“Mean Girls” – Cliques in Dispatch

Sunday, August 2 | 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.

Sara J. Meyer, Accreditions Specialist, Boon County Joint Communications (Mo.)

Cliques impact every emergency communications center, whether we admit it or not. Sara Meyer started this year's educational sessions addressing the topic with a unique twist by referencing the popular movie from 2004 throughout the presentation.

The presentation started by defining cliques, their foundations, the attachments that strengthen them and why recognizing them is important. She recognized that there are healthy and unhealthy cliques and identified their differences and impact. Actions of unhealthy cliques that are left unattended can lead to a culture of decreased morale, higher turnover, reduced communications and burnout.

All cliques can create exclusionary behaviors, even unintentionally. These behaviors manifest through favoritism, gossiping and unequal opportunities. She also highlighted that inclusion is an intentional act and takes conscious effort.

She talked about how this can have a significant impact on new employees. She discussed ways new employees can break into cliques by listening more than talking, seeking advice, avoiding gossip and negativity, and being consistent and dependable. "Emulate what you want ,and you become the favorite coworker," she said.

Sara also highlighted the importance of the supervisor in identifying and addressing cliquish behavior, such as "venting," that has become targeted behavior, favoritism and inside jokes where others are excluded. She also described ways to acknowledge and address these issues as an early intervention or after they have become a problem. She highlighted that the perception of action taken, or not taken, by supervisors is very important to the culture. "Perception can be just as damaging as reality," she noted.

Sara finished the presentation by highlighting key takeaways, including that cliques are natural, inclusion must be intentional, and engagement is your greatest defense against unhealthy cliques.

Written by Christie Davis