EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS PROCEDURES, 7/1/2020
An emergency in the context of this procedure is defined as a situation that requires an immediate need to communicate with employees. An example is a situation where a building becomes unsafe and employees need to be notified that they should not enter the building.
All emergency communications will be via state email where pertinent and “official” information will be disseminated, typically by a member of the superintendent’s office or senior management.
Contacting Employees After-Hours and Off-Duty
If emergency communications are required after-hours or requires contacting off-duty employees, your manager may also contact you directly. Managers should maintain a means of contacting their employees directly should the need arise. This contact is typically via a personal phone number or email since most employees are not monitoring work email/phones after-hours or off-duty.
Having your employees in your contacts on your cell phone is one way to do this. Work with your manager to come up with a plan that works for you and your employees and is simple to do during an emergency.
All emergency contact will be limited to only pertinent and basic information about the emergency and what action, if any, the employee needs to take. For the example above about a building being unsafe to occupy, the message might be “Do not enter the Mitchell building, it is unsafe. Please contact me or check your work email as soon as you can for more information and further instructions. Everyone is OK but please do not go to the Mitchell building at this time.”
Sharing your employees’ personal contact information
You should not share your employees’ personal contact information with anyone without their consent, however your manager and you should have contingencies in place to make sure communication can flow to all or your employees should you be unavailable.
You should also be prepared to reassure your employees that any limitations around their personal information will be respected. Remind staff that sharing a way to contact them helps protect their health & safety. Emphasize their personal contact information will only be used by you (or others you have mutually agreed upon if you are unable) during an emergency.
What do I do if my employee does not want to provide a way to contact them after-hours or off-duty?
Employees are not required to provide a means to contact them personally and some employees may be hesitant or unwilling to share their personal contact information with you. Do not probe the reasons why the employee does not want to share their contact information. If an employee willingly shares why, certainly listen and see if you can help address their concerns or hesitation.