3 ways to prepare your business for a natural disaster

6/26/2019 (Permalink)

All too often companies are simply not prepared for the impact of a natural disaster. They may view the potential for disaster as remote, believing that the images of devastation they see on television will never be close enough to witness in person. But preparation is an essential ingredient for success that savvy business owners and top managers everywhere pay careful attention to.

Safety first

Should an emergency occur during business hours, your safety and the safety of your employees is of primary importance.

Every business should have an evacuation plan for personnel and customers, and they should share this plan regularly with employees and test it to ensure its viability.

It is a good idea to assign a team captain to take charge and coordinate in the event of an emergency; check the backgrounds of your employees for anyone who might have military or other kinds of training. Many businesses also find it helpful to bring in an expert for some additional training or workshops.

IT and communication

Once have a plan for your people, you should address your approach to communications and records.

Make sure all employees are informed to keep their mobile phones fully charged on a regular basis; these devices may be the only lines of communication in a disaster. Next, create a phone chain for employees to pass along vital information to one another.

Protecting your vital data and records is also essential.

Are your servers backed up? Off-premises or cloud computer servers are the best way to protect accounting and other key records and critical elements, such as emails. You should also make daily electronic backups of important documents, files and databases; make copies of those records and store them in an off-site, physically secure facility.

Everything else

Be sure to keep your business supplies well-stocked. Think of what you’ll need to stay functional for at least a week or two. In the days or weeks following a flood, hurricane or other natural disaster, you may not be able to get to retail stores or receive any deliveries.Do you have the supplies you need to keep it business as usual? Now is the time to make sure you have an adequate supply of everything from bottled water to office supplies.

A disaster preparedness plan for your business is one of those things that you have but hope you never use, rather than need and wish you had. Proper disaster planning can go a long way to giving you the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your business is ready, willing, and able to shift into disaster response mode, whenever it may be necessary.

Source

SERVPRO of Elk Grove / Laguna is here to help you during your business' disaster. Call 916-525-1241 24/7 for our help!