Is Your Business Ready for Storm Season?

Drew Miller 03.23.16
21 Sketching Oh The Places Youll Go

It’s storm season again and businesses are scrambling to make sure emergency action plans are in place. Is your business ready?

Businesses need to make sure emergency action plans are in place, not just for taking shelter during inclement weather, but for business continuity. Is your business able to continue operations if the building is damaged or destroyed by a tornado and/or hailstorm? Where are employees seeking shelter during inclement weather? How are you going to pay employees during inclement weather? There are many items to address when creating an emergency action plan. Here are a few:

Shelter
Figure out the best location in your building to take shelter if severe weather approaches. One thing to consider is to bring in an engineer to make sure the chosen location is able to provide protection. If severe weather is approaching, it might also be beneficial to allow employees to leave early and seek shelter in their home storm shelters.

Storm Tracker
Designate someone in the organization to monitor the news and weather updates. Have this person check in with management every 30 minutes to 1 hour to provide updates. This will allow the company to take action immediately if the weather takes a turn for the worse.

Business Continuity
After safety is established, the main priority during inclement weather is making sure processes and procedures are in place to continue day-to-day operations. Organizations should look into backing up all business data with a colocation facility. These bunkers are generally constructed to withstand most natural disasters, allowing organizations to have immediate access to information and data to continue operations.

Nextep, for example, utilizes secure, firewalled and 128-bit encrypted cloud-based technology that is accessible anywhere and backs up data in real-time to an offsite FEMA Zone 4 and Seismic 2 certified bunker to ensure seamless, continuous business operations.

Keep in mind, there are other important items to consider when creating an emergency action plan. If your organization needs assistance in implementing processes and procedures to address inclement weather and business continuity, please contact Nextep’s HR Department. Our HR team of certified professionals can assist in making sure your business can continue day-to-day operations during this storm season and seasons to come.

Also on Nextep

Your Guide to DOL’s Latest Guidance on Telework, Lactation Breaks, and FMLA Eligibility for Remote Employees Are you an employer of employees who telework, or employees who needs breaks for lactation? Then you’ll want to read this update! The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently released Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) No. 2023-1, which covers several […]
Read more
Find the Best Candidates You may be recruiting new employees to ensure full staffing for the months ahead. Here are 3 ways to find and recruit top talent for your company. 1. Use technology Start with the most straightforward recruiting solution: post an ad online. Today’s online job posting tools go beyond the average resume […]
Read more
Rest Up! For Illinois Workers, ODRISA is Now Law Beginning in 2023, The One Day Rest In Seven Act (ODRISA) allows Illinois employees the right to take one day off in seven, plus breaks during a long workday.  Here’s a breakdown of the basics: Employees must get a minimum of 24 hours of rest every […]
Read more
Starting in 2023, Illinois workers have expanded job-protected bereavement leave under the Family Bereavement Leave Act (FBLA). Let’s dig into the details. FBLA allows eligible employees to take up to 10 work days of unpaid leave following the death of a family member. Specifically, they are allowed time for any of the events covered by […]
Read more
How to Ask the Right Things, Plus 25 Sample Job Interview Questions When searching for the right employee to join your team, job interview questions are essential in narrowing down an employer’s candidate pool and allowing top candidates to showcase their innovation, ideas, and goals.  But sometimes, it’s even more important to consider how you […]
Read more
Asking about criminal history is risky business. Here’s what to do instead. You may be breaking the law if your job application includes a checkbox asking the candidate if they’ve ever been convicted of a crime. Banning this question during the application process, sometimes referred to as “ban the box,” gives people with criminal histories […]
Read more
Your medical leave could qualify for paid time off if you work in Colorado.  We’re familiar with the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), allowing qualified employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to care for themselves or a family member during certain medical or family events. But the FAMLI program takes this coverage […]
Read more
Asking about salary history may be banned in your state. “So, tell me about your salary history at your current job.” It’s a typical job interview question, often used by recruiters to help gauge whether the candidate would be satisfied with the salary offered at their company. Sometimes, though, the question can help them determine […]
Read more
If you don’t have transparent pay, you may be legally obliged to do it soon.   California is the latest of several states to mandate transparent pay in job postings.  When advertising a job vacancy, California businesses with 15 or more employees must now show a salary range that the employee may expect to earn […]
Read more
Regardless of the turnover rate, every company at some point has faced the struggle of employee recruitment. Selecting the right candidate for your workforce is tough, and there are many factors to consider.  The action items below can provide your company with tactics to minimize risk and help ensure you hire the right person to […]
Read more
The new year brings both new resolutions and state minimum wage and tax changes. We’ve compiled what employers need to know to stay compliant and prepare your 2023 budget! Minimum Wage Several states are increasing their minimum wage. As a reminder, when federal and state or local payroll laws differ, the employer must adhere to […]
Read more
How do you handle employee promotions? When promoting one of your star employees to a management or supervisory position, companies should take the time to train and help the manager adjust to their new role.  An employee’s relationship with their immediate supervisor is one of the top five factors in job satisfaction, so a new […]
Read more

Download Our App