to Building an Effective Emergency Response Plan with Mass Notification
SMB Directions for the Future of Work
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Contents:
Foreword: Find Your Sense of Direction
Introduction: The Three Characteristics of Future-Ready SMBs
1: Resilience
2: Putting People First
3: Agility
Time to Give your Communications a Technology Upgrade?
Foreword:
Find Your Sense of Direction
In today's unpredictable world, having a well-prepared emergency response plan, including robust mass notification systems, is essential for any venue.
Whether you're dealing with a natural disaster, a security breach, or a cyber-attack, having the ability to quickly alert and communicate with your team can make all the difference. That's why it's important to take the time to build an effective emergency response plan that leverages mass notification technology. Your plan not only ensures the safety of your employees but also any visitors, guests, or customers.
By following some simple steps we’ve outlined and continuously refining your plan, you'll be able to empower your team to respond confidently and effectively in times of crisis, giving everyone the peace of mind, they need to stay focused on the task at hand. So don't wait – act today and start preparing your organization for the unexpected.
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Critical Elements of an Emergency Plan
Start by identifying all stakeholders who need to be informed during an emergency.
This includes staff, customers, visitors, contractors, the media (when applicable), and the general public.
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Steps to success
In each section, you’ll find helpful guidance on applying ideas and strategies inspired by the research in your own business.
Introduction:
The Three Characteristics
One message comes across loud and clear from the survey results: SMB’s that made changes to their strategies to adapt to new market conditions during the pandemic feel optimistic about the future of their businesses.
About three-quarters of SMBs made changes to their business and technology strategies during the pandemic. And those that began or accelerated their digital transformation, by taking steps like integrating their collaboration and productivity tools, feel flexible and confident about the future and expect to see revenue increases.
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of Future-Ready SMBs
These businesses understand that coming out of the other side of the pandemic isn’t just about mitigating the risk of future disruption, but about creating ways to build momentum and progress their business while doing it. Looking ahead, and to make sure your business is successful and competitive on this side of the COVID-19 crisis, now’s the time to shift your focus beyond survival and recovery, and concentrate on building strategies for how your business works, today and in the future.
Look beyond tomorrow
Determine what information each group needs to receive to stay safe and reassured.
For example where are key points on site for facilities, what routes are there out of your venue if one is blocked.
Resilience
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The business is ready to withstand whatever potential disruption comes next
Putting People First
The business understands that customers and employees are equally important, and gives equal weight to CX and EX
Agility
The business recognises the value of adopting new technology quickly and enthusiastically to maintain a competitive advantage over peers and larger businesses
Find out more
Form an emergency planning team that includes representatives from different areas of your organization...
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...such as front-line staff, IT, HR, facilities, risk management, and communications. Schedule regular meetings to maintain focus and gather diverse perspectives.
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Any successful SMB needs a degree of resilience to withstand the ups and downs that affect every company. But the last couple of years have seen SMBs’ ability to weather storms become a question of survival.
However, the survey found that SMBs who became more resilient by adapting to the pandemic will be better placed to absorb or navigate the next waves of political, economic, ecological and social turbulence. Unsurprisingly, the survey uncovered that these macro issues weigh heavy on SMB leaders’ minds.
Despite the advantages SMBs have gained through their digital transformation activities, they face some strong headwinds that are largely out of their control.
Top SMB concerns
Roughly three-quarters of respondents say they are very or somewhat concerned that rising inflation, supply chain interruptions and continuing uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 will negatively impact their businesses.
More than half report feeling worried that extreme weather and climate change could harm their businesses.
About two-thirds fear cybersecurity failures, government regulations, tax policies and talent shortages could adversely affect them.
Conduct brainstorming sessions to identify potential emergency scenarios.
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Prioritize these scenarios based on likelihood, seasonality, and severity. Consider both existing processes and new ideas for improving emergency response.
