How to Use Automated Messaging to Boost Event Staff Awareness

It’s another busy event day, and everyone is running around the venue. Then it hits you, you forgot to tell your staff about the potential rain, the venue change, or the VIP arrival. You can already see chaos coming. But what if there’s a way you could've avoided all of this? Here’s where automated messaging steps up.

In this post, we take a closer look at what automated messaging is and its benefits for event teams. We also delve into how to use automated messaging to boost event staff awareness. Plus, introduce an app that lets you send automated notifications for easy shift updates, reminders, and real-time alerts. Let’s get started!

What Is Automated Messaging?

Automated messaging is a system or tool that sends pre-prepared texts or notifications automatically to people. Automated messages can be sent based on a schedule or specific triggers.

Benefits of Automated Messaging for Event Teams

According to a report, employees may experience challenges in managing their work when information systems are insufficient, leading them to adopt workaround behaviors. There are many ways to improve information systems today, and incorporating automated messaging is definitely one of the most effective. 

From saving time and reducing stress to tracking responses and streamlining workflows, here are seven ways automated messaging can help your event staff work more efficiently and make your events run smoothly.

1. Saves Time 

In case you missed it, people who rely on automation say it saves them about 3.6 hours a week, or 23 working days over a year. With today’s fast-moving work pace, manually sending messages to on-call staff can be tedious and time-consuming. Automating these tasks frees up hours every week, so operations teams can focus on what really matters, like handling issues in real time during events.

2. Guarantees Updates Are Delivered and Read

Automated messaging apps rely on SMS gateways, which send text messages straight to mobile phones through carrier networks. Since they don’t depend on the internet, these gateways deliver messages more reliably across different locations, even inside your busy event venues. This means your event staff receive messages instantly in more places compared to Wi-Fi–based messages. Automated texts also get noticed more. If you missed it, automated texts have open rates of over 95%.

3. Improves Engagement

So you booked an appointment, and the reminder went out three days before your schedule. Wouldn’t it be more effective if it arrived within 24 hours? Timing matters when sending reminders. Send them too early, and the message might get buried; too late, and the receiver may not have enough time to prepare. Event staff notifications are the same, and automated messaging makes sure those notifications go out at the right time, every time. 

Automated messaging lets you schedule reminders or set triggers to reach staff at exactly the right time. This not only ensures staff are well informed but also encourages engagement as updates arrive when they matter most.

Looking to build a culture of engagement in your workplace? Here’s a guide for you. 

4. Scales Effortlessly

Event teams aren’t always the same size; they adjust depending on the event. Manually reaching out to staff as your team scales can be challenging. Thankfully, automated messaging handles it. Whether you have 10 or 100 on-call staff, messages reach everyone at once. As your events grow, your communication system grows with you, without extra work.

If you are managing a large-scale event and wondering the dos and don’ts, make sure to check out this article. 

5. Minimizes Mistaken Messages

Mistakes like sending the wrong shift details or missing someone on a message list are common, but their impact is anything but small. Automated messaging can help minimize this. Since automated messages are pre-set, you can have more time reviewing the messages and recipients, so the right staff get the right updates every time.

6. Personalizes Without Extra Work

Personalizing reminders may seem small, but it makes a big difference for event staff engagement. As per a report, when people recognize that a message is tailored to them, they pay more attention, engage more thoughtfully, and respond more positively to the message.

Automated messaging makes personalizing messages easy. It allows you to create one message template with details like a staff member’s name, shift, or location. The system fills in the details automatically and sends the message only to the right people at the right time. Your team receives messages that feel personal, and you avoid the hassle of editing names, shifts, and details over and over again.

7. Gathers Data 

Automated platforms often include analytics showing response times, confirmations, and no-shows. You can use this data to refine scheduling, anticipate staffing gaps, and improve future events.

Turn data into better events. Learn the best practices for using data to optimize your staffing in this post.

How to Use Automated Messaging to Boost Event Staff Awareness

Automated messaging is a versatile tool that can be used for multiple purposes. Below, we get into detail about how to use automated messaging to improve communication with event staff. 

1. Shift Confirmations and Reminders

Have you ever had a staff member miss a shift simply because there was no reminder? It happens, even with your most dependable team. But that doesn’t mean you need to double your reminder efforts. Automated messaging takes care of it for you.

Automated messaging acts as a built-in safety net for on-call event staff by sending clear shift confirmations they can easily refer back to at any time. As the shift approaches, automated reminders go out with exact start times, locations, and role assignments. 

2. Last-Minute Changes and Updates

Events can change in a heartbeat, and when that happens, automated messaging makes it easy to keep your team in the loop. Automated messaging lets you create messages fast using templates. More importantly, it enables you to send bulk alerts to staff at the same time.

3. Task and Role Assignments

When things get busy, and you need someone to fill a role fast, there’s no time for lengthy screening. Automated messaging makes assigning tasks and roles quick and effortless. With one message, you can easily reach and deploy staff where they’re needed most. This cuts down the back-and-forth of manual coordination and prevents staffing gaps from affecting your event.

4. Post-Event Appreciation

Appreciation is often the underrated ingredient of high-performing teams. Make sure you always tell your staff how much their efforts matter. Use automated notifications to send thank-you messages after every event. 

5. Post-Event Surveys

It doesn’t take years of managerial experience to know that post-event surveys are essential for gathering feedback that can make future events even better. Automated messaging allows you to send survey links directly to staff or attendees immediately after an event without manually drafting individual messages. 

Want to learn about how to make an effective event satisfaction survey? Here’s a post that fits the bill!

Make Automated Reminders Simple With StaffConnect

Automated messaging is quickly becoming standard in event organizations. Don’t get left behind. Stay ahead with StaffConnect today.

StaffConnect is an all-in-one event management app designed to make life easier for event teams. One of its best features is automated reminders that keep everyone on schedule without the stress. Forget manually sending emails or SMS reminders, from day-before reminders to same-day updates and post-shift follow-ups, StaffConnect automates it all. You can set up message templates with rules for sending, like a push notification or email, 30 minutes before a shift if someone hasn’t checked in. 

But StaffConnect does more than automated reminders. It offers an easy-to-follow registration system, smart scheduling with automated suggestions, a centralized database, GPS check-in/out, a communications hub, payroll support, survey collection, and even a fully customized app for your team. 

Everything you need to streamline event operations is in one place. Book your free demo today to see StaffConnect in action.