Why WorkZerk Doesn’t Use Push Notifications for Incidents & Alerts
We experimented in early testing with Web Push Notifications for the WorkZerk application.
Unfortunately, most mobile phone device users are inundated with notifications from a myriad of installed applications and also subscbried web push notifications (subscription to notifications through a browser such as Chrome, Edge or Safari).
Furtheremore, there are limitations to Web Push notifications which make the user experience frustrating for both mobile and desktop users. For example, on iOS devices there are restrictions on playing an audio alert for a new web push notification.
Also, many end users these days have disabled their phone notifications altogether, to reduce disruptions and distractions.
Even using Windows Desktop e.g. Windows 11 there are multiple ways users can restrict notifcations from being received, such as Do Not Disturb modes, distractions free modes etc. The troubleshooting involved to determine why a user may not be receiving a notification is burdensome to say the least.
What’s more, studies have shown that users are much more likely to read and respond quickly to an SMS message rather than a push notification. SMS messages are the most reliable way to get somebodys attention and ensure a message is read in a timely manner. All other methods have various shortcomings.
Underlying device operating systems can also behave in unpredictable ways in terms of displaying and delivering push notifications to end users (for both Web Push notifications and even In-App notifications).
For these reasons, we designed WorkZerk using an architecture that does not rely on:
Users needing to install an application, download software etc.
Users needing to ensure that their notifications will be delivered, depending on understanding a multitiude of settings which are different for each device, such as Do Not Disturb modes, notifications blocking and devices delaying or hindering notifications due to low battery or excessive notifications.
Users needing to login using their credentials such as email address and password - again this is a massive barrier to immeidate usage for the application that we wanted to avoid.
Instead, WorkZerk relies on SMS and EMAIL communications to on board Guests into the system, and to provide their unique portal links.
Guest Portal Links are delivered by email using the ‘ON BOARD’ feature within 1pm. Users can then follow this link and bookmark the application, install the WorkZerk application on their device so it appears on their Home Screen (recommended) etc.
When you think about typical tech-averse end users, even they (and I am thinking of my elderly mother here) are actually very comfortable with email, websites and SMS.
However, add extra layers of complexity such as requiring the user to install an application from the Google Play Store or Apple App store, together with accepting various device permissions on installation, and finally creating a new user account within that application (and ensuring their password is both strong and recorded somewhere safe!) is a massive barrier to entry.
Tell technophobes all they need to do is click a link that will be emailed to them, and this immediately placates them (because this process is simple and famliar to everyone).
How We Recommend you Use WorkZerk
We recommend that users access their portal when it’s required (for example to check their personalised runsheet). They do not have to have the WorkZerk application running in the background the entire time, but if they do wish to WorkZerk will not dim or turn off the screen while it’s being used (for Windows and Android users, Apple users will need to click the ‘Keep Screen Alive’ button).
How to use the Keep Screen Alive mode in 1pm
So WorkZerk can be used in this ‘always on mode’ where all chat messages and changes to the runsheet will appear live and in real-time. And for all Admin users of WorkZerk we recommend using a desktop computer (Windows or Mac) that can continue to receive incidents in real-time.
Then when a time-critical issue, runsheet change or event has take place Admin users can very quickly, efficiently and reliably notify those Guests who matter by sending an SMS with a direct link to the portal.
WorkZerk is a ‘Hands Off’ Alert System
The only thing a Guest really needs to use and interact with WorkZerk is an Australian mobile phone number and a 4G/5G connection to use their desired internet connected browser. By sending an SMS to Guests they will automatically receive the portal URL link, so even if they didn’t provide their email address (or don’t have one) you can still communicate with them and they can immediately get involved in responding to the incident.
Ensure Data is Correct Before the Day of the Event
Probably the most important takeaway here is to ensure that all Guests within WorkZerk are setup correctly with their mobile phone number and email addresses, and they are tagged according to your Tag system.
You can reliably communicate with all Guests via SMS communication for all time-critical incidents, events and updates.
