Would your business be able to survive a disaster? A preparedness plan can help.
If a natural disaster were to disrupt your business, would it be able to pick up the financial pieces? Unfortunately, breezing your way through a natural disaster is not easily done. Many companies these days are creating a preparedness plan to bounce back from any form of natural disaster.
Natural disasters interrupt your business for days or months with the potential of your business never being able to reopen. It’s estimated that 1 in 4 companies never reopen their doors after a disaster, with 1 in 5 businesses experiencing a business disruption. As no one can control the weather and divert rainstorms away, you can take action to protect your business! As a business owner, set up a disaster plan so that you and your team knows what to do should tragedy strike.
When creating your plan, be sure to include:
Direction and Control
This area of your business continuity plan will give a summary of some of the key areas. While explaining the reasons for this plan, it should be noted whose responsibility it is overseeing duties and the incident workflow.
Communication
Increase the safety of individuals as well as the property by clearly communicating during an emergency. Establish the location of emergency contact information, who notifies employees, and how customers and suppliers would be informed if something were to happen.
Safety
Inform your staff the proper procedures to follow in case of an emergency to ensure everyone’s safety. Safety training, shelter locations, check-in sheets, and even family preparation for employees should be established in this section of your plan.
Property Protection
Trying to replace a business’s property can be a big enough financial struggle that it can keep the doors closed for good. Ensure that you protect your investment in an emergency that you cannot control. Create mitigation steps for each threat. For example, in the case of a fire, you should have a backup records procedure, along with fire protection systems labeled.
Recover and Maintain
If the unexpected were to happen, you should know how to get your organization back up and running again in the most efficient way. It should be noted who will hire new employees, what employees will be kept on, and the team expectations. To prepare everyone in the company for an emergency, there should be multiple drills, exercises, and audits every year.
While recovering your business is no small fete, it doesn’t have to be a prolonged disaster. Let the professionals protect your business; contact Chambers & Company Insurance Brokers to get started on your tailored insurance policy! Check out your free commercial insurance quote here.