Electrical Dispatcher Pre-Hire Assessment

The short answer: First Move Assessment reads what an electrical dispatcher does first when an outage call lands on a full board: check which electrician has the right license and parts, rebuild the day and call the customers whose windows moved, or hand the problem to somebody else. It takes the candidate 10 to 20 minutes and starts at $149.

What the Dispatcher seat carries in an electrical contractor

Electrical dispatch mixes service calls, scheduled installs, inspections and the calls that cannot wait: no power to half the house, a burning smell at the panel, a storm that knocked out a service mast.

A strong dispatcher looks first and briefly: which electrician is licensed for the work, whose truck has the breaker or the meter base, which inspection slot cannot move. Then they commit, rebuild the afternoon themselves and call every customer whose window moved.

They keep the promises the company already made, the utility disconnect appointment, the inspection, the generator install the customer took a day off for, and they send price, warranty, overtime and discipline up without a debate.

Every seat in the trade is listed on the electrical page.

What the standard for this seat measures

Every situation the candidate reads is written from inside this seat, in the trade's own words, and each one asks for the move they would make first. The report gives a seat match from 0 to 100 against the written standard for the Dispatcher seat, with its margin of error printed beside it. It shows where the candidate's instincts line up with the seat and where they pull away, with the interview questions to ask about the gaps and what to listen for in the answers. It does not tell you whom to hire. You make the decision.

For this seat the standard leans on a short check before committing, on owning the day's fix, and on routing the questions that sit above the board.

Where the wrong instinct shows up

• The outage sent to the wrong electrician. The service mast call goes to the nearest truck, which has an apprentice and no meter base, and the customer waits for a second truck.
• The utility appointment missed. A service change gets moved to fit a repair, and the utility disconnect appointment has to be rebooked with the utility.
• The window nobody called about. The afternoon gets rebuilt and the customers find out when nobody arrives.
• The price settled at the board. A customer pushes on the trip charge and the dispatcher waives it, a call that belonged above the board.

See our guide to hiring a dispatcher, which covers electrical and plumbing shops as well as HVAC.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Dispatcher assessment cost?

One assessment is $149. A 5 Pack is $595, a 10 Pack is $995 ($99.50 a candidate) and a 25 Pack is $1,995 ($79.80 a candidate). The Practice License is $4,950 a year and includes 100 assessments ($49.50 each). Every seat costs the same, and assessments never expire. Your first report is covered by a 30-day refund. Full details are on the pricing page.

How long does it take the candidate?

About 10 to 20 minutes on a phone or a computer, with no app and no account. The candidate link expires 30 days after you send it.

How do I get the report?

You pick the seat and enter the candidate's name and email, and the link goes out. The report lands in your inbox the moment the candidate finishes, and it stays in your account for four years, unless you delete it or close the account.

Is dispatcher the same seat as CSR?

No. The CSR wins or loses the call; the dispatcher keeps the board's promises. If one person will do both jobs, send both assessments and read each report against its own seat's standard.

Does it measure dispatch software skill?

No. Software and the schedule rules can be trained. The assessment reads the judgment calls the board throws at them every hour.