Prism's Communication module now includes a powerful Emergency Broadcast Messaging feature, designed to address the critical need for swift and effective communication during urgent situations. This add-on enhances property managers' ability to safeguard tenants and property through prompt, clear emergency notifications.
Key Features:
-
Emergency Messaging: Quickly create and send emergency messages designed to communicate a sense of urgency via email and/or text.
-
Templates: Create templates for common emergency scenarios to expedite message dispatch.
-
Response Collection and Summary Notifications:
-
Set up pre-defined responses and gather them from tenants, enabling them to communicate their status and immediate needs.
-
Access detailed delivery and response analytics in Prism or receive them directly via email at your chosen frequency (15, 30, or 60 minutes).
-
This new functionality ensures that property managers can effectively safeguard their tenants and property using prompt, clear emergency notifications with real-time feedback capabilities.
Common use cases include:
- Fire drills
- Evacuations
- Natural disasters
- Security threats (e.g., active shooter incidents)
Setting Up the Feature: To use the Emergency Broadcast Messaging feature, ensure that this is a paid add-on is enabled at the account or building level. If you don't see this feature in your account, please contact your Prism account representative or support team for next steps.
Creating an Emergency Message:
-
Click the Communications tab and navigate to the Messages feature.
-
Click the New Message button in the top right corner of the page.
-
At the top of the page, select "Emergency" from the message type options.
-
(Optional) On the right side, you'll see a new dropdown for "Response Summary Email Frequency." This is dependent on toggling the "Request Response" at the bottom.
-
Select how often you want to receive summary emails: every 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 60 minutes.
- This will continue to notify you for 24 hours after the Message has been sent regarding Form Responses. If you want to end the reminders early, that is covered below.
- Note: If you do not use "Request Response" this will not send you any reminder emails.
-
-
-
Enter a subject for the message and adjust the "From" field if needed.
-
Under broadcast message, select the methods for sending the message (Email, SMS, Push Notifications, and Bengie).
-
If you want to post the message to the dashboard, toggle that option on and select the type of post (general notice or covid notice).
-
Select an audience type (dynamic list or distribution list) and choose or create the appropriate audience.
-
Enter your emergency message in the provided box.
-
(Optional) Below the message body, toggle on "Request Response" to enable response collection from recipients.
-
Input custom questions for recipients to answer. This step is crucial for the Response Summary Email feature to work.
-
-
(Optional) add attachments by clicking "add file" at the bottom of the page.
-
When finished, you can save it as a draft, send it immediately, or preview the message before sending it.
How to Turn Off Response Summary Emails
- Open the Message and go to the "Messages" tab
- On the right hand of the screen, you can change the Summary Frequency and stop Summary Email from occurring at all
Here is an example of how the Request Response Email will look:
Here is an example of how the Request Response Summary will look:
FAQS:
- Q: What is the Response Summary Email Frequency in Emergency Broadcasts?
- A: The Response Summary Email Frequency determines how often the organizers or Property Management Organization (PMO) contacts receive summary updates about recipient responses to an emergency broadcast.
- This frequency can be set to every 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 60 minutes.
- Q: Do recipients of emergency broadcasts get notified at the frequency set for Response Summary Emails?
- A: No, the Response Summary Email Frequency is not for recipients. It's specifically for how often the organizers or PMO contacts receive updates about responses.
- Q: What information is included in the Response Summary Emails?
- A: The Response Summary Emails provide updates to the PMO about which recipients have responded to the emergency broadcast.
- Q: Do emergency broadcasts have a call to action for recipients?
- A: Yes, emergency communications can include a call to action if "Request Response" was included while drafting the message.
- Q: Is there a time limit for how long Response Summary Emails will be sent out?
- A: No, there is no automatic time limit for Response Summary Emails. They will continue to be sent at the set frequency until manually turned off.
- Q: How can the sending of Response Summary Emails be stopped?
- A: The sending of Response Summary Emails must be manually turned off by the organizer or PMO contact.