Automated Phone Systems

"Ring, ring, why don't you give me a call" - ABBA

Automated Calling Systems can be a pain when it's a sales call at dinner or a "vote for me" pitch from a politician. But they can also be very useful when your school or sports team calls to tell you about a cancellation or delay.

Last year when my wife and I were asked to serve as Emergency Preparedness Directors over eight church units one of the first things I did was replace the emergency phone system we used. Almost no one ever used the old system to call members for cancellations during weather emergencies - it was just too complicated and not well suited for weekend meetings.

I chose a company called Call-Em-All. They were not the cheapest but fit our needs quite well.

1. You want to pick a company whose calling center is far away and on a different electrical grid. That way if your region loses power, you can still make emergency calls.

2. Also make sure the calling center has emergency back-up power generators so they work when they lose power.

3. Our old phone system was business centric and kept business hours. For emergency alerts you want 24/7 access.

4. If you make frequent use of the phone list, consider a monthly fee plan with "unlimited" calls. In our case calls are rare so I picked pre-paid credits that do not expire. The cost is 7 to 10 cents per 30 seconds per call. 

5. With our old system you had to use the Internet to upload a phone list and create the phone message for each call. That just won't do when the power is out. Now we have the ability to store phone lists permanently online. Press 1 for everyone, Press 2 for Leaders, Press 3 for Unit #1, etc. I can select a calling list, record a message, and send it - all from a cell phone. We made wallet sized cards that we gave to all church leaders on how to send messages via phone. It was used just the other day during a blizzard on a Sunday.

6. You also want a company that keeps good records of calls sent. Who was called, who was missed? The company I use keeps a copy of the voice message online. This was very helpful when I was asked to supply the text for a phone call sent to all members during a Hurricane Watch. I looked up the call report and just kept replaying the 30 second message until I had dictated the it correctly.

Bottom Line

If you manage a group or team, consider subscribing to a phone system. It can be a real time saver when you need to get a message out to everyone and the cost is quite reasonable.

Community Communication Plan

"Most people are good. They may not be saints, but they are good."
- Jimmy Wales founder of Wikipedia

It's funny how reading one web site can lead to another. I use Google alerts to spot new blogs and web pages dealing with emergency planning. This led to a page on what guns to buy to protect your supplies that I linked to yesterday. That site (From the Bunker) referenced the Disaster Communications Plan for Antioch, CA 1st Ward.

I am quite impressed by this plan. It spells out how to buy a walkie talkie, buying spare batteries, when to call, what channels to use, and how to call in and report. This is a communication plan that could be adopted by any neighborhood watch group, community organizers, or other churches.

When 9/11 occurred the minister of my local church activated our emergency calling tree to find out if anyone was missing since many of us commute to New York City to work. In a phone tree, the leader calls 3 to 5 people. These in turn call 3-5 others that are assigned to them. ( 25 + 5 + 1 people in the tree so far) . This third layer of people may call 3-5 more bringing the number of people covered 150 or so. Now in order for this to work a few rules need to be followed:

1. The calls out must be made. If person A can not reach B in the tree, don't break the chain. If B is unavailable, person A should call all the people C assigned to B so they don't get dropped out.
2. To carry out rule 1 each person should have a listing of the complete phone tree with all phone numbers.
3. Report back up the tree as little as possible. Report immediately after making your assigned 3-5 calls so the person above you knows the phone chain is unbroken and to report what you learned. Next wait for the people you called to call back with results if they are assigned to contact others. Don't call back up with each call you get. Collect the results and report back on some assigned schedule, say every 30 mintues or hourly.
4. Use the tree in reverse order to report back. Don't hit the person at the top of the tree with 150 calls. Call back the person who called you. If you can not reach the person who called you, then call one level up. Don't skip a level just because the phone is busy. Be patient but reasonable (say 15 mintues).
5. Don't neglect to report good news. It is just as valuable to report that family X was called and reports all is well so no one has to call them a second time. Keep track of what you learn with check marks on the phone tree list or some other note keeping system.

Bottom Line
The phone tree rules look complicated but really they are just common sense. Spread out the burden of making calls and be responsible and reasonable to make sure there are no breaks in the chain, no unreasonable delays, and no duplication of effort.

Phone trees are not just for emergencies. They can be used to contact a large group when an event is rescheduled or moved, etc. Let the power of trees work for you.