Before CivicReady
Before The Township of Radnor began utilizing the CivicReady system to communicate news and information to subscribed citizens, it relied on multiple disparate systems to manage consistent citizen communications.
“We utilized a separate company for our website hosting, a separate company for our weekly community newsletter and recreation newsletter, and another separate company for our general notifications and emergency alerts,” said Doling. He added that to issue any routine or time-sensitive communications to residents; he would have to create and distribute the communication in three separate systems—a time-consuming redundancy.
“In 2014 we redesigned our local government website with CivicPlus and made the switch also to utilize CivicReady for our mass notifications,” said Doling. “The full CivicPlus offering just blew me away compared to the other three companies that we were working with.”
An Implementation that Over-Delivered on Expectations
As a member of an administration committed to going above and beyond in service to its residents, Doling appreciated that the CivicReady project management team went above and beyond to customize the solution to fit the Township’s needs as well.
“The CivicReady team implemented several features for us that we needed. I don’t know if they were planned system-wide enhancements or not, but they made them for us. They were committed to ensuring CivicReady fit our needs.”
Not only did Doling and the Township benefit from high-quality service during the implementation of CivicReady, the process of transitioning away from its previous systems proved that they had chosen a platform with more robust features, greater security, and more significant cost efficiencies.
A Strategy of Consistent and Timely Notifications
Rather than segmenting its list of subscribers or asking residents to sign up for specific types of notifications, the Township of Radnor’s strategy is to send all subscribers all forms of alerts, from routine announcements about trash pickups to community event updates to safety news and warnings.
“Whether it’s a change to our holiday trash collection schedule or an emergency, we want our residents to have that information,” said Doling.
Today, The Township of Radnor maintains a list of 4,072 subscribed contacts in its All Call notification list. On average, almost 3,000 email subscribers successfully receive communications along with over 2,500 phone numbers when the Township sends communications to the list.
Convenience and Flexibility of System Access
For Doling, as the individual who is primarily responsible for issuing communications through the CivicReady system, the ability to send notifications from any Internet-enabled computer or mobile device is essential.
“I do have a backup,” said Doling, “but what’s important to me is that I can send alerts out from home. I can send them from my iPad if I’m at the beach. I can pull my car over, pull out my iPad, and send a traffic or weather alert. Our previous company couldn’t allow us cloud-based access like that. They couldn’t do a quarter of what CivicReady does.”
Without hesitation, Doling describes the CivicReady solution as fast, easy to use, and uncomplicated.
“It’s fantastic. It is so user-friendly. It offers plug-and-play, drop-down choices, and one-click-to-send functionality. It’s that simple. The staff member who serves as my backup was nervous about being trained on the system, but after I showed him how easy CivicReady is to use he was relieved. He looked at me and said, ‘Wow.’”
With CivicReady, Doling can also collaborate with other administrative leaders on messages when needed.
“Recently, when the Villanova University men’s basketball team won the NCAA championship, we sent out an alert to residents warning them about possible traffic congestion and increased police presence in the area,” said Doling. “I wrote a draft, our Police Chief reviewed it, we edited it, and then sent out the message.”
Time-Sensitive and Post-Storm Recovery Weather Alerts
The CivicReady mass notification system has been essential to The Township of Radnor whenever it has to notify citizens about impending severe weather or provide information regarding post-storm clean-up recovery efforts. Receiving such information from their trusted local government leaders is part of the responsive and proactive level of customer service its citizens appreciate.
“Due to one of our recent Nor’easter snow storms this winter we used CivicReady to warn citizens before and during the storm, but also to provide updates about trash postponements and other general information,” said Doling. “We probably received 30 comments in response to our storm communications and they were all positive. Our residents love the communications we send from CivicReady. It’s what they want. In fact, I think the only time in the recent past that someone asked to be removed from our notification subscription contact list was when they moved out of the area,” Doling added with a smile.
Streamlining Internal Communications
In addition to its use as a citizen mass notification system, CivicReady is capable of allowing for internal communications to pre-defined lists of internal staff. The Township of Radnor uses CivicReady as an immediate, accessible alternative to traditional internal email communications.
“The internal communications capabilities are one of the things I like best about CivicReady,” said Doling. “Our police department also very much values this feature and uses it the most among our internal groups. Sure, you can send an email out when you’re in need of a police officer to work an overtime shift, but people don’t always have access to email. With CivicReady, that request is received by email, phone, and text, which expedites filling the needed position. We have set up communication groups for every department. It’s a fantastic feature.”
A Key Solution in the Quest for the Highest Quality Customer Service
The Township of Radnor will never relent in its goal to offer its citizens the highest quality customer service possible. With CivicReady, the Township is confident that it has an essential communication tool in place that helps it keep its citizens informed and engaged in local township life.
“CivicReady is the ideal solution for our routine communications, and for use by our emergency responders,” said Doling. “I can’t speak highly enough about it. I love it. With three exclamation points. You can quote me on that.”
If you're ready to streamline your mass notifications and ensure your citizens are always informed, prepared, and safe, click below to sign up for a demonstration of our powerful CivicReady solution.