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Weathering the storms
Many of these concerns have already come to fruition. The Omicron variant surge, record levels of inflation, prominent cybersecurity breaches, geopolitical instability and severe weather events have likely added to SMBs’ concerns about their business outcomes as they look ahead. The good news is that the changes many SMBs have already made to their business operations over the past couple of years should boost their resilience against these latest challenges. However, they will need to continue to hone their innovation, agility and resilience as they deal with ongoing uncertainty.
Building your resilience
External factors may be beyond your control, but keeping your business future-ready with the latest versions of your communication software is one easy step every business can take.
If your communications technology is several versions behind, you’re probably missing out on new agility and resilience capabilities that could make the difference for your business.
Depending on your situation, you can consider tailored and managed service plans that allow you to leave tech management to your service provider so you can focus on what you do best: your business.
Top 5 macro trends preoccupying SMBs
1. Rising inflation
2. Supply chain interruptions
3. Infectious diseases (e.g. COVID-19)
4. Government regulation and tax policy
5. Cybersecurity failures
Recognize that different stakeholder groups may require multiple messages during an incident or event.
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Ensure your communication plan can manage this effectively, considering remote activation of notifications during after-hours emergencies.
PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST
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SMBs Flex to Boost Employee Recruitment and Retention
Modernising your technology gives you the best foundation to support the growing shift to hybrid work models, and to drive engagement and retention in employees. A suite of consistent and easy-to-use communication tools will make it effortless for people to be productive at any time and in any place, boosting their job satisfaction. Conversely, communications tech that makes remote and hybrid working a stressful experience will have the opposite effect.
Current and prospective employees’ expectations have changed post-pandemic. For businesses where hybrid working is realistic, shifting to a hybrid work model has the potential to bring huge advantages for both businesses and their staff – widening access to talent pools, reducing business overheads and boosting productivity and work/life balance for employees.
Adapt and evolve
Assess your physical environment and consider potential threats to your facilities during various types of crises.
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Look at all exit routes and potential scenarios, consult local authorities and other parties when preparing plans.
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Flexible appeal
Top 5 changes to improve recruitment and retention
1. Offer more flexible hours*
2. Improve career opportunities
3. Raise salaries
4. Offer remote/home working*
5. Increase childcare senior care benefits
SMBs are already seeing the benefits of offering more flexible working: that have embraced hybrid working report finding it extremely or very valuable.
Job seekers value flexibility above all, with of applicants to one well-known job board saying they’d feel more loyal to their employers if their jobs were more flexible.
SMBs are taking this to heart: say that they have a strategy to support a more flexible workplace, and say they are developing one.
Offering employees more choice regarding working locations is already becoming the norm.
But flexibility goes beyond physical location. For example, of SMBs have recently begun or plan to offer their employees more flexible working hours.
More broadly, a majority have added or plan to add new benefits, such as pay increases, more annual leave, new opportunities for career progression, as well as perks for commuting, childcare and tuition reimbursement.
You can achieve these improvements by modernising or upgrading your communications technology.
*
Assess your technology infrastructure and ensure that your technology can continue to support your communications needs (Back-up / Business Continuity).
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Invest in unified notification solutions to address gaps in your emergency communication procedures. These solutions enhance network-wide communication, security, and responsiveness.
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Remote Work is Here to Stay but challenges remain
How far has remote working advanced and how deeply embedded has it become? SMBs say they have a higher percentage of employees working remotely or working in a hybrid model than employees working strictly at a company location. Many SMBs have created or expanded remote and hybrid working alternatives since the pandemic began, and a resounding believe flexible working is having a positive impact on their businesses. In fact, given flexibility is seen as a success driver, it’s not surprising that say they anticipate increasing remote-only work options, and one-third expect to increase hybrid working options going forward. However, many are still figuring out how to manage this more complex environment through conditions that are still in flux. This is driving businesses to look for better solutions to manage and nurture employees in a fluid environment.
