Incident Notification – Fast, Timely, Accurate

In today’s business environment, emergency response plans are crucial to keeping employees, tenants and visitors safe when and if a dangerous event arises. An essential component of any emergency plan is communication. How you choose to communicate the incident, the severity and response protocols can make a difference.

From workplace violence to weather emergencies, many organizations are implementing incident and mass notification processes. Gone are the days of endless employee call trees. When an emergency strikes, communication must be fast, timely and accurate.

When developing an incident notification plan as part of your overall emergency response approach, you must consider:

• Types of Notifications – The notification process you decide on may depend on your industry, location and business environment. Not all notification tools will be appropriate across the board, as there is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Work with your security provider to assess your environment and provide tailored recommendations.

• Technology – There are numerous technology options, including alarms, intercom systems, text message and email alerts, just to name a few. When evaluating solutions consider ease of use, reliability, scalability, features and functionality.

• Responsibilities – Designate a point person for message or alert deployment. They must be well-trained on your approach, and comfortable with the technology options you choose.

• Integration – Incident notification plans cannot be created in a vacuum, but must actively involve all stakeholders, neighboring businesses and local law enforcement. These plans will only be effective if they are communicated and practiced regularly.

Communicating with a large number of people can be a daunting task, add to that the panic of an emergency situation, and there is a probability that things will go wrong. A well-organized and rehearsed incident notification process is crucial to employee safety and business continuity.

About the Author
Ken Bukowski is the Vice President of Vertical Market Business Development for Allied Universal. He focuses on developing innovative solutions to address healthcare budget compression, workplace violence prevention and enhancing the patient experience.