With winter fast approaching and natural disasters in the headlines, it’s time to think about the preventative measures that are necessary to protect your small business.
Just last year Hurricane Sandy and Winter Storm Nemo wreaked havoc on the East Coast, causing many businesses and residents to suffer the consequences. While a recent Staples survey found that the biggest workplace safety concern is natural disasters, few businesses have safety measures in place.
Here are some helpful tips to help everyone prepare for the unexpected.
The first and most important step to being better equipped is to create a safety preparedness plan. Nearly two-thirds of respondents to Staples recent survey said natural disasters, such as Hurricane Sandy, have not caused a reassessment of safety plans. The most important point to focus on is methods to recover and maintain continuity after a storm. Securing adequate resources and supplies for a crisis makes recovery quicker and easier. Know what type of emergencies and disasters are most common in your area and reflect this in the safety plan to make it unique and useful to your specific environment and situation.
Make sure all proper and necessary safety products are in a place that can be easily reached during emergencies. From crank-powered flashlights and cell phone chargers for blackouts to first aid kits and fire extinguishers for everyday emergencies, your office must have the essentials to keep everyone safe. In order to benefit from safety materials, knowledge of the products whereabouts and functions must be readily available and accessible. Products like emergency water, glow sticks and crank-powered radios are all commonly overlooked, but can be important during a storm. Buying materials in advance when supplies are plentiful will eliminate the need to run out at the last second while everyone is flooding local stores and super markets. This also eliminates the fear of products running out and being left without the proper materials.
Establishing a protocol for before, during, and after a storm is vital to a successful preparedness plan. Only one in three respondents felt that their workplace communicates what to expect at the last minute. Not having an established plan in place allows for chaos, miscommunication, and panic to spread throughout the office. This disrupts the effectiveness of the plan, reducing the transition back to normalcy of your house or office after a storm. Last minute chaos also minimizes the safety of the business environment. Being proactive about a preparedness plan allows employees and family members to look for discrepancies, leading to contingencies and a better overall plan.
It is vital to protect the physical and technological property of your business. Backing up all crucial data on work computers and laptops is a commonly overlooked step in preparation for a storm. In the case of an emergency, there may not be time to address this problem and key documents can be lost and destroyed. Technological safeguards should be established year round to protect your business, not just in the days or hours before a storm. There are many things that can be done to protect the physical business in a short period of time, but technological property is much harder to protect and should be planned out in advance.
These steps will help your business establish a plan to keep everyone safe from danger during storms and emergencies. It is always easier to prepare for an emergency than have to explain why you didn’t. Having a plan prepares your business to stay safe and get back up and running after an emergency. Don’t get caught up in the pre- and post-storm chaos by trying to constantly prepare last minute. Make a plan and stick to it.
Bob Risk is a senior strategic safety, health and wellness manager for Staples.