Foster collaboration and productivity across your organisation by making sure your people have consistent communication tools wherever they work.
Flexible working thrives with flexible tools, so help your people stay productive wherever they are, by offering a choice of intuitive communication and collaboration solutions including voice, video and chat.
These tools are evolving and improving all the time, and are readily available as cloud services to save you the hassle of deploying and managing them yourself.
Create the foundations for successful flexible working
Identify all possible notifications you may need to send.
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Whilst it’s impossible to predict, if you have some prepared it will enable you to react even more quickly in an emergency.
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Evolving your company culture to embrace hybrid working
Many SMBs are already investing in making hybrid working a success, and many IT vendors and service providers are finding smart new ways to support businesses who embrace this trend. For example, as remote work becomes more prevalent, employees are also often responsible for setting up new hardware on their own – a job that not all are ready, willing or able to do. Be sure your tech vendor builds more implementation, management and security services into their products, to help alleviate these problems. A smooth onboarding experience that makes it easy for new people to get up and running with their shiny new company communication tools will be increasingly important, given how many SMBs plan to add new headcount in the coming year.
Engage with local authorities and emergency response to ensure your plan is fit for purpose and you can easily communicate with any dept.
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Positive expansion plans
75% of organisations with high levels of intentional collaboration also report having high levels of team innovation.
Think and act positive
Create an authentic culture where people feel understood and supported.
Despite the backdrop of uncertainty, it’s encouraging to see that the majority of SMBs are expanding rather than shrinking in size.
Amidst a strengthening economy, of SMBs say they plan to hire internal employees in the next twelve months, and plan to hire external contractors.
Among those with plans to hire, about also say they have more job openings than usual.
Larger companies are and are also more likely to have more job openings than usual when compared with smaller businesses.
Somewhat surprisingly, given the current talent crunch, say they are confident they will meet their hiring goals.
Learn from progressive organisations that rely less on innovation by chance and more on innovation by design.
Be aware of any issues specific to your location that may arise during a crisis.
Ensure that your emergency communications plan aligns with these requirements. Understand if your technology allows you to communicate within a specific geographic area and enables Geo-fencing.
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Accelerated tech adoption correlates with better business outcomes
SMBs that accelerated technology adoption and investments during the pandemic are significantly more likely to anticipate increased revenues in their next fiscal year compared to businesses that decelerated or made no change to their investments.
The positive buzz around flexible and hybrid working has measurable business benefits.
SMBs that put modern, flexible technology solutions to work are better prepared to:
Adapt more quickly to shifting customer requirements, such as the demand for expanded ecommerce offerings, contactless payments and virtual services.
Meet employee expectations for ‘anytime, anywhere’ tools that streamline work instead of getting in the way.
Gain access to real-time information and intuitive analytics tools that provide the insights they need, when they need them, to make better business decisions.
Customer expectations are changing post-pandemic. Consider how your people will use technology to connect with customers as well as with each other.
Most modern cloud collaboration platforms include analytics tools that help your business understand usage patterns and trends, so you can build on what’s working well and correct anything that isn’t.
Customer Experience (CX) is tied directly to Employee Experience (EX). When your people are empowered to work in hybrid or remote settings and given the tools to make informed decisions and interactions with customers, they’ll feel more positive and engaged.
Consider your customers within your hybrid strategy
Ensure the plan is well documented and clear so that you can properly train your employees.
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Top 5 collaboration solutions chosen by SMBs
Collaboration app integration: A missed opportunity?
Collaboration solutions have been critical to helping SMBs get work done regardless of location.
Roughly of SMBs say that they currently use web and video conferencing solutions, as well as tools to enable document sharing, file sharing, shared calendars and real-time chat and messaging applications. They are less likely to use whiteboards, project management tools and knowledge bases.
of SMBs say they’ve integrated all or most of the collaboration applications they use. say they’re satisfied with the level of integration they’ve achieved.
