Aren't Call Trees antiquated with almost everyone having a smartphone? Wouldn't a better communication method be text or e-mails with read receipts? A call if those are not responded to? Seems like much better documentation too? Thoughts?

The software we use for disaster recovery allows us to send out a mass text with a click of a button, we do have that in addition to the calling tree. There are also apps you can pick up to send them out too that some of our management staff have looked at previously.

Also, I can tell you through personal experience, in the time of a disaster, texting will go through when voice calls will not when bandwidth is severally restricted due to tower outages, power outages or system overloads. We could text in and out of Galveston for several days prior to being able to make voice calls after Hurricane Ike.

E-mail is not so good as access to data lines might be a real problem.

Also with email... not everyone has a smart phone or bank-provided phone with access to the interal email system.

But almost any mobile phone can get a text message, smart-phone or not.

Also, depending upon the disaster, it can be helpful to post notices on the bank website. In some disasters cell phone coverage/texting can be spotty as can landlines. (I think back to 9/11 when I was working in NYC.)

during Hurricane Sandy in NY many of the cell towers were down due to no electric power to them. There was no home internet as there was no electic to power computers routers...

But my copper land line worked.

And that is why alternatives and flexibility are key.

There always need to be a plan B. I am in central TX and our Houston area banks were flooding due to storms. Cell phones were "new" but most of us had them. (This predates smartphones.) Pagers were still in use and we found that when cell towers were out, pagers still worked. Our 2-way pagers allowed limited communication, essentially what we call texting now. Our thumbs had not yet evolved to today's speed of "thumb-boarding" though.

We have registered with GETS/WPS service. I believe that financial services industries are all considered to be a factor in the econominc recovery after a disaster. GETS-Government Emergency Telecommunication System- was atarted several years ago and the basis of the program is to give priority to certain business types and allow them to place calls during times when phone lines and cell phone lines are congested. It's a free service (only cell calls would have a per minute fee charged by you cell phone carrier). Hey, if the government is giving something for FREE we should take advantage!!

We had to use our calling tree several times this winter due to blizzards. No one could get out of their house so it had to start from management at home. No access to bank computer. I had 18 inches covering my entire driveway so no way I was going anywhere. All department heads are contacted and they contact the employees in their area. We actually used the calling tree for part of our disaster testing last year to make sure we could contact everyone. Good thing too as we used it at least 3 times last winter.