There are a lot of factors that affect how employees feel about their workplace. And yeah, okay -- some are more frivolous than others. Comfortable desk chairs? Important. Good snacks in the break room? Depends on who you ask.
Other criteria are more serious. Feeling safe at work should be a given, but for many people, it’s quite the opposite. Workplace violence is disturbingly common, and many facilities have minimal security in place.
That’s where internal communications can make a big difference. Whether your employees actively realize it or not, that system carries a lot of weight. People in the building -- which also includes visitors, clients and anyone else who happens to be there -- need to have faith that your notification process will actually work when it matters most.
It’s not just about the workplace. To use a recurring real-life example, most college campuses send out mass push notifications to alert the entire student body of emergencies. The problem is that time and time again, many students say they did not receive the information in a timely way.
The reasons vary: They weren’t on wifi, they were in classrooms with bad cell reception, their phones were off for exams. In turn, students lose confidence that their schools will effectively keep them in the loop the next time there’s a dangerous situation.
This isn’t a minor problem. It’s huge, and for businesses, hospitals, schools and just about any other organization, resolving it should be at the top of the agenda.
While developing their emergency notification programs, the team at Singlewire Software realized that well before a stressful scenario unfolds, employees need to know that there’s a strong communications system already in place.
“The system has got to be something that the audience has faith in,” Singlewire EVP Pat Scheckel explains. “It has to deliver communication that is not only consistent but also accurate.”
In order to get that across, when there isn’t an emergency situation unfolding (which, of course, is the case 99% of the time), the product can be leveraged in creative, useful ways to build a cadence with people in the building.
Employees, students, patients -- all people in your facility should feel safe. They should know from the moment they walk in the door that this is an environment that will protect them to the best of its abilities.
And while they may not consciously realize just how important that feeling of security is, when your messaging system delivers the information they need during high-pressure situations, they’ll be deeply grateful that their company has their back.
