Viejas Casino and Resort, Alpine, California
Prepared for Emergencies, But Useful Every Day
Viejas Casino and Resort wanted a mass notification system to use in case of emergencies, such as a needed evacuation during California’s frequent wildfires or an active shooter alert. Happily, it so far has not had to use the system for those incidents.
But what it found was that there are a myriad of creative ways to use the system to communicate on a daily basis with its thousands of employees performing many different functions. Here is a sample out of many examples of how the organization is using Regroup:
Notification of Road Closures
Being located on a major interstate highway means that road closures and work from the Department of Transportation on exit ramps can seriously impact commutes and business. Viejas Resort and Casino uses Regroup to send messages to employees so that they can plan their commutes with little disruption.
Fire Warnings
Like many Western states, California has seasonal wildfires that can place people at risk and impact day-to-day business. Viejas is located within the Cleveland National Forest. The organization was able to use mass notifications to warn team members through email and texts about recent wildfires, with instructions on what to do to remain safe.
Open Enrollment
The organization had a number of small changes to its benefits package in 2020. The people who work there were able to have one-on-one meetings with the benefits experts, but reminders and other critical information needed to be shared with everyone — and not all of them have email addresses. In addition, the administrators of the messages were able to use Regroup’s automatic translation option so that non-English speakers would receive timely information in their native language. It was a resounding success. More than one-third of the employees registered the first day of the text, and the vast majority of eligible employees were able to enroll within the allotted window.
Leadership Inspiration
Working in the hospitality industry, particularly one that runs 24/7 with thousands of employees, can be very stressful work. With seven food venues, two hotels, a spa, and a gaming casino, a creative way the resort uses Regroup is by sending a weekly inspirational quote to team leaders on Friday mornings as they gear up for their busy weekends. It’s a fun and friendly way of keeping the team motivated and excited to lead others.
“Initially, Viejas purchased Regroup to serve first and foremost as an emergency and crisis communications system. Although we’re thankful that we have not had to use it for a crisis, it has come in handy numerous times since its launch.”
Rob Campbell
Communications Manager for Viejas Casino and Resort
Getting the Right Information to the Right People
We at Regroup know from experience how critical it is to reach the right team members and community members on any device at any time. At the same time, message fatigue can set in if people are frequently receiving messages that are not relevant to them. A delay in a food shipment to a restaurant may not pertain to the spa manager; the emergency services staff may need a critical update on procedures that won’t apply to the community living on the reservation.
As a 24/7 operation, Viejas needed a communications platform that could serve all of those different and distinct groups. It also needed a way to inform everyone at the same time of other information, such as road closures or changes to employee benefits.
The ability for Viejas to customize its groups, so that the right people receive the right messages, is something it values about Regroup.
“Viejas made the change to Regroup since our previous mass notification system was not user-friendly, and had very limited capabilities. When looking at companies, we saw all the options that Regroup offered us from ways to send out notifications to how you could create customized locations and groups.”
Rob Campbell
Communications Manager for Viejas Casino and Resort
Just some of the ways Regroup can help the hospitality industry as well as tribes and nations with emergency and day-to-day communication:
Critical Alerts
- Active shooter or criminal activity alerts
- Hazmat spill alerts
- Issue severe weather warnings
- Public health emergency announcements
- Enable members to report their status
- Alert staff of critical outages (IT, phone lines)
Day-to-Day Alerts
- Announce council schedules
- Coordinate with field crews
- Notify members of road closures
- Conference with council members from anywhere
- Issue reminders and updates
- Send community event reminders