How a Suburban Police Communications Center Found Its Next Headset Vendor — On Its Own Terms
THE CONTEXT
When Every Vendor Wants Your Attention
Communications directors in public safety are bombarded by vendors. New software platforms, hardware vendors, and technology resellers compete for attention through cold calls, mass emails, and conference booths. For a director running a lean operation, serving multiple municipalities, managing a small team, and answering to an oversight board every vendor interaction carries an opportunity cost.
The challenge is compounded by the Poly exit. With Plantronics no longer manufacturing dispatch headsets, agencies that built their infrastructure around Poly equipment face an uncomfortable reality: aging hardware, no manufacturer support, and a replacement market they never had to navigate. For smaller PSAPs without dedicated procurement staff, the transition is especially burdensome.
In that environment, the vendors who earn consideration are the ones who earn trust first not through promises, but through presence.
THE AGENCY
A Suburban PSAP Punching Above Its Weight
This case study focuses on a suburban police communications center serving four municipalities and approximately 35,000 residents. Despite its size, the agency operates with the standards and ambitions of a much larger organization. A recent $1.3 million renovation modernized the dispatch center, and the agency is currently migrating to a cloud-based 911 call taking platform, a move that places it on the leading edge of dispatch technology.
The center is staffed by nine full-time and four part-time telecommunicators and remains one of the last independent PSAPs in its county, having resisted the consolidation trend that has absorbed neighboring agencies. That independence is a point of institutional pride and a reflection of the operational rigor the center’s leadership demands.
The Communications Director oversees all technology decisions for the 911 center from call taking equipment and CAD systems to radios, furniture, and headsets. Every purchase must be researched, justified, and presented to a joint oversight board comprised of representatives from the four served municipalities. The standard is clear: no surprises, no shortcuts, and every dollar defended.
“My job is to research, quote, present, and justify. I need to tell them: this is why we need it, this is a good idea, other agencies are doing it, and they’ve had success with it.”
— Communications Director, Suburban Police PSAP
THE CHALLENGE
Navigating the Poly Transition on a Small-Agency Timeline
The agency’s existing headset infrastructure runs on Poly base stations and trigger modules. For now, the equipment works. But “not broken yet” is not a procurement strategy, especially when the manufacturer has exited the market, technical support has evaporated, and replacement parts are no longer available through legitimate channels.
When equipment issues did arise (interference problems and unauthorized beeping on the Poly units) the director attempted to reach Poly for technical specifications. The result: unreturned calls, representatives who didn’t understand the product, and no path to resolution. The product had been sold without any infrastructure for sustained support.
At the same time, the agency’s migration to a cloud-based call taking system introduced a new compatibility requirement. Any headset solution would need to integrate cleanly with the incoming platform, syncing radio traffic and caller audio in real time. The next headset decision wasn’t just a replacement, it was a forward-looking infrastructure choice.
“We can’t go down. And if we do, we better have a plan in place — because we need it to work all the time.”
— Communications Director, Suburban Police PSAP
THE RELATIONSHIP
It Started with a “Thank You”
The agency’s introduction to SHG did not begin with a sales call, a conference pitch, or a marketing email. It began when a member of the SHG leadership team walked into the police department during National Telecommunicators Week to congratulate a dispatcher who had been named APCO Dispatcher of the Year.
She brought pastries for the team and a handful of headsets as a gift. No contract, no demo request, no follow-up obligation. Just recognition for the work the dispatch team was doing.
The Communications Director invited her into the center to meet the team. From there, informal feedback began: the director shared observations about fit, comfort, and usability. SHG’s technical team followed up not with a sales pitch, but with a request to visit the center and understand how the equipment was being used in a live operating environment.
What the director observed next set SHG apart: engineers on the dispatch floor, examining every connection point, studying how dispatchers wore their headsets across long shifts, and asking questions that reflected genuine technical curiosity not a scripted product demo.
“They’re not online Googling what a headset should look like. They actually talk to the people who wear it 24/7.”
— Communications Director, Suburban Police PSAP
THE SOLUTION
Test It Where It Matters
SHG’s approach to the evaluation mirrored what the director values most in a vendor: hands-on, dispatcher-driven, and free of pressure. Rather than shipping a box of demo units with a follow-up deadline, SHG provided equipment for structured field testing and asked for honest feedback.
The testing covered wireless base stations, Bluetooth trigger configurations, and multiple headset form factors. This breadth mattered: dispatchers have deeply personal preferences shaped by years of use. Some prefer an in-ear tube, others an over-ear design, and some cannot tolerate any in-ear contact due to migraines or fatigue. A single-model approach would not work.
They also tested for a capability that matters enormously on the floor: individualized audio tuning. Dispatchers experiencing hearing loss need the ability to customize volume and frequency response at their station: a requirement rooted in SHG’s origins in medical hearing science.
Throughout the process, SHG’s team remained accessible and responsive. When the director flagged that a headset was too large or that a fit wasn’t right, the feedback was acted on not logged into a queue or ignored altogether. That responsiveness, combined with SHG’s willingness to visit the dispatch floor in person, created a feedback loop that formal support channels rarely achieve.
“They were so approachable and so willing to just talk and be personal how can you not want to work with a company like that?”
— Communications Director, Suburban Police PSAP
THE RESULTS
The Vendor Standard That Doesn’t Exist
| Requirement | Industry Standard | SHG Delivered |
|---|---|---|
| Engagement | Cold calls and quota driven outreach | In-person visits and on-site demos |
| Feedback Loop | Post-sale surveys or ticket systems or nothing at all | Direct dispatcher testing with iteration |
| Follow Up | Disappear after the sale | Proactive check-ins and relationship |
| Support Access | Ticket based, impersonal | Direct access to leadership and live support |
| Compliance | Afterthought | TAA / NDAA 889 compliant |
The director’s frustrations with the broader vendor landscape are common across public safety: vendors that oversell capabilities, disappear after the contract is signed, and cycle through sales representatives so frequently that institutional knowledge never accumulates.
SHG’s model inverts that pattern. The agency never dealt with a rotating cast of account representatives. The same leadership and engineering team that visited the dispatch floor during evaluation remained accessible throughout testing. There was no handoff to a support tier, no redirect to an offshore call center, and no gap between who sold the relationship and who sustained it.
The agency has since become an active referral source for SHG, making direct introductions to peer agencies navigating the same Poly transition. The highest form of endorsement in a trust-driven market.
THE VERDICT
Approachable, Technical, and Present
This relationship was not earned through a transaction. It was earned through sustained presence, technical credibility, and a willingness to show up, literally, on the dispatch floor.
In public safety, where peer referral drives purchasing and dispatchers are the ultimate validators, SHG’s approach addresses the real buying process, not the one vendors wish existed. The director’s evaluation criteria are straightforward: show me the product works, prove you’ll be there when it doesn’t, and treat my team like they matter.
SHG met every one of those conditions before a single purchase order was written.
“It all started because they came to my department and showed appreciation for our people. And it just took off from there.”
— Communications Director, Suburban Police PSAP
About SHG
SHG (Secure Headset Group) designs and manufactures mission-critical headsets and connectivity solutions purpose-built for emergency communications centers. With a product line that is TAA and NDAA 889 compliant, SHG provides direct-access support, fast-turn inventory, and field-tested reliability for dispatch agencies across the United States.