posted by Bethany Haley @ 9:32 AM
I just got off of a 30-person conference call – have you ever tried one? Very difficult but at least I know everyone is connected and that everyone is ok. Ike has hit and this town is a disaster – the big question, how did you prepare your company, your staff, your clients for a full week (and maybe longer) without power? Without gas?
Many companies have crisis communications plans in place for issues like plant explosions, accidental deaths, etc. But how about when the entire company can’t get to work? Luckily technology is on our side as long as it is thought about in advance… The obvious ones are conference call lines, group texts, and even setting up online group chats (we use iChat). However, there are also some very simple, reliable content management systems that make employee communications sites, or even client extranets easy to set up in advance for whenever they are needed. These can be password protected and allow for a constant stream of communications. The important thing is that these sites can offer several different channels for outreach and communications – not only can you manage group e-blasts and texts, some even allow site administrators to send out group voicemails.
Hopefully after this last storm, we will all be thinking more proactively about how to best manage these situations and be prepared for the next!
(JP Morgan Chase Tower after Hurricane Ike passed through Houston September 13, 2008. Photo credit to Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
