24/7 Emergency Service
Making Sure Your Business Is Ready for Any Potential Disaster Situations | SERVPRO® of Alamo Heights
5/9/2019 (Permalink)
There are a multitude of things that must be taken care of when running a business, but one of the most important factors to think about is emergency preparedness.
While having a plan in place cannot stop all disasters, it can still give your business a leg up on the safety side and at least make sure that your employees know what to do if a disaster or emergency situation should occur.
Have you taken the time to sit down and work out an emergency preparedness plan for various disaster situations? If not, it should be a priority!
There are numerous 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
It doesn’t matter if it’s a man-made incident or one stemming from nature, if there is no emergency plan for your business, things could get even more stressful quickly.
You should make sure that 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.
When beginning to set up an emergency plan for your business, you’ll first want to evaluate which scenarios are most likely to occur—and those that are a longshot but could still happen. After all, it’s better to prepare for all the 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.
You should also conduct a business impact analysis (BIA) to help predict the potential effect 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.
Once you have come up with an emergency preparedness plan, be sure to go over it and practice 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 Alamo Heights is here to help make it “Like it never even happened.”