When you have important information to tell your tenants, you must be ready to hit send. From severe weather alerts, to closings, to emergency notifications, to networking events and staffing updates, sending real-time news must be quick, easy and manageable. Otherwise, you may miss an opportunity to send critical and timely information, which could hold you responsible for damages and consequences – and end up costing you more money and time.
To remove the obstacles between what you know and what your tenants need-to-know, your tenant communication system must have these 3 non-negotiables.
Must Have Multi-Channel Capability – create consolidated, one-click communication distributed through multiple channels
Your communication system must consolidate multiple communication channels into one system – i.e. email, text, social posts, voice dial, digital signage and even intranet posts. This simplifies distribution of important messaging, allowing you the ability to choose the most effective communication channel per tenant or message type – for example, young tenants may prefer email, while business owners prefer text. This reduces the need for multiple systems – which helps in a number of ways, including saving your time, effort and ensuring consistent messages.
One multi-channel system also helps you blast an update to all channels when a message is urgent. Multiple channels increase the chances your tenants will immediately get the message. Repetition also helps reinforce importance. Seeing the same message through multiple ways – reading a text, opening an email, or even listening to a voicemail all about a current tornado warning, for example – helps emphasize the importance and urgency of the message.
Your system must allow you to easily segment audiences and create custom lists through filters – i.e. by building number, department heads, city, region, etc. Having a need to only send messages to one particular segment, or to customize the message for a different group of people will arise. For example, you might want to send specific instructions for tenants on the floor of a busted pipe, while just sending an update to the rest of building of the occurrence.
The platform should give you the ability to write and store approved templated messages for planning purposes, allowing fellow workers to easily and quickly send brand standard and timely messages.
Must Make Your Life Easier, Not Harder — remove complications to streamline the process
The ultimate goal of a communication system is to make tenant alerts and communication easier for you. A cloud-based sign-in portal gives you easy access to your crisis communication tools from anywhere. A user-friendly interface that presents what you are using and/or need right up front reduces the amount of time (and headaches) navigating through laborious menus to send a message. As a bonus, the platform would also come along side how you currently send messages — for example, syncing up to Outlook so you can easily send your multi-channel messages (along with email) in one click. Or the broadcast user interface can be built into your existing intranet software, if needed.
Must Be Secure and Reliable – combat data breaches before they happenWith over 7B data records lost or stolen since 2013, data breaches are a reality now. It is no longer a question of what if but when. The most effective systems use the latest security measures and rely on reliable hosts such as Azure or Amazon to deliver 100% uptime (management and protection).
