What does a call taker do?
A call taker works at a call or dispatch center, where they are primarily in charge of answering calls, identifying the callers' needs, and coordinating services to assist them right away. Although their responsibilities depend on their company or industry of employment, it usually involves answering inquiries, processing requests, arranging appointments or reservations, and handling issues and concerns, resolving them promptly and efficiently. When it comes to employment, a call taker may work for 911 dispatch centers, taxi companies, towing services, and private hotlines.
Call taker responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real call taker resumes:
- Manage truck and equipment inventory, rental tracking and GPS monitoring.
- Dispatch all patrol officers and fire departments.
- Enter confidential info through NCIC directly under SLED/FBI.
- Place outbound calls to advise members of eta.
- Dispatch need help such as fire ems and law.
- Receive emergency calls and route calls to patrol units.
- Enter information receive into the cad system for dispatch use.
- Relay basic first-aid and CPR instruction in emergency medical situations over the phone.
- Check NCIC for want persons, missing persons and stolen vehicles or property.
- Multi-Task between collecting customers info and retrieving an eta from the tow company.
- Run subjects for warrant sand other wants as requested by units using CLETS and other databases.
- Assess the chief complaint through a series of questions, EMD the call, assign emergency codes.
- Obtain, verify and record all necessary information from the caller and provide EMD instructions if need.
- Utilize a POS to take payments, GPS to navigate trucks, and obtain knowledge of multiple vehicles.
- Assist callers with CPR, suicide and other emergency medical situations as well as fielded questions in civil matters, i.e.
Call taker skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Call Takers are proficient in Computer Aided Dispatch, Taker, and CAD. They’re also known for soft skills such as Ability to multitask, Communication skills, and Empathy.
We break down the percentage of Call Takers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Computer Aided Dispatch, 15%
Receive radio calls from field unit; transmit messages via radio or telephone using computer aided dispatch/mobile date terminal computer system.
- Taker, 13%
Call Taker - answer incoming calls, take customer information, enter in pick up location.
- CAD, 8%
Entered callers demographics into CAD system
- Data Entry, 5%
Demonstrate excellent computer based system proficiency to effectively log public safety records in the form of data entry.
- Customer Service, 5%
Followed established procedures for caller interrogation, information gathering, Emergency Medical Dispatching, call triage, and customer service.
- EMS, 4%
Received and transmitted information precisely and promptly to police, fire, and EMS personnel in a calm and professional manner.
Most call takers use their skills in "computer aided dispatch," "taker," and "cad" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential call taker responsibilities here:
Ability to multitask. One of the key soft skills for a call taker to have is ability to multitask. You can see how this relates to what call takers do because "public safety telecommunicators must stay calm in order to simultaneously answer calls, collect vital information, coordinate responders, monitor multiple displays, and use a variety of equipment." Additionally, a call taker resume shows how call takers use ability to multitask: "receive inbound emergency/non-emergency calls while monitoring & dispatching ems/fire units for nine communities certified emd. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform call taker duties is communication skills. Call takers responsibilities require that "public safety telecommunicators work with law enforcement, emergency response teams, and civilians." Call takers also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "worked as a call taker and dispatcher in the communications center for el paso county american medical response. "
Empathy. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of call takers is empathy. This skill is critical to many everyday call taker duties, as "public safety telecommunicators must be willing to help a range of callers with varying needs." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "maintained a positive attitude and displayed understanding during stressful situations. "
Listening skills. call taker responsibilities often require "listening skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "public safety telecommunicators must listen carefully to collect relevant details, even though some callers might have trouble speaking because of anxiety or stress." This resume example shows what call takers do with listening skills on a typical day: "job duties/skills good listening skills ability to respond to customer complaints/inquiries in a non-defensive and helpful manner. "
Typing skills. Another common skill required for call taker responsibilities is "typing skills." This skill comes up in the duties of call takers all the time, as "public safety telecommunicators enter the details of calls into computers; typing speed and accuracy are essential when responding to emergencies." An excerpt from a real call taker resume shows how this skill is central to what a call taker does: "use a variety of computer programs, typing, editing and clerical skills to complete work within suspense time frames. "
The three companies that hire the most call takers are:
- Canon6 call takers jobs
- American Medical Response3 call takers jobs
- Emory Healthcare2 call takers jobs
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Compare different call takers
Call taker vs. Emergency communications officer
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between call takers and emergency communications officer. For instance, call taker responsibilities require skills such as "taker," "customer service," "gps," and "service calls." Whereas a emergency communications officer is skilled in "emergency communications," "emergency services," "radio traffic," and "radio systems." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Emergency communications officers tend to make the most money working in the government industry, where they earn an average salary of $40,271. In contrast, call takers make the biggest average salary, $42,836, in the government industry.On average, emergency communications officers reach higher levels of education than call takers. Emergency communications officers are 7.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Call taker vs. Emergency services dispatcher
Each career also uses different skills, according to real call taker resumes. While call taker responsibilities can utilize skills like "taker," "public safety agencies," "criminal justice," and "medical assistance," emergency services dispatchers use skills like "radio traffic," "background checks," "computer screens," and "emergency police."
Emergency services dispatchers may earn a higher salary than call takers, but emergency services dispatchers earn the most pay in the insurance industry with an average salary of $41,148. On the other hand, call takers receive higher pay in the government industry, where they earn an average salary of $42,836.emergency services dispatchers earn similar levels of education than call takers in general. They're 0.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Call taker vs. Emergency dispatch operator
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a call taker is likely to be skilled in "taker," "data entry," "cpr," and "gps," while a typical emergency dispatch operator is skilled in "departmental procedures," "emergency dispatch," "customer satisfaction," and "adt."
Emergency dispatch operators typically earn similar educational levels compared to call takers. Specifically, they're 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Call taker vs. Emergency dispatcher
Types of call taker
Updated January 8, 2025
