Systems Support
For many years, WIRES has fostered partnerships with wildlife rescue organisations nationally, enhancing local rescue efforts by extending access to WIRES systems for those seeking support in managing their rescue operations.
The assistance provided through our systems support can be customised to accommodate the specific needs of each wildlife rescue organisation in the following ways:
- Supporting rescue call management via WIRES Rescue Office, which operates 24/7, thereby enabling local volunteers to focus on wildlife rescue and care.
- And/or providing tailored access to WIRES rescue communications software xMatters, to expedite rescue resolution, ensuring that every rescue is instantly sent to every available volunteer trained to attend that animal who is available for contact at that time (via xMatters App).
WIRES has been contacted for help by rescue organisations no longer able to manage their incoming calls, often as the volume of annual calls exceeds what they can sustainably manage with their available volunteers. In response, WIRES has developed a co-rescue model to assist, whereby WIRES manages all incoming calls and dispatches rescues notifications to the organization's volunteers, enabling swift acceptance and providing the organisation's management with visibility into rescuer allocation details, and outstanding cases.
In other cases, WIRES has been contacted by organisations proficient in handling calls, but who may be struggling with efficiently managing and resolving the quantity of incoming rescues. In these instances, WIRES has utilised an alternate co-rescue model, which enables organisations to leverage WIRES' rescue communications platform xMatters to notify their volunteers of outstanding rescues, resulting in faster allocation and attendance at rescues, with reduced manual intervention, freeing up call operators to focus on incoming calls and more complicated rescue scenarios.
In every instance, WIRES collaborates closely with wildlife rescue organisations, assisting with all aspects of volunteer onboarding and striving to ensure smooth and positive transitions that benefit both wildlife and volunteers.
To date, WIRES has successfully onboarded and trained 17 groups nationally on our rescue communication platform (xMatters), including 7 in New South Whales, 2 in Tasmania, 1 in Western Australia, 4 in Queensland, 1 in Australian Capital Territory and 2 in South Australia, representing around 3,000 volunteers across Australia. This is in addition to up to the 4,000 WIRES volunteers utilising the platform at any given time.
The Systems Support Program offered by WIRES is empowering wildlife rescue organisations nationwide, fostering collaboration that leads to a swifter and more efficient approach to wildlife rescue on a national scale.
WIRES maintains a national focus on enhancing emergency response outcomes and bolstering rescue and rehabilitation capacity. The Systems Support Program is a catalyst for this mission, directly contributing to improved welfare outcomes for wildlife and enhancing the sector's scalability.
For any wildlife rescue groups needing assistance and wanting to find out more, please reach out to wildlifenetwork@wires.org.au.
Read some of the inspiring stories from wildlife rescue organizations utilizing xMatters:
“Using the program for our wildlife rescue service has been one of the biggest and best steps forward we have taken in the history of our service. We have seen the organisation of the coordinators improve drastically, due to not having to monitor too many things at one time. We have seen the amount of quick check ins and resends that were required with our old system also drop dramatically due to the app showing what is still outstanding. We have also seen a more professional outcome from the alerts that we send out - as well as less cases where crucial information that needs to be shared is not forgotten, due to the categorised fields that help guide our coordinators to provide the right details.”
TAS Wildlife Rescue Organisation
“xMatters has added to the suite of tools that our hotline operators can use to find a rescuer and it can save a lot of time as previously they would have had to make multiple calls/texts to do this. It also does expand the field of rescuers that are contacted for a job as previously we would limit our contacts to rescuers that we know live in a particular area. This is very helpful and time saving, especially as we find ourselves getting busier and busier, anything that saves time is invaluable, not only for the operator but also the wildlife needing help.”
QLD Wildlife Rescue Organisation
“The hotline team uses xMatters daily to post out rescue cases to our trained members. xMatters has been vital in ensuring the animal receives attention in the fastest way possible, with all locally available volunteers being notified via the app. In the past rescue organisations would need to manually call volunteers in an attempt to resolve a case, however the xMatters app provides a much quicker turn around, with equal opportunity for any qualified member near the rescue to click 'attend'. This is vastly beneficial for the animal needing rescue or care, reducing the potential suffering and allowing a higher potential of successful rehabilitation and release.”
NSW Wildlife Rescue Organisation
“We have been very appreciative of WIRES support from the very start of this process. Implementing new systems is not always easy but the WIRES team’s expertise and guidance has been an enormous help in getting xMatters implemented.”
QLD Wildlife Rescue Organisation
“We have been so impressed with the whole experience so far and really cannot recommend xMatters enough. As we continue to grow, and more animals need help, we experience the value of using this system every single day. When we get these alerts and systems right, It leads most importantly to wildlife getting the urgent help they need.”
TAS Wildlife Rescue Organisation