Are you prepared to protect the lives of your employees, customers and visitors, as well as the company’s assets in the event of a disaster?
Natural disasters, most commonly floods, earthquakes and severe weather can be devastating. Disasters of a different nature, such as fire, power failure, industrial accidents and even fiber optic cable cuts can have a huge economic impact on your business. We’ve read about computer systems held hostage for ransom, cyber-attacks to steal customers’ personal data and even workplace violence.
Your disaster preparedness plan should be formalized and tested regularly, just as with fire drills. Conduct a risk assessment to identify and then create an action plan for potential hazards. It should identify:
- Building evaluation routes, shelter in place locations and Areas of Refuge for the mobility impaired
- Safe-place gathering locations
- Employee and family contact information for notifications
- Securing company assets
- Data backup protocol
A business continuity plan will create a recovery pathway following an incident. It should include:
- Critical operations management teams
- Employee, customer, vendor, banker and insurance claim notifications
- Process to determine safe return to partial operations
- Secondary locations to conduct business
- Accessing IT systems
- Media relations
It is important to be prepared. A comprehensive plan of action is ready to execute at a moment’s notice, enabling you to minimize downtime. Getting back into the game is critical.