Essential steps to stay up and running in a disaster

Mother Nature seems to have a nasty temper. Almost daily, we turn on the national news and witness tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, severe storms and other disasters wreaking havoc on homes, businesses and communities. (Just this week, the East Coast was rattled by a 5.8-magnitude earthquake and is now keeping a close eye on a potential Category 3 Hurricane Irene.) And while it’s disheartening to watch, the harsh reality is this: Disaster -- whether natural or manmade -- can strike any time, and almost anywhere.

For employers dealing with these types of threats, the difference between lengthy down time and a quick recovery lies with proper planning. To ensure you’re never caught off guard in a crisis, you need an emergency preparedness and response plan that includes:

• Emergency contact list. Keep an updated list of employee phone numbers (cell phones and landlines) and 24-hour emergency contact numbers in a secure, easily accessible location. Distribute the emergency contact list, in advance, to all employees via email or as a printed document.

• Employee communication procedures. How will management deliver information and instructions to employees after a catastrophic event? It’s a good idea to pre-record emergency messages on toll-free hotlines. And don’t forget email - accessible via laptops and smartphones -- as a way to connect with employees and customers post-disaster. (Subscribe to a resilient, high-speed Internet service, such as satellite broadband, to maintain communications should your terrestrial network fail.)

• A list of critical tasks. Identify critical business operations (what keeps your company producing, selling, taking orders or providing services) and discuss those functions with affected supervisors and employees. At the same time, consider limited or restricted work schedules, telecommuting arrangements and company transportation services for employees.

• An alternate meeting place. Designate an offsite location for top management and essential staff to gather in case your building is damaged or inaccessible due to roadblocks. Depending on the size of your business and your resources, this location can serve as an emergency command center and help minimize down time in a disaster.

• Customer communication strategy. Obviously, you need to keep in touch with customers, buyers and distributors. Again, a resilient, high-speed Internet service can be vital for delivering business updates and maintaining customer relations when other communications are crippled. During quieter times, you might want to draft a few sample emails explaining what customers can expect and apologizing for any inconvenience. Having this correspondence ready to go at a moment’s notice can be a huge help.

• Data recovery plans. Weather disasters can easily wipe out hard drives and destroy databases. Keep essential backup data at an offsite location safe from flooding and know how to retrieve that information if disaster strikes.

• Employee health and safety measures. Keeping your staff out of harm’s way is a top priority in any disaster. Review your emergency evacuation and response procedures, stock up on the appropriate first aid supplies and, if you experienced damage and are resuming “normal” operations, assess the safety of all work areas before allowing employees to return.

Essential steps to stay up and running in a disaster

Hurricane season is here! 5 tips to help you prepare

Today's post comes from G.Neil's HR News Weekly:

The 2011 hurricane season has officially begun … and the forecast isn’t pretty. Experts predict an “above normal” season with approximately 17 names storms and nine hurricanes (five coming in as a Category 3 or higher). If such predictions hold true, businesses can expect disruptions, whether from emergency response measures, power outages or actual damage to facilities.

To stay connected and prevent significant setbacks this hurricane season, you should:

1)    Invest in a back-up generator and stock up on batteries. If you’re unable to maintain electrical power, you’ll lose your Internet connection.
2)    Subscribe to a resilient, high-speed Internet service (such as satellite broadband) to secure communications between company decision makers and emergency operators, as well as to ensure your email, product orders and other essential information are maintained if your terrestrial network fails.
3)    Determine which applications and data are essential (such as emergency response plans, accounting documents and inventory logs). Then, back up the information regularly, and store it in a safe, dependable location. (Consider an off-site location, in case of flooding.)
4)    Keep one or more corded phones connected to a wall jack, so that you have telephone service in the event of an electrical-only outage.
5)    Do not hesitate to put your Web hosting provider on alert, especially if you suspect you’ll lose service for a long period of time.

Planning is key! To be certain your company is ready for a natural disaster (or other on-the-job emergency or hazard), follow the above tips and check out our emergency preparation and response items.

Hurricane season is here! 5 tips to help you prepare

How to recover faster from a disaster

Halloween is upon us, which means we're surrounded by all sorts of horrors: ghosts, goblins, bad Lady Gaga costumes and bottomless bowls of diet-wrecking candy.

But if the latest news stories are any indication, wicked weather is one of our bigger threats these days. We turn on the national news and witness vivid coverage of tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, severe storms, fires and other disasters wreaking havoc on homes, businesses and communities. And as we watch the destruction, we think, “Thank goodness it’s not me, my family or my workplace.”

As a responsible employer, however, you need to realize this simple truth: Disaster can strike any time. And the difference between lengthy down time and a quick recovery lies with proper emergency planning.

To ensure you’re never caught off guard in a crisis and can respond promptly, a basic plan should include:

• Emergency contact numbers. Keep a current database of employee and emergency service phone numbers in a safe place with easy access. Cell phones, with their separate networks, are good communication devices in emergencies.

• Detailed employee communication plans. How will top management deliver information to employees after a catastrophic event? It’s a smart idea to prerecord information on toll-free hotlines. And don’t forget the Internet as a way to connect with employees after a disaster.

• A list of critical tasks. Identify and distribute critical business operations (what keeps your company producing, selling, taking orders or providing services) to supervisors and employees. Also, think about limited or restricted work schedules, telecommuting arrangements and company transportation services for employees.

• An off-site meeting place. Designate an off-site location for top management and “essential” staff to meet in case your building is inaccessible.

• Customer communication plans. How will you communicate with customers on the status of their orders and deliver information to business clients?

• Data recovery plans. Natural and man-made disasters can easily wipe out hard drives and destroy databases. Keep critical back-up data at an outside location and have a plan on how to retrieve that information if disaster strikes.

• Employee health and safety. Health and safety become top priorities if you decide to keep your business open during and/or after a disaster. Refine your emergency response procedures and stock up on the appropriate first aid supplies.

Put your plan to the test ...

Once your disaster plan is in place, practice it and then practice it again. Train employees and supervisors on emergency procedures and what to do if they have limited or no access to the building.

Test your plan with emergency dry-runs and document the results. Look for ways to improve and update your plan wherever necessary. Schedule semi-annual meetings of emergency response teams to keep everyone in the loop and up to date.

The amount of lost time and productivity after a major disaster will ultimately come down to your preparations and training. With effective communication and employee cooperation, your business can keep recovery time to a minimum and your business standing after a crisis.

How to recover faster from a disaster