For many people, 鈥減reparedness鈥� means thinking of keeping one鈥檚 home and family safe. With the average each week, being prepared for emergencies at the workplace should also be a top priority.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security lists 26 threats ranging from biological dangers to wildfires. These threats arise from natural hazards (such as floods and illness) and human-caused hazards (such as accidents and acts of violence). Each of these threats could be as much a peril for the company and owner as for the household and family.
Our prior Insights blog post 鈥溾�� covered how a business can benefit from:
- Business Continuity Analysis
- Business Continuity Task Force
- Business Continuity Plan
Let鈥檚 take a closer look at business readiness.
, the website portal of Homeland Security, notes 鈥渨e all must take action to prepare 鈥� for the types of emergencies that could affect us where we live, work, and also where we visit.鈥�
During summer and fall, weather risks such as hurricanes and wildfires can raise temporarily the vigilance of business owners. But disaster can strike any time of year. Business owners who take the time to consider their risks and plan for them will make their businesses and employees more secure and ready.
鈥淩eady Business,鈥� the section of Ready.gov devoted to helping businesses learn about disaster preparedness, proposes a five-step process :
- Program management: the leadership of a business鈥檚 preparedness and its management of it, commitment to it, and the financial resources for meeting readiness standards.
- Planning: the practice of considering hazards and their potential impact on the business, and identifying means of prevention, mitigation and recovery.
- Implementation: the act of putting the plan into action through a written document, developing systems for managing risks, and training employees.
- Testing and exercises: the checking of the plan to probe its effectiveness and how ready employees are.
- Program improvement: the critique and update of a preparedness plan 鈥� informed by an actual incident, by learning through best practices or education, or from information published by industry associations.
Ready Business recommends you break down the readiness plan to include:
- Resource management
- Emergency response
- Crisis communications
- Business continuity
- Information technology
- Employee assistance and support
- Incident management
- Training
鈥淎re we ready?鈥� is a question every business leader can and should ask about events that, when they occur, could shift the course of a business and its future. Asking now, before a disaster occurs, can save property, money, time and lives.
