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When businesses are closed due to inclement weather, employers must quickly decide how to communicate closures, delays or changes in operations.
Whether an office is closed due to weather or shutting down unexpectedly, timely communication helps keep employees informed, reduce confusion, and support safety during rapidly changing conditions — while also raising important questions about attendance and compliance, including whether employees can be required to report to work during inclement weather.
This post shares real-world examples of how organizations notify employees when a business is closed due to weather, based on responses shared by employers and HR professionals. These examples reflect a range of company sizes, industries, and communication approaches, illustrating how businesses handle closure communication in practice.
RELATED: Inclement Weather Policy: Can Employers Require Attendance During Severe Storms? >>
During a recent webinar, we asked participants to share how their organizations notify employees when offices are closed due to weather or other emergencies.
While no two organizations handle closures exactly the same way, the responses revealed a common theme: most employers rely on multiple communication channels to ensure messages reach employees quickly and consistently.
Communication decisions during weather closures are often closely tied to pay expectations, especially when an office is closed due to weather and employees are unable to work.
Below are examples of how businesses approach closure communication when weather disrupts operations.
Many organizations continue to rely on established communication systems when an office is closed due to weather. Dedicated phone lines and hotlines provide a centralized source of information, while email and phone trees help reinforce expectations around delayed openings or full closures.
“We notify employees of business closings by email, department phone trees, website posting, social media, a dedicated phone line, and a service that sends texts, emails, and recorded messages to a subscribed list.”
“Our organization has an inclement weather phone line. We also supply all staff phone numbers so staffers can reach out to someone else. We send a reminder of the process for a delayed opening or early closing due to inclement weather when we hear the weather is going to be a consideration.”
“We have a phone-in hotline that has an answering machine, which is updated by 4 a.m. each day. Employees can call the hotline if they have concerns about getting to the office or if there is work for that day.”
“We are working with our IT vendor to set up a landline to share a recorded message for emergencies. Our supervisors have text trees and we send a bulk email to company email addresses since most employees have email set up on their phones.”
For faster, real-time communication, some employers use text alerts or internal messaging tools. These methods are especially helpful when closures occur with little notice or when weather conditions evolve throughout the day.
“We have a small office of about 30 employees and I notify staff via group texts when we need to close due to an emergency.”
“We use a group channel on Slack and we require all employees to have the Slack app on their smartphones. The channel is only for weather closure information.”
In larger-scale emergencies, layered communication becomes critical. Employers emphasized the importance of accurate contact information, redundancy across channels, and confirmation that employees received closure messages — especially during severe or prolonged weather events.
“We used a technology during Hurricane Harvey called ‘Alert Media.’ Updated contact info for all employees was critical and we harped on that during safety meetings and through email. It was a lifesaver to reach all of our employees. The system has automatic tracking, so we knew who replied and who did not, and we could call the employees who didn’t respond. Knowing employees were safe was the driving reason for using it.”
When an office is closed due to weather, communication gaps can lead to confusion, safety concerns, and frustration. The examples above highlight that while tools and technologies vary, effective closure communication often depends on preparation, consistency and using more than one channel to reach employees.
Rather than relying on a single method, many employers build redundancy into their communication plans so employees know where to find updates and what to expect when severe weather disrupts operations.
Clear closure communication becomes even more critical when severe weather includes dangerous temperatures, particularly for employees working in extreme cold or at risk of hypothermia.
At Axcet HR Solutions, guidance on inclement weather planning and communication is provided as part of our comprehensive PEO services — helping employers align policies, communication practices and workplace safety efforts before severe weather strikes.
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