How to write employee emergency text messages
When disaster strikes or a dangerous situation arises, clear and timely communication can be the difference between chaos and control. It ensures everyone knows the plan and can help save lives, ease fears, and provide clear instructions.
As a starting point, having a solid crisis communications plan in place is essential for any organization. It prepares your team to understand their roles, define emergency levels, and follow clear procedures. Utilizing all available communication channels effectively is crucial.
Text messaging is a STRONGLY recommended component of your emergency communications strategy. If your company hasn’t set up an emergency text message alert system yet, now is the time to develop your employee emergency text message templates. We’ll walk through how to write them here!
Why employee emergency text messages are effective
Texting employees in an emergency has been shown to be an effective method of communication. It shouldn’t be your only channel, but SMS has an important role on the “front line” of safety and crisis communications.
- Texting is fast. SMS messages are delivered close to instantly to any type of phone, making it the perfect channel for immediate alerts and ongoing updates.
- It’s easy to send. The best employee emergency text messaging systems make it as fast and painless as texting from your own phone. The messages are short and focused.
- It’s easy to get. There are almost no barriers to receiving text. No logins, employee apps, or wifi required. Most everyone will get an alert on their phone no matter what.
- Phone numbers are available. All types of employees are likely to have a phone number in your HRIS. It’s easy to test and keep your telephone lists up to date for when an emergency strikes. Use an easy employee text message opt-in form to start!
- Responsiveness: Two-way text messaging allows response and real-time information flow during complicated moments.
Tips for setting up text messaging for emergencies
The steps to set up a mass texting service for employees can be simple, depending on your size and structure. Follow these tips to get the most out of being prepared.
- Check your source of employee phone numbers now for accuracy and completeness.
- Once you’re set up with a way to text, get employee consent and explain how you’ll be using the service (it’s almost always OK to text in emergencies, whether or not you’ve gathered explicit test messaging consent from your employees.)
- When testing and setting up, encourage your employees to SAVE the phone number you text from as “[Company] Alerts” or something similar so they know who’s texting.
- Test your system regularly. Make sure your audiences receive text messages and your lists are accurate. This also helps employees know what to expect. Use your text message system analytics as a baseline for performance.
Workplace emergencies where text messages can help
Every company has to manage crisis communications differently because we’re all set up in some unique way. And on top of that, anticipating emergencies is difficult because if we could see it coming, we’d prevent it. Before you figure out how to write employee emergency text messages for your org, ask yourself, “What types of emergencies might I need to communicate about?” and, “What types of potential emergencies can be helped by the unique advantages of employee text messaging?”
As you look around your business (and gather all existing crisis mitigation plans you can find), think about whether these types of situations could occur at your facilities or with your employee base.
Fire
Consider ALL of your buildings and their unique fire risks… gather all the evacuation plans before writing your text messages.
Severe weather/natural disasters
Tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, hailstorms… how will they uniquely affect where and how your employees work?
Medical emergencies
What employee groups are most likely to need to react in a medical emergency? What unique situations are there because of their mode of work?
Workplace accidents, spills, leaks
If you’re in manufacturing or production of any kind, the ops team already has disaster plans… gather them and consider how comms can help.
Office or facility closure/power outages
Are you in-office? Remote? Hybrid? Do you have frontline employees? How will building closures affect each group uniquely?
Active violence/immediate threat to life or property
How are you preparing employees to follow federal guidelines in these situations? Are your comms ready?
Bomb threats
Gather the evacuation plans for each of your facilities and write your emergency text messages based on those instructions.
Cybersecurity breaches/IT system failures
Work with IT to understand possible tech outages and interruptions and what employees will need to do (or what they really shouldn’t do!)
Public health emergencies (e.g., pandemics, outbreaks)
Look back to your comms around COVID-19 and learn! What would have been helpful to communicate more quickly? How could employee emergency texts have played a role? Be ready for next time.
PR developments
If your company or industry is susceptible to sways in public perception, how can texts help employees deal with unexpected news?
Preparing to write effective employee emergency text messages
Understanding and preparing for potential emergencies is the first step to protecting your employees and maintaining a safe working environment. Write your emergency text messages templates based on the best knowledge you have today!
Anticipate the crisis situations your business is most likely to see
- Consult with all of your teams and gather their crisis action plans
- Use historical data to understand things that can happen
- Share your list with operations, safety, and leadership and ask for feedback
Understand the audiences that will be directly impacted
- Who will be affected by this emergency?
- Be sure to consider employees on location and in different positions
- Consult your communications cascade for important employee groups
Write out what each audience will need to know
- What information do they need FIRST to get safe?
- How can you provide clear, quick instructions on what to do?
- Who do they look to for further information?
- How will they know what happens next?
- How can text messaging play a role in this delivery?
Gather resources that each audience will need
Get the links you need to these documents, relative to each possible emergency:
- Crisis management plans
- Crisis communication plans
- Emergency evacuation plans
- Facility maps
- Assembly points, safe rooms
- Emergency contact lists by facility or department
- Remote work protocols
- Data security protocols
- System outage protocols
Anticipate follow-ups and updates
- Anticipate changes or updates that might develop during an emergency situation
- What follow-ups will employees need to stay safe?
- Do you expect employees to check in? Respond?
- How can text messages make this faster?
Share and save your templates as part of your crisis communications plan
- Be sure your emergency text message templates are saved either in your text messaging system or somewhere VERY easy to access. Consider saving in two places.
Best practices for writing emergency text messages
- Use a communications cascade or set up a chain of command for who will send and what will happen.
- Set up a responsive, easy-to-use employee text message alert system before any problem arises (consider Workshop!)
- Keep your templated messages short and easy to digest.
- Store your templates either in the messaging system or somewhere VERY easy to access.
- Be very specific with any instructions included in your message.
- Keep your links and resources readily available.
- Test your system regularly to make sure it works and that employees know it’s there.
- Ask employees to save the number in their phones as [Company] Alerts.
Examples of emergency text messages
More employee safety resources
- FEMA resources for businesses
- OSHA evacuation plans and procedures tool
- OSHA sample emergency action plan
- DHS active shooter handbook
- CISA bomb threats resources
Next steps: discover how Workshop’s two-way employee text messaging system can help
Workshop has the only two-way employee SMS tool built specifically for internal communications. Our easy-to-use interface, super-fast delivery, and seamless integration with lists from your HRIS make Workshop an ideal addition to your comms and crisis planning. Schedule some time with us to see it for yourself!
