“Delivering Emergency Services is both a technology and a people business. The technology sets things up, but the people have to deliver for it to be a success. Our goal at Northern911 is to hire high quality individuals and then to ensure they are trained to deliver the highest quality of customer service” Mike Shantz, General Manager
Mike Shantz,
General Manager
Email: mshantz@northern911.com
Phone: (705) 669-2750
Mike has significant experience and has filled several diverse roles within the organization over the years. He is currently Vice President, General manager and holds an equity position. He is passionate about always improving things for our customers and for our staff. Mike has sat on a number of industry association boards and participates with committees at the CRTC to help shape the look of Telecom across Canada. Whether at work or in his personal life he is always looking to help people in need. He is a volunteer with the Red Cross Disaster Services and now at Canadian Blood Services has donated blood more than two hundred times.
Cindy Schroeder, Emergency Services Manager
Email: cindys@northern911.com
Phone: (705) 669-2680
As Emergency Services Manager, Cindy leads a dynamic team responsible for Northern911’s operations. During her 25+ year tenure, Cindy started as a front-line call taker and grew with the company actively improving operational performance and practices. In her current role, Cindy is focused on delivering efficient, precise, and professional services to our clients and the public. She plays an active role in Canadian Regulatory committees to develop industry best practices and to better serve the public. Cindy lives by her business ethics, making integrity a core pillar of her department.
Melanie Kennedy, Emergency Services Assistant Manager
Email: melanie@northern911.com
Phone: (705) 479-5226
As the Emergency Services Assistant Manager, Melanie assists in the day-to-day operations of the department. Beginning her career in emergency services as a call taker Melanie has more than 25 years of progressively more senior roles. As Assistant Manager, she plays a pivotal role in the success of our Emergency Response Specialists, both professionally and personally, and has demonstrated a commitment to instilling the company’s core values in each employee through her guidance and mentorship.
Angele Spears, Business Development Professional
Email: angele.spears@northern911.com
Phone: (705) 669-2670
Angèle Spears joined the company in 2013. Prior to her work in Business Development and Marketing, Angèle was a data research analyst and network engineer. Angèle holds a Master’s of Science Degree from University of Waterloo in Computer Science with a focus on Bioinformatics as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Wilfred Laurier University.
Emergency Services Supervisors
Available 24/7/365
Email: dispatch@northern911.com
Phone: (705) 479-5227
The Emergency Services Supervisors have a commitment to delivering the highest level of customer service through their quality focused approach. They monitor and evaluate our in-house performance while providing feedback and continuous developmental support and coaching to our staff. The Supervisors also maintain business relationships with our clients to provide real-time operational support.
Administrative and
Operational Support
Email: specialprojects@northern911.com
Phone: (800) 461-3317
The Special Projects department coordinates a large variety of tasks. One of their main priorities is being the primary contact for VoIP 911 clients including responsibility for account creations, customer support, and call investigations. The creation and maintenance of standard operating procedures are how the department ensures a reliable and consistent level of service. Special Projects is dedicated to the continuous improvement of methods and practices for the benefit of Northern911 and its clients.
Training Programs
Initial and ongoing training is essential to our mission. Northern911 ensures that our call takers have the knowledge and abilities to meet the demands of this critical work. Our rigorous initial training plan is designed to gradually introduce new employees to the many services we provide. Each trainee undergoes customized in-house training. Depending on their role within the organization they may receive APCO Public Safety Telecommunicator and CSAA Central Station Operator training to ensure that we meet or exceed industry standards. Our continuous learning programs ensure we continue to meet the highest level of quality service.
Documented Policies and Procedures
All of our standard procedures are documented and scripted so that call takers can refer to the script guidelines as they are answering calls. Through the latest technology, scripts appear automatically on the computer screen depending on the type of call handled. Through role playing, both common and rare circumstances that might happen are rehearsed and documented. Through these various training methods our staff is prepared and ready for any situation that might occur.
Quality Control and Integrity Checks
All calls are recorded and supervisors perform QA checks on two random calls on a bi-monthly basis from each Call Taker on each aspect of the department to ensure that they are performing to company standards. Bi-weekly written knowledge tests ensure that our Call Takers are current and up-to-date on all our processes, even ones that happen rarely. Furthermore, to ensure that our services work from start to finish, scheduled testing of equipment, data and procedures is performed on a regular basis. Our goal is to be sure that our systems and our client’s operations are performing 100% to expectations!
Translation Services
Language should not be a barrier when an emergency arises. As Northern911 serves clients around the world, we are required to converse with many different languages. While our in-house operators are bilingual in French and English, we do not have internal language capabilities in all languages. For this reason, Northern911 subscribes to a simultaneous translation service. Through this facility we can communicate in over 170+ languages!
When we receive an emergency call, we quickly determine if it is in a language available internally. If not, we immediately call the translation service and are connected to a translator. With the translator’s assistance, we can respond to the caller’s needs.