A primary goal of an educational institution is to provide a safe and secure environment for their students and faculty. With a myriad of potential risks and crises to prepare for, this task can be exceptionally daunting.
Prior to the pandemic, the CDC reported that while nearly four in five U.S. school districts had plans for helping students and staff with special needs during a crisis, less than two-thirds of school districts were prepared to manage an influenza outbreak. Unfortunately, this forced administrators to piece together pandemic response protocols on the fly and without the proper tools and technology to do so seamlessly.
As we move beyond the initial panic of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important that educational institutions take time to analyze their learnings and determine how they can improve their emergency preparedness for such outbreaks, as well as other potential threats.
1. Invest in Quality Reporting Tools Ahead of Time
An important tip to keep in mind when it comes to reporting is investing in quality tools ahead of time, specifically those that help to accelerate and automate your emergency preparedness as an educational institution.
For example, software tools like Juvare empower educational institutions to reinforce their readiness and response time to critical incidents through advanced technology and detailed after action reports. Juvare’s services allow for the development of customized action plans and provide an integrated dashboard for centralized management.
While coordinating quality reporting can often feel intimidating, such streamlined software also allows educational institutions to identify, document and properly address each incident to continuously improve your overall response process.
2. Be as Timely as Possible
When reporting on an emergency situation, a quick, well-coordinated response time is critical. Whether it’s an unexpected crisis or information that needs to be relayed during or following a large-scale planned event, timeliness in reporting allows you to properly direct students and staff, mitigating future risk and allowing your institution to return to normal operations more quickly. Additionally, informing students’ parents on the status of the situation and what they can expect moving forward eases worry and tension.
Adequate planning and the integration of advanced technology helps to make punctuality a given. With proper strategy in place, your organization can simply follow the pre-formulated response plan for the given situation and, later, aggregate critical statistics and learnings to share with relevant stakeholders.
3: Inform The Right Stakeholders
While formalizing your reporting strategy, it’s key to consider which stakeholders need to be informed. In an educational environment, there are many people to consider: administration, faculty, students, students’ families, the surrounding community, and oftentimes the general public, too.
For many, reaching the right individuals at the right time can prove to be difficult. Modes of communication are important to consider, too. According to a recent study, less than 25 percent of education-related e-mails are opened. On the other hand, 90 percent of text messages are read within just three minutes. By ensuring that you have advanced technology to reach your stakeholders effectively and efficiently, you can transfer reporting details on critical incidents flawlessly.
Improve Your Reporting With These Tips
Everyday is an opportunity to analyze and improve your reporting techniques as an educational institution. With the right plans in place and savvy tools that allow you to access key data points, your organization can gather key takeaways to improve processes on an ongoing basis, ensuring your campus remains safe and secure.
