A Mass Notification System is a great resource for any business or organization. It is particularly useful during emergencies and critical events, to make sure important messages get to as many people as fast as possible. It’s no stretch to say that a properly enabled Mass Notification System can save people from getting injured, and can even save lives.

But thinking about a Mass Notification System as a tool to use only in the most dire of situations would be doing a disservice to your company. There are so many ways an MNS can provide value to organizations, both large and small.

Here are a few scenarios that illustrate just how useful a notification system can be.

  1. There is a record breaking heat wave in your city, and last night the air conditioning system blew up in your office building. To have your employees work in the building would be unsafe. Instead of having them show up to the building to be told to go home, you can send out a mass text to all commuters letting them know they should work remotely, and that they will be alerted when then AC is back up and running.
  2. The deadline to submit health insurance forms always seems to sneak up on employees. Keep the deadline front in center for those who still have not submitted the forms by developing a campaign that includes reminder emails (when they are most likely to read them) as well as SMS messages (again, could be after hours when they are more likely to be on their phone).

From daily reminders to last minute cancellations, an MNS does not need to be sitting idle until a catastrophe strikes. And the great thing about an MNS is that the more it is used, the more ways people find to get value out of it.

[Quick note: As one of the main purposes of a Mass Notification System is to alert people in times of emergencies, when an MNS is used regularly, make sure people are able to  differentiate between critical versus run-of-the-mill updates.]

Now let’s take a look at some of the ways that different types of entities are getting the most out of their MNS:

How large companies use Mass Notification Systems

  • Reminders for upcoming company wide meetings
  • Reminders for HR related due dates (i.e., annual health insurance sign up deadline)
  • Changes to meeting times
  • Local traffic pattern updates (i.e., closed roads or heavy traffic due to accident on major highway)
  • Reminders on company policies or reinforce changes to company policies
  • Weather updates so employees can plan appropriately for coming into or leaving work (i.e., impending ice storm)
  • Advance notice for when company will be featured in the news
  • Advertise job openings
  • Send out a survey
  • IT alerts
  • Hospitals can integrate them with overhead paging systems
  • Schools can use then with bell schedules
  • Billing reminders to customers

How small companies use Mass Notification Systems

  • Announcing recent big company wins (i.e., getting the new lead that everyone was working on to sign an agreement)
  • Sharing news on company changes (i.e., retirements and hires)
  • Announcing immediate perks (i.e., office closing earlier on a nice Summer day or cake in the breakroom)
  • Surveys
  • Job openings
  • IT alerts
  • Billing reminders to customers
  • Delivery notifications to customers

How community organizations and associations use Mass Notification Systems

  • Cancellations or rescheduling of events due to weather and other circumstances (to organization members and people who signed up for event)
  • Share details of upcoming fundraisers
  • Announce when goals have been met
  • Reminders of when sign ups for events start and when they close
  • Surveys

There are countless other ways that businesses are using Mass Notification Systems to reach the right people at the right time. In fact, DiRAD’s alert system has the ability to send calls and emails to specific floors or even rooms in a building. We can use any criteria we have in the database to segment a communication. The possibilities are endless, which makes them such a powerful tool for any company or organization.

DiRAD’s Mass Notification Suite offers you not only the ability to provide instant notifications, but also real-time 2-way reporting during critical events and threats. Want to learn more about our system, discuss any ideas you have regarding how it might be used or how it can be incorporated into your business, give us a call at (518) 438-6000 or contact us online.

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