Using SMS for Emergency Planning & Covid19 Staff Notifications

In light of the worsening coronavirus outbreak and the climbing number of infected, the UK Chief Medical Officers have raised the risk to the UK from low to moderate. According to predictions, the outbreak is due to get worse before it gets better. This calls for taking precautionary measures at an individual, social and state level.

sms-emergency-planning-coronavirus

Today emergency planning for organisations is very high on the priority list. Health and Safety Coordinators around the country are monitoring the outbreak development daily, and issuing an array of preventive measures to employees. These include ceasing foreign business travel to high risk destinations, cancelling events, limiting in-person meetings, temporary office closures and asking employees to work from home.

In times like these, keeping staff updated and informed is of utmost priority.

Using SMS for Staff Notifications

SMS is a fantastic way to liaise with staff. 123-txt allows organisations to send timely updates, reminders and notifications to their employees in seconds, from a web-based interface.

During an emergency, clear and concise communication is of the essence. Messages need to be delivered as quickly as possible and reach recipients wherever they are. This makes SMS an ideal component of your emergency communication plan.

With 123-txt staff can be quickly informed of cancelled meetings, postponed travel, or office closure. With its high deliverability and open rates, you are sure to reach staff regardless of their location. According to studies, the majority of people open a text message almost instantly. This makes SMS a better medium than email or social media.

An added benefit in light of the outbreak is that sending and receiving SMS updates does not require any face-to-face contact.

SMS for Emergency Planning: a Case Study

The usefulness of SMS as an emergency planning communication tool isn’t limited to the current Covid19 coronavirus outbreak. Making text massaging a part of your organisation’s emergency planning procedures can provide real value in unexpected situations.

Let’s take this case study for South Oxfordshire District Council  as an example. When an after-hours arson attack resulted in the devastation of 85% of their premises with communication systems and servers going up in smoke, managers relied on text messaging to relay updates to staff. To read the complete case study, click here.

More Information on SMS for Emergency Planning

If you are interested in learning more about the different use cases of SMS for Emergency Planning, do not hesitate to contact us today. Alternatively, to sign up now and claim your first free 20 credits, click here.