Planning for a system of communication during an event or disaster is critical. Below are suggestions to assist in creating a communications plan.
Phones, email, social media, text messaging, news media, word of mouth: How do you plan to communicate in an emergency?
COMMUNICATION
Communication is easy to take for granted. We use it so often during the day that it's easy to presume you know exactly how you'll communicate after a disaster. However if you think back to news coverage about past events you may notice a headline trend:
Communication is one of our primary needs after a disaster. Phone lines and cell towers are overloaded as people try to find or reassure loved ones, communicate with employees or call for emergency resources. If you've ever experienced a natural or other disaster, you already know it is hard to predict which services you'll have and which ones you won't.
- You may have water, but not power.
- Your phones may work but your cable doesn't.
- You may have phone service but your neighbor may not.
- You may have cable but your internet services may not be functioning.
- Cell phone service may or may not be fully functioning.
By planning different avenues for communication, you'll have a better chance of success. It also gives you the ability to let people know in advance which methods you're planning to use to provide information. Planning also gives you extra time to think creatively about which methods of communication may work best for you and your business. PrepareMyBusiness
.org provides a useful
form
to help plan your communication strategy.
When planning a communication strategy, plan for more than one option. The audience with whom you're communicating may not have the same resources available. Plan on sending your message out via multiple mediums. The list below provides a helpful starting point.
Text Messaging - As
Off the Grid News points out in
4 Ways To Communicate During A Disaster, text messaging doesn't put the same strain on the cell network that phone calls do and the system is set up to "keep trying" if the message doesn't go through right away.
Text Messaging Service - Consider services such as those reviewed in this
article by
Small Business Trends. You can set up the text messaging service in advance with cell numbers for employees and other people with whom you'll need to communicate. Then, in the event of a disaster you can send one text to the service and have it broadcast to your recipients.
A Weather Line/Message Box - If your business is large enough to have a phone system with voicemail boxes, consider setting up a "weather line." Make sure you have a way to call in and record a message and that you note the password in a safe and convenient location. Set up a recording in advance giving information you wish to provide: "XYZ Company is planning to open as usual on Monday December 21. In the event we are unable to open we will leave a message here. Employees can also check Channel XYZ News for closing notices."
Auto-
Attendant
- If your phone system has an auto-a
ttendant
, you can record a special outgoing message. Make sure you have a way to set it remotely or plan to set it in advance if you have enough notice.
Traditional Phone Tree -
Ready.gov and
SBA.gov advise us not to discount the traditional phone tree. If you're implementing a phone tree, make sure everyone has a clear idea of who will be initiating the tree and who they are to call.
Email
- While everyone may not be able to access email, it is still an effective option. Make sure you have personal and work email addresses on file for everyone you may wish to contact.
Social Media
- If your business has a Facebook or Twitter account they are a good way to broadcast information to a large following quickly. Note - if you don't already use Twitter or Facebook for your business, social media will not be as effective. (None of your employees or customers will know to check here.)
News Media
- Your local TV and radio stations will be broadcasting closures. Since everyone is familiar with this method of disaster communication, it is a great idea to include news media in your backup communication plans.
Signs
- Don't discount the traditional sign. If your customers, employees or vendors arrive at your closed business, a sign is a courteous way to let them know you're closed and/or provide them with contact information.
Roll-over Phone Service
- Many answering service companies provide emergency rollover services. You can contract to have your phones automatically
roll over to the
service in the event your phone service is disrupted. Services and prices vary so if you are discouraged by one company's offering, try contacting other service providers.
Note:
many phone providers allow you to program a rollover NUMBER for your business in advance. You can set this to a service as mentioned or to an employee's house or cell phone. However if your business receives a lot of daily phone traffic you should consider a phone service since the traffic can easily overwhelm a cell phone or personal phone line.
IMPLEMENTATION
Deciding which methods of communication you'll use is only the first step. Once you've selected your tools, you need to get them ready for implementation.
Create Contact Lists - Make sure you know how to initiate communication.
Appoint a decision maker and a back-up decision maker.
Gather contact information for your carriers and decision makers. Make sure both decision makers have contact sheets AND have the contact information programmed into their phones. Have numbers for contacting the media and login information for social media accounts. Include phone numbers for employees they need to contact if using a phone tree. Program contact information for a text broadcasting service.
Create a contact list for your employees, vendors, critical customers, building and service providers and anyone else with whom you may need to communicate. Program contact lists into your text broadcast service, email, and cell phones. For vendors and service providers remember to include account information in your address book for quick reference.
Test Communications
- Be certain to t
est the broadcast service to make sure you have the correct numbers and that everyone received their messages.
Test your email contact lists to make sure they are programmed correctly.
If you'll
be using a phone tree, perform a test run and make sure everyone knows who they are to contact.
Imminent Disaster - Sometimes we have advanced warning before a natural disaster. If you have time before an upcoming disaster you can take additional steps to be prepared.
Double check
contact lists - send out requests for current information and make sure you have numbers and email addresses. Have any of your vendors or service providers changed? Confirm
login information for accounts. Has the password to the company's Facebook account changed? Do your decision makers have updated login information? Check y
our phone system's rollover number. H
as anything changed since
you programmed it? Does your phone company have an emergency rollover option that you can initiate if there's an outage?
Print Back-up Information - Make copies of your contact lists and take them with you. H
ave your employees print copies of their upcoming calendars and make sure they have contact information for meetings so they can notify attendees about cancellations. Make si
gns for your business entrances with contact information.
Contact Vendors and Others -
Contact vendors and key customers to make sure they are aware you are anticipating a disaster. Discuss necessary changes, plans, and precautions. If you'll be using an email, phone tree or text broadcast service, consider allowing them to participate.
I
f you have agreements with other businesses for emergency office space, server services, emergency cloud services etc, contact them and make sure they are aware of your impending disaster and are ready to provide assistance.
Communication plays a key part in weathering a business disaster. Knowing how to contact employees, vendors, customers and colleagues can save you time and money, allowing you to get back into operation quickly and efficiently.
