Mobile messaging company PageOne Communications has launched its Responder app for BlackBerry devices.

The app is designed to prevent critical information sent via BlackBerry email from being can often become lost amongst everyday general messages. It features a dedicated inbox, pop-up alerts and 2-way QuickReply options to ensure that vital information that needs to be noticed is actioned immediately. Receipt and opening of messages is confirmed and the QuickReply option allows staff to respond with status, action or updates.

“With the average employee receiving 100-200 emails per day, its vital to differentiate those that must be immediately acted upon,” says PageOne sales director, Nigel Gray. “Doing so instantly makes your existing communications that much more effective.”

The app also offers optional lone worker functions, such as an SOS alert and GPS location capability to provide additional support and peace-of-mind for lone workers. Pressing and holding the BlackBerry’s SOS alert button triggers an audible and visual distress signal direct to their employers Connect or Flare account, together with a GPS location if available. The SOS alert can also automatically be pushed to an email account, mobile or pager.

As part of their employer duty of care, staff overseeing operatives out in the field can see an audited overview of all remote staff and their status via a customised dashboard. Automated periodic reminder alerts can be set-up that must be acknowledged by the user, without which an SOS alert is auto-generated
“The more for less mantra rippling through both the public and private sector has had a major impact on, and changed, working practices,” says Gray. “We have seen a dramatic increase in the number of employees who should be classified as lone workers for some or all of their role. The BlackBerry Responder offers a cost-effective way of meeting this employer duty of care to its employees.”

The Blackberry Responder service requires no server/network hardware or software to be installed and integrates seamlessly with PageOne’s Connect and Flare web-based suites. Operational staff can send and receive messages to any combination of BlackBerry, pager mobile and email with an automatically generated audit trail of message delivery, receipt and reply. Using status updates they can also deliver more targeted broadcasts, for example sending only to staff who are ‘available’.