POST, or your own agency SOPs—aren't bureaucratic overhead. They're your consistency and your liability protection.She and Lori also get into the mechanics of building a program that actually sticks: how outsourcing QA can bring objectivity and reduce the burden on in-house staff, why feedback should always be private and coaching-focused rather than punitive, and the value of letting call-takers listen to their own calls. From dispatch review committees to refresher training, job aids, and documented sign-offs, the conversation is full of concrete ideas you can bring back to your center.But the thread running through all of it is culture. The best QA programs aren't about catching people doing it wrong—they're about catching people doing it right, recognizing your headset heroes, and making every telecommunicator feel like a stakeholder in the quality of their center.If you're a director, supervisor, trainer, QA staff member, or frontline telecommunicator who wants to strengthen your program and raise the standard of care in your comm center, this one's for you.Be sure to follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/comms-coach-podcast/