This level of integration is important, given that collaboration tools are an indicator of satisfaction. SMBs that have integrated all or most of their applications are nearly more likely to be very satisfied with the level of integration they’ve achieved, and more likely to be very satisfied than those that said none are integrated.
1. Document sharing
2. Web and video conferencing
5. Real-time collaboration and chat platform
3. File storage and sharing
4. Shared calendaring
of SMBs that have accelerated tech investment and adoption expect to see revenue increases.
79%
Ensure that your teams are trained to use the notification systems effectively.
Conduct periodic refresher training sessions to keep them familiar with the benefits of automated and pre-recorded notifications during stressful situations.
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Wherever you are on your cloud journey, now’s a great time to look at how cloud communication and collaboration tools can replace disjointed systems with an integrated platform that seamlessly connects to your existing infrastructure.
Seize the moment
Switching between lots of different applications to collaborate can be tedious and time consuming, and a real productivity-blocker.
Choosing an integrated cloud collaboration and communication platform that provides all the essential tools employees need makes life simpler for them – and it’s easier for businesses to deploy and manage too.
Run through crisis scenarios as a team to test your planned responses.
Cover both internal and external communication, physical and technological needs, and potential injuries and structural damage.
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SMB’s top 3 security measures (planned or implemented)
SMBs need more safeguards to protect against cyberthreats
SMBs frequently mention security as their top technology challenge. The rise of the remote workplace, increased dependence on digital operations and the growing threat landscape amplify these concerns. And for good reason.
In the last twelve months, of SMBs say their company had experienced a data breach and have experienced a ransomware attack.
Larger SMBs have borne the brunt of these strikes. Financial services, life sciences, public sector, IT services, central and local government are the most likely to have reported breaches and ransomware attacks.
While about of SMBs back up their data regularly, have yet to deploy identity and access management or end-point protection solutions.
1. Daily data backups
2. Endpoint protection
3. Identity and access management
However, no business, no matter how small, is immune, and many SMBs need to do more to protect themselves. About of SMBs say they plan to implement end-point protection measures; and about say they plan to deploy identity and access management solutions.
Perform physical tests or drills to simulate real emergency situations. Involve team members in using critical tools and systems. After the drill, evaluate your performance and identify areas for improvement.
Did we follow the plan effectively? Were our communications clear? Were all team members adequately trained and supported? Did our resources meet our needs? Do we need further training or coordination with system vendors and local responders?
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The stakes in information security are high: 60% of SMBs ultimately fold after experiencing a major cyberattack.
Maintaining data privacy and protection
Thankfully, there are managed service security providers (MSSPs) and other third-party providers for new threat protection services to help you if your in-house security expertise is limited.
With some managed services vendors offering 99.999% uptime availability SLAs for their communication platforms, you can leave it to them to worry about how they protect your business’ essential communication services.
Regularly practice and refine your emergency response procedures to ensure that your team is prepared for any crisis that may arise.
Prioritize Preparedness: Your Path to Emergency
Prioritizing preparedness for any emergency is key to safeguarding your organization, its people and anyone visiting you. By implementing a robust emergency response plan and leveraging dependable mass notification systems, you're taking the crucial steps to ensure a swift and effective response when it's needed most.
Start your journey towards readiness today with a comprehensive emergency response strategy and the power of cutting-edge mass notification technology.
Talk to our team of experts today.
Contact us today at
mitel.com
Call US 844.YES.MITEL | UK: +44 1291 430 000
Resources:
1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/02/04/how-the-pandemic-has-impacted-customer-expectations/?sh=7c04cb423185 2. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/05/employers-pandemic-covid-19-mental-health/ 3. https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/survey-76-avoid-the-office-important-tasks/ 4. https://www.inc.com/joe-galvin/60-percent-of-small-businesses-fold-within-6-months-of-a-cyber-attack-heres-how-to-protect-yourself.html
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