Staff Broadcast
Staff Broadcast
Section titled “Staff Broadcast”Staff Broadcast sends one short notice to everyone on your staff at once, for example “Please move to the front lobby now.” In one step it can:
- Page desk phones: Nova PBX speaks your message over a paging group you choose.
- Push to Pulse: everyone with Pulse gets a push notification.
- Text staff without Pulse: staff who don’t have Pulse get a text message from your organization’s Flare SMS number.
Go to Staff Broadcast in the sidebar (/staff-broadcast), or click Broadcast in the Switchboard header. In Pulse, open the More tab and tap Broadcast.
Who Can Send a Broadcast
Section titled “Who Can Send a Broadcast”Only an organization admin can send a broadcast: a user whose role in your organization is owner or admin. The billing role can’t send one. Partners and SIPSTACK staff working in your account can’t send one either.
Other users don’t see the Broadcast button or the sidebar item. If they open the page, it says Only an organization admin can send a staff broadcast.
Who Receives It
Section titled “Who Receives It”A broadcast goes to your own staff only: the active Switchboard users of your organization. It never goes to customers or contacts. Each person is reached one way:
| Staff member | How they’re reached |
|---|---|
| Has Pulse signed in on a phone | Pulse push notification |
| No Pulse, has a mobile number on their profile | Text message, if Also text staff without Pulse is on and your organization has a Flare SMS number |
| No Pulse and no mobile number | Not reachable |
Before you send, the page shows Who receives it: how many people get a Pulse push, how many get a text, and how many are not reachable.
The Paging Part
Section titled “The Paging Part”The page plays your message as speech, starting with “Staff broadcast from” and your organization’s name. It plays over the paging group you choose. A paging group pages its one member extension. See Paging Groups for who hears a page and how to set one up.
Paging is optional. Choose Don’t page to send only the push and text. If your organization has no paging groups, desk phones are not paged.
The Text Part
Section titled “The Text Part”Texts are sent from your organization’s Flare SMS team inbox number. The page shows Texts are sent from your Flare SMS number and the number. Each text reads:
<Your organization> staff broadcast: <your message> Reply STOP to opt out.These texts go through the same checks as any other text your organization sends. Staff who replied STOP or are blocked don’t get a text, US-bound texts need your 10DLC registration, and your plan’s sending limits apply. If your organization has no Flare SMS number, staff without Pulse can’t be texted.
Sending a Broadcast
Section titled “Sending a Broadcast”- Type your Message. Keep it to 320 characters or fewer.
- Under Paging group, pick a group or Don’t page.
- Leave Also text staff without Pulse on, or turn it off.
- Click Review and send.
- Check the summary and the disclaimer, then click Confirm and send.
When it finishes, you see Broadcast sent, Broadcast partly sent or Broadcast failed, with the result for each part, for example Pulse push: 12 of 12 sent. A paging problem never stops the push and texts, and the other way around.
Limits
Section titled “Limits”Your organization can send up to 3 broadcasts every 10 minutes and 10 broadcasts per 24 hours. Both limits are rolling. When you reach one, the page tells you how long until you can send again.
Recent Broadcasts
Section titled “Recent Broadcasts”Recent broadcasts lists the broadcasts you and other admins sent, with who sent each one and how each part went. Only admins can see it.
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Only an administrator of your organization can send a staff broadcast. | You are not an owner or admin of this organization. | Ask an owner or admin to send it. |
| Your organization has reached the Staff Broadcast limit (3 every 10 minutes, 10 per day). Try again later. | The organization hit a rate limit. | Wait for the time shown, then send again. |
| That paging group was not found. Choose one from the list. | The group was deleted, turned off, or isn’t yours. | Choose another group or send without paging. |
| Your Nova PBX could not be reached, so the page was not sent. | Your PBX was offline. The push and texts were still sent. | Check your PBX status, then send again if needed. |
| This paging group cannot be paged from Staff Broadcast. | The group can’t be paged this way. | Choose another group. |
| The page could not be started. Try again in a moment. | The page did not start. | Try again in a moment. |
| The page did not confirm in time. It may still have played. | No confirmation from your PBX. | Check with staff before sending again. |
| This broadcast did not finish sending. Some staff may not have been notified. | The send was interrupted. | Check the results in Recent broadcasts. |
A staff member didn’t get a text. Check that they have a mobile number on their profile, that they haven’t replied STOP to your Flare SMS number, and that your 10DLC registration is complete for US numbers.
A staff member with Pulse didn’t get a push. Check that Pulse is signed in on their phone and that notifications are allowed. See Pulse notifications.