The old-fashioned way many businesses and organizations used to manage emergency situations is by using whiteboards, pens, paper, and phone trees. This doesn't sound like the most efficient emergency management strategy, does it? Especially when it would often take upwards of an hour to ensure that all appropriate personnel have been contacted via phone and are aware of the ongoing situation.
What may be surprising is the fact that many of these inefficient practices are still used to this day in a great number of workplaces. They simply haven't had the time to discover why they should implement an automated solution to aid with streamlining emergency processes and protocols.
Here are five reasons automated emergency communication software could benefit your organization:
1. Accessible web-based platform
The advantage of utilizing emergency communication platform that is web-based is that it can be accessed from anywhere as long as there is internet availability. This means that even if you are unable to make it to your Emergency Operations Center (EOC), you can still participate in the mitigation and management efforts if you can log in to the platform using your own device.
2. Segment audiences easily
Easily divide contacts into various sending lists so you are able to send emergency notifications quickly and effortlessly by simply selecting the list you wish to use instead of having to manually type out the necessary contact names every time. An emergency communication platform allows you to create and maintain these contact lists in the Contact Manager for whenever you need to send out mass notifications to a specific group. Just select one or more of these lists to send to and know that everyone who needs to will receive your message.
3. Share a comprehensive view of information
The issue with the whiteboard and paper approach to emergency management approach is that the only people who will receive the entire scope of the situation are those who are physically located in the EOC. Should information need to be shared with another department or organization, the EOC is only able to share a limited version of the entire operation. With the use of an online platform, the entire common operating picture is able to be shared easily so all parties can access the information that pertains to them, while the sharer is also able to restrict access to other information they may wish to keep private to that specific account.
4. Confirmation of receipt
When sending out emergency messages to your contacts, it can be difficult to ensure the recipients actually receive the notification. With the help of emergency communication software that has confirm receipt capabilities, you are able to make the most of two-way communication. The software allows recipients to confirm they have received your message and it sends you the report of those who has and hasn't responded so you are able to efficiently manage the situation and make sure all of the proper parties are sufficiently aware of the current situation.
5. Day-to-day usage
It is important all employees and emergency managers have the utmost trust in the processes they use during times of crisis. Whether these processes include whiteboards and call trees or emergency communication software, confidence and familiarity with the system is essential to ensuring everyone can perform their role during an emergency. In the case of communication software, this trust cannot come from a system that is not versatile enough to be used in day-to-day operations and instead is used once in a blue moon during a real emergency scenario. The more often a system can be used, the higher the trust will be put into it whenever it needs to fulfill its intended, emergency management purpose.
Get Your Emergency Communication Platform Today
SimplyCast has developed a new, emergency communication solution called EmergHub, with the goal of making emergency preparation and management more efficient and streamlined while also making sure users are fully confident using the system through its many applications in the regular day-to-day business world.
