24/7 Emergency Service
Prepping Your Business for Potential Disasters
5/13/2019 (Permalink)
As a business owner, there are a multitude of things that must be taken care of when running your business. However, probably one of the most important factors to think about is emergency preparedness.
You never know when or if an emergency will occur. While having a plan in place cannot stop all disasters, it can still give you and your employees peace of mind where safety is concerned and ensure that your employees know what to do if a disaster or emergency situation should occur.
Have you taken the time to sit down to draw up an emergency preparedness plan for various disaster situations? If not, it should be a priority!
We have listed below some of emergencies your business should have a preparedness plan in place for, including:
- Fire
- Severe weather, including thunderstorms and winter storms
- Other natural hazards like floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes
- Human-caused hazards, including accidents or acts of violence
- Technology-related issues like power outages and equipment failure
Whether it’s a man-made incident or one created by a natural disaster, if there is no emergency plan for your business, the situation could become quite stressful quickly.
Make sure safety training and familiarization of emergency preparedness plans are included in the company onboarding process, team-building activities and continuing education opportunities. By helping employees familiarize themselves with proper safety protocol and emergency procedures, you’re not only giving them the tools to protect themselves, but you are also setting them up to help protect guests/visitors and the business itself.
First evaluate which situations would be most likely to occur when you begin to set up an emergency plan for your business, including even the unlikely longshots that could still happen. After all, it’s better to prepare for any worst-case scenarios and not be caught off guard.
There are plenty of online resources to help guide you through this process, including Ready.gov, the American Red Cross, FEMA and the CDC.
Have a business impact analysis (BIA) done, which will aid in the prediction of the potential effects a disaster may have on your business. This would include lost or delayed sales and income, increased expenses from repairs, and delayed implementation of business plans. Don’t forget to make sure a crisis communications plan is in place, too.
Perform regular drills once you have come up with an emergency preparedness plan, and be sure to review it and practice it with employees. Reviewing and rehearsing various scenarios can help ensure the process remains fresh in their minds and can help employees feel more empowered.
Disaster can strike when you least expect it, but by being prepared and having a plan in place, your business will be better suited to handle whatever Mother Nature has in store. If the worst should happen and your business is damaged, know that SERVPRO® of Northwest Long Beach is here to help make it “Like it never even happened.”