New year, new resolve to be ready

January 1st each year gives us the opportunity to reflect and reinforce our convictions in being prepared to “expect the unexpected.” To support this resolve we recommend the following resolutions:

1. Practice, Practice, Practice Challenge your teams in the process and methods for responding to emergencies. When crisis hits our cognitive abilities can fall to instinctual levels. So what we can do automatically will generally prevail. Make sure your team has the steps to respond mentally ingrained and you’ll be able to make the best of any situation.

2. Plan Ahead Prepare for the scenarios that might occur. Create or purchase message maps with 3-3-30 messaging (3 short sentences, that convey 3 key messages in 30 words or less) for each step in your response and you will ensure that your recipients are well informed.

3. “This is a test…” Test your system regularly. This will help recipients to consider their own responses and allow you to find any glitches with your system or process, so they don’t occur during an emergency.

4. Notification, It’s Not Just for Emergencies Anymore Consider expanding use of your system for day-to-day needs with operational groups. If your system has unlimited use, it’s a very useful operational tool that can help teams schedule staff, communicate news, and respond to day-to-day incidents more effectively.

5. Stay Current Make sure your system has the most recent contact information. As individuals change roles, move locations, and acquire the latest new phone gadets your listings can quickly become out of date. Make sure you have the latest information in your system to optimize its reach. Quality systems will allow you to automate updates to help you stay current with the least amount of effort.

Consider working on these five resolutions to be your best in 2011. Need help with operational notifications? Contact us about Everbridge Matrix.