Oftentimes when we think of the holidays, we think of the time off from work, school, and our other responsibilities. It’s a time that fills our hearts with joy to be around our friends and family. These times can; however, have the potential to increase the risks of emergency situations due to the stress and emotions of the holiday season.
Offices and university campuses can be found near empty with students home on holiday and many staff and employees taking time off. Although it might seem like a break for your safety and security, this is no time to minimize your security and safety measures. In most cases, there will still be people on your educational or corporate campus. Some you may know about, and some you may not.
It’s a good time to check your emergency notification system before the holidays to ensure they continue to notify and provide guidance to people. Whether there is an increase of people at your retail business or a decrease of people on your property due to vacations - the goal remains the same - and organizations need to remain vigilant to ensure timely notifications continue. Those who have to work during holiday breaks continue to require effective communication.
Take these extra precautions this holiday season to keep your corporate or educational campus safe.
Additional Security Resources on Campus - Employees and staff often take time off during the holidays to travel or spend more time with their families and friends. Most organizations also give time off during the holidays which leaves buildings next to empty. With these buildings being empty, it leaves room for such crimes like burglaries and theft. Although some organizations invest in extra security through third parties, these groups won’t know the facilities or your communication protocols as well as your team. This could leave your organization susceptible to avoidable risks. Crimes or emergencies that require notification to impacted employees and/or decision-makers is still a requirement that needs to be planned.
Plan to Send Severe Weather Messages - Severe winter weather such as blizzards, ice storms, and freezing cold temperatures occur around a large majority of the United States. This concerns every single person at your organization. You want to ensure the safety of your employees, but you also want to continue to be operationally efficient. Through your emergency notification system, you’re able to send different messages to specific groups telling them the exact information they need to know to keep your people safe and your business running efficiently.
Test Your Emergency Notification System - Empty buildings can also be positive for security teams. Because fewer people are in a building, or on campus, this is a great time to test your emergency notification system, crisis communication protocols, and exercise your organization’s safety drills. Running drills allows you to test your mass notification system and practice different crisis scenarios. Although it’s always beneficial to do these during business hours, running these exercises outside normal business hours provides access to every building without the worry of disturbing business meetings or classes.
To learn some tips on how to better prepare and execute your emergency notification system for exercises and drills download the Insight ENS Best Practices.