6 reasons to integrate emergency management tools 

In today’s fast-paced world, organizations face numerous challenges when it comes to ensuring the safety and well-being of their employees during critical events. That’s where the integration of E911 and mass notification technologies can make a significant difference. In this blog, we will explore five compelling reasons why organizations should embrace the powerful combination of these emergency management solutions. By understanding the benefits of integrating E911 and mass notification systems, you’ll gain valuable insights into how these tools can enhance safety, increase productivity, ensure compliance, improve coordination, and enhance your organization’s reputation. 

Enhanced safety  

By integrating an E911 solution with mass notification, organizations can enhance employee safety by enabling on-site staff to immediately assist in emergencies and informing the proper stakeholders of emergency situations in real-time.   

By using the most accurate location of the caller, E911 routes emergency calls to the appropriate Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), enabling the quickest response possible from first responders and on-site staff. 

If someone were to dial 9-1-1 from the organization’s network, an integrated E911 and mass notification system with incident communications enables response teams to be deployed while security teams, administrative personnel, and office managers are alerted of the emergency in real-time. This not only expedites management but allows businesses to keep other employees safe should the emergency affect them as well.   

For example, if an individual dials 9-1-1 about a fire occurring in a multi-story office building, an E911 and mass notification integration:   

• Provides emergency responders the exact location of the emergency caller  
• Automatically alerts security teams to respond to the incident  
• Notifies other on-site personnel so they are prepared to help responders quickly get to the scene  

If the situation impacts others in the building, organizations can use the same system to send alerts out to those in the building to tell them to evacuate.  To successfully enhance safety, leaders and security professionals also need to understand where their current gaps in emergency management lie. In our recent white paper, “From Chaos to Control,” we provide a checklist of the right questions to ask so leaders can easily determine where they need to focus their efforts.

With timely and effective communication, businesses can minimize disruption during emergencies and avoid downtime caused by ineffective response.  

Increased productivity   

According to a 2023 Total Economic Impact™ Study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Everbridge, recaptured employee productivity amounted to $861,000 over a three-year span with implementation of a mass notification solution like Everbridge. For security teams, the increased productivity totaled $607,500 annually*. 

The study showed a 25% reduction in downtime attributable to Everbridge solutions as a result of earlier alerts and faster response team communication.   

A Global Security Operations Manager featured in the study stated, “[We were] manually uploading employee addresses into online maps and then, as an incident occurred, teams were pushing the incident onto the map trying to figure out what the potential impact was. The process was very manual and tedious.”  

With an integrated E911 solution and mass notification system with incident communications, organizations can expand their real-time insights on potentially disruptive emergencies, giving them more time to avoid impact and protect employee productivity.   

Compliance  

Investing in E911 and mass notification with incident communications can help businesses comply with federal safety regulations, created by agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), and protect them from potential legal liabilities.   

OSHA has developed safety standards that require employers with 10 or more employees to have a documented emergency action plan in the workplace, available for employees to review. Off-site or work-from-home employees are not exempt from federal laws regarding employee safety.   

With a mass notification system in place, organizations can have multiple emergency action plans ready for review and activation should a critical event occur. Managers can automatically send real-time alerts and instructions to groups and individuals during critical events and benefit from two-way communications to ensure all their people are out of harm’s way.  

Additionally, regulations are now in place that require the use of E911 technology:  

• Kari’s Law requires direct dialing to 9-1-1 and automatic notification to front desk or security personnel.    

• The RAY BAUM’s Act requires organizations to provide a “dispatchable location” of an emergency caller to the emergency call center or PSAP, which includes their detailed location information such as a street address, floor, apartment, or suite number.  

E911 solutions ensure organizations maintain compliance with both Kari’s Law and the RAY BAUM’s Act by finding emergency callers, routing their calls to the nearest emergency call centers, and notifying the appropriate security or administrative personnel. Most importantly, E911 helps companies protect their workforce, especially as mobile and work-from-home models become more common.   

Together, E911 technology and mass notification with incident communications systems ensure organizations remain 100% compliant with federally mandated regulations.

Improved coordination  

When E911 and mass notification solutions are paired together, organizations can reduce the time it takes to alert the proper individuals or groups about the existence of an emergency within their network. This allows for improved coordination and can provide extra time to better manage critical events.   

Take Santander as an example, the 16^th largest banking institution in the world, which has over 400 branches across the Eastern U.S. alone. After implementing Everbridge Mass Notification, they reduced their time to notify employees by 100%. They saved 10-15 minutes for every alert and potentially up to 30 minutes for the entire notification lifecycle.   

With Everbridge E911 integrated with Mass Notification, organizations can automatically alert managers whenever an emergency call is made from the organization’s network in addition to risk events such as severe weather, IT disruptions, or physical security disturbances. This provides a holistic view of potential risk and enables teams to coordinate response more quickly, no matter the type of event they are managing.   

Improved reputation  

When organizations demonstrate an active commitment to employee safety and prioritize duty of care to employees, they can positively influence their reputation. Employees who feel protected and safe in their workplace are much more likely to remain with their company, which improves retention rates and helps overall brand image.  

To further improve retention rates, organizations must actively uphold their duty of care, not just discuss their commitment to the concept. This requires businesses and security professionals to prioritize effective emergency management and response to physical and digital threats that might impact their teams. Implementing an integrated approach to mass notification and E911 helps organizations more quickly identify emergencies and take the proper steps toward resolution to best protect their employees and make sure they feel safe and secure. 

Build more resilient operations  

The integration of E911 solutions and mass notification technologies is a crucial step for organizations looking to enhance their emergency management capabilities. By leveraging accurate location data and real-time communication channels, organizations can significantly improve employee safety during critical events. Furthermore, the integration of these tools boosts productivity by minimizing disruption and response time, ensuring business continuity. Compliance with federal safety regulations, such as Kari’s Law and the RAY BAUM’s Act, becomes seamless with E911 and mass notification systems. The improved coordination and faster response provided by these integrated solutions empower organizations to handle emergencies efficiently and mitigate potential risks. Lastly, by prioritizing employee safety and demonstrating a commitment to duty of care, organizations enhance their reputation and foster a positive work environment. 

In today’s unpredictable world, integrating emergency management tools is not just an option; it’s a necessity for organizations that value the well-being of their employees and strive for operational resilience.  

To learn more about the importance of integrated notification and response systems in emergency situations, we invite you to read our latest whitepaper, “From chaos to control: the importance of integrated notification and response systems in emergency situations.”  

Take the proactive step towards building resilience and gaining control during emergencies with Everbridge.  

*Study results were based on a composite organization comprised of interviewees with experience using the Critical Event Management (CEM) platform.