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We’re the first to tell you how important communication is during an emergency or incident, but how do you know if you are communicating effectively? Here’s our top 5 mistakes companies make when notifying their employees.

There is a fine line between giving your employees enough information and giving them too much. Enough information leaves your team feeling empowered and informed, whereas giving them too much can leave them feeling confused and overwhelmed.

1. Incidents that don’t affect them.

If your users are in different locations or using other systems, it makes sense that not every incident or emergency would affect them. Ensuring that you are only giving them the information relevant to their workplace or systems means that they will be less likely to switch off from your notifications.

2. Too many updates.

When you have a meaningful update to share with your employees, or a set schedule to provide updates, then it would be appropriate to do so. Be aware, though, that sending too many updates on one incident can lead to your team switching off from notifications meaning they can miss important information – which in turn can lead to more calls to your service desk.

3. Technical information they might not understand.

Whilst your service desk is undoubtedly very knowledgeable on the technical side of your business, giving your users too much technical information or complicated instructions to follow can lead to confusion and disengagement and again, this can lead to more calls in to your service desk by your users.

4. Irrelevant information

If your incident affects the email system, then ensure you are only sending information about that system. If you provide links to your overall incident management processes and procedures, it will likely include information dealing with a fire or other incident. If your team has to look through a lot of

information to find the relevant parts, they are likely to disengage and try to find the information by another route, often by overwhelming your service desk.

5. Using a channel that is not meaningful to them

It is often the case that email is not necessarily the best way to reach your team effectively, so ensuring that you’re communicating in a way that is likely to reach the majority of your employees effectively is important, especially if your incident is time-sensitive.

Are there any other communication mistakes that we might have missed? Let us know in the comments!

If you’re guilty of any of these points, why not see how Klaxon can help you communicate more efficiently by booking a personalised demo?