“Residents of some Maine islands say lack of decent internet is keeping them from participating in the economy. Jobs are in short supply and telecommuting isn't practical,” according to Fred Bever’s recent Weekend Edition Sunday podcast on NPR entitled “For Maine Islands, Internet Means Opportunity.”
Weekend Edition Sunday’s host, Lulu Garcia-Navarro, explains in the opening comments of the report that “If you've ever dreamed of moving to an idyllic vacation spot, Maine's coastal islands offer a cautionary tale. Jobs are limited to lobstering, boat building and caretaking of summer residences. And lousy Internet service makes telecommuting difficult to impossible. But now some Maine lobstermen and would-be telecommuters are banding together to pay for costly infrastructure they hope will help preserve a threatened way of life.”
While Maine’s coastal islands are not your property, this story offers an excellent lesson.
The lack of Wi-Fi infrastructure present amongst properties is improving – we’ve certainly noticed. However, not all properties have invested in this upgrade.
In fact, Bever’s report is a cautionary tale on the current limitations associated with having limited or poor Wi-Fi infrastructure.
It’s also a familiar setback many organizations continue to face.
Communication between staff, whether they can perform their role on the fly, and your ability to interact and support guests is greatly influenced by your property’s Wi-Fi infrastructure.
How does your property match up? Is it up to par?
Is your infrastructure helping you maximize performance?
Let’s find out.
Wi-Fi Limited to Lobstering Only
You’ll quickly realize how powerful your operation can be with a Wi-Fi foundation in place.
But, to better understand the enhancement, you must look at your current state. You need to decide whether you’re ‘limited to lobstering only.’
Are you?
Can your team only achieve up to a certain level because of the limited access they have to the outside world?
No?
Or, are you in good shape?
Either way, keep reading because this article might help you realize some aspects of your infrastructure you need to address, that you didn’t catch previously.
Take a Look at Your Current State
Looking at your operation, how does it look?
- Do you have Wi-Fi in place?
- How reliable is it?
- Do you have a low number of access points that only staff can use?
- Do your customers have access?
- During events, can customers efficiently access the Wi-Fi or do they get “kicked off” as they sign on?
- Can your staff and guests utilize the technology simultaneously? If so, is the speed of use heightened or inhibited?
We could go deeper, but you’ve already recognized there’s a problem if you’re struggling with the few questions we’ve listed above.
Not to mention, you probably don’t have favored technology in place to maximize your investment. (Do you?)
Here’s the thing; if you’re going to invest in a state-of-the-art Wi-Fi infrastructure, you need to take your team’s performance all the way up.
How do you do this? You implement a unified solution.
The Reality of Limited Technology
Let’s think about this for a moment.
Your operation now enhanced with a secure infrastructure.
Incident calls start rolling into your command center:
- “Man with chest pains in Section 112.”
- “A mom reported her 9-year-old daughter missing near Section 215’s women’s restroom.”
- “Two guests fighting in Section 423.”
They keep coming in one after another.
You’re receiving the incidents. But, how are you managing and communicating them to your staff?
The same as before? Are you still using radios, and pen and paper?
Yes, you can use your mobile phones to communicate, and that would enhance your communication – a bit.
But, you’re not taking full advantage of your new infrastructure. You’re only limited to text messages and phone calls.
It’s time to maximize your abilities.
Redefine Incident Management Communication
You need a unified solution, inclusive of an incident management system and, here’s the game changer, mobile apps.
These two parts of your system combine to skyrocket your ability to manage conflicts throughout your property.
You now control everything that happens on your property – in real time.
Use your incident management system (IMS) to capture, track, and manage all incidents that come into your command center efficiently.
Have the confidence knowing that nothing is getting missed.
This lets your team act fast and make game-time decisions that result in positive outcomes for everyone.
Your IMS centralizes all incident management initiatives.
Mobile Apps Augment Performance
Now, supplement your IMS with your incident management mobile apps.
Mobile apps used to be a nice-to-have for property operations.
Not anymore.
They’re a requirement to achieve Proactive Operations in today’s operational environment.
Incident management mobile apps let you fully take advantage of the capabilities offered by a reliable infrastructure.
Mobile apps offer a few major advancements.
- They can operate over data or Wi-Fi connection.
- Staff can document incidents while mobile and capture photos, video, and audio to supplement their reports.
- Two-way communication between your supervisors, staff, and the command center allow everyone to be on the same page.
- You can direct staff to specific areas, which lets you manage your resources the most efficiently.
Do you see how powerful your team can be, starting today?
Over to You
Newer properties make an enhance Wi-Fi infrastructure necessity now. All properties need to make this transition now.
You must implement mobile solutions to achieve Proactive Operations these days. There’s no time to waste because incidents happen, and your customers expect you to respond even faster.
