The Association Blog

It’s Monday—time to pass along a tool, time-saver, or a rockin’ resource that your colleagues and members of The Association have suggested and tested. In this week’s forecast—tips for messaging weather-related closures to staff.

What’s the best way to communicate time-sensitive announcements, such as weather-related closures, to staff? “Our phone system is not easy to quickly access remotely and change messages,” Lisa Morabito, Director of Operations at BARCS Animal Shelter, recently posted in The Association’s members-only Facebook group. “Managers are currently texting all of their employees when we’re going to be closed or delayed in opening, but we’re hoping we can give everyone one number to call in to.”

While the most effective solution will vary based on organization size, here are some suggestions offered by fellow members of The Association:

• “We create a text-message group based on the people assigned to work. We have been closed for hurricanes, so typically text is the only thing people can consistently access.”
  
• “We use Remind 101, and it’s popular with the school systems around here as well.”
  
• “We use TextCaster, and that has been extremely helpful and time-saving, as you can create several templates (late start, closure, etc.), and then fill in the date, time, and any other pertinent information.”

How do you communicate time-sensitive announcements at your organization? Leave a comment and let’s grow the list.

P.S. There’s always a good convo going on in one of The Association’s private Facebook groups–one of the perks of membership. Get details on how to become a member of The Association.

More Tips of the Week

Tip of the Week: Donation Dilemma
Tip of the Week: Setting the Ground Rules
Tip of the Week: It’s Not About You

Photo: Humane Society of Boulder Valley/Facebook