Preparing for Disaster Can Help Your Business Survive It

Rob O’Regan -- Expert Business Source, 3/19/2007 4:29:00 AM

What will you do when the lights go out? Or the roads are impassable? How well you prepare now for a disaster – natural or otherwise – may determine whether your business can get back on its feet after tragedy strikes.

Emergency preparedness is critical for businesses of any size. Research from the Institute for Business & Home Safety suggests that 25 percent of business never reopen after being forced to close by a natural disaster. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Ready Business website offers these suggestions to ensure that your business stays up and running:

• Assess how your company functions, both internally and externally, to determine which staff, materials, procedures and equipment are absolutely necessary to keep the business operating. Include emergency payroll, expedited financial decision-making and accounting systems to track and document costs in the event of a disaster.
• Identify your suppliers, shippers, resources and other businesses you must interact with on a daily basis. Develop relationships with more than one company to use in case your primary contractor cannot service your needs. A disaster that shuts down a key supplier can be devastating to your business. Create a contact list for business contractors and others you plan to use in an emergency. Keep this list with other important documents on file, in your emergency supply kit and at an off-site location.
• Plan what you will do if your building, plant or store is not accessible. This type of planning is often referred to as a continuity of operations plan, or COOP, and includes all facets of your business.
• Plan for payroll continuity.
• Decide who should help in putting together your emergency plan. Include co-workers from all levels in planning and as active members of the emergency management team.
• Define crisis management procedures and individual responsibilities in advance. Make sure those involved know what they are supposed to do. Train others in case you need backup help.
• Coordinate with others. Meet with other businesses in your building or industrial complex. Talk with first responders, emergency managers, community organizations and utility providers. Plan with your suppliers, shippers and others you regularly do business with. Share your plans and encourage other businesses to set in motion their own continuity planning and offer to help others.
• Review your emergency plans annually. Just as your business changes over time, so do your preparedness needs. When you hire new employees or when there are changes in how your company functions, you should update your plans and inform your people. Ready Business offers a sample continuity and disaster preparedness plan here.

Homeland Security also emphasizes the need for business owners to understand – and plan for – the needs of employees after a disaster. Ready Business provides these tips:

• Two-way communication is central before, during and after a disaster. Include emergency preparedness information in newsletters, on company intranet, periodic employee emails and other internal communications tools. Also, consider setting up a telephone calling tree, a password-protected page on the company website, an email alert or a call-in voice recording to communicate with employees in an emergency.
• Talk to co-workers with disabilities. If you have employees with disabilities ask about what assistance is needed. People with disabilities typically know what assistance they will need in an emergency.
• Frequently review and practice what you intend to do during and after an emergency with drills and exercises.

The Institute for Business & Home Safety offers this 10-question quiz to determine if your business is ready for a disaster. It also offers an Open for Business Toolkit to help a business organize its critical information and review essential operations.

The U.S. Small Business Administration offers additional tips and resources from its Disaster Preparedness home page.

Rob O’Regan is a freelance writer based in Londonderry, N.H.