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.
