The potential for disaster exists in each season. Without proper planning, your business may take a blow that could cripple operations. Business emergency preparedness plans help you think through potential risks so that you develop an appropriate response that eliminates or mitigates risks.
A recent survey of small business owners highlights the fact that over 75 percent of the respondents don’t have a business emergency preparedness plan for their business. To make matters worse, the Institute for Business and Home Safety estimates that 25 percent of companies that experience a major disaster don’t reopen again. A business emergency preparedness plan can help you reduce the blow your business takes following a disaster, and it increases your chances of reopening your business following a disaster.
Step 1. Identify Potential Risks
The first step in creating a business emergency preparedness plan is identifying risks. You have to identify each potential danger to develop an appropriate response. When you are going through this process, it helps to consider both man-made risks and those that are weather-related. If you feel like you have missed some risks, you should consider hiring an expert to help you walk through the process of reviewing potential risks.
Step 2. Develop an Appropriate Response to Each Risk
The next phase of creating a business emergency preparedness plan is generating a response to each risk. In the plan, it’s critical for you to demonstrate how you will reduce the potential for damage. For instance, your response to a hurricane warning may include an inclement weather policy for your employees, boarding up your windows and ensuring that your business insurance policies cover the potential losses.
Step 3. Test Your Responses
You shouldn't wait until disaster strikes before determining whether your response works or not. You have to test each response before anything goes wrong. You can have hurricane drills with your employees, ensure that your information system backups are working and post fire exit routes throughout your business. If you find a potential problem with your risk response, you should consider revisiting the potential risk to determine a better approach.
Step 4. Educate Your Employees
After you have a sound plan for each possible emergency, you have to inform your employees. When employees are armed with information, they make better decisions. In the face of disaster, knowing what to do during an emergency can help them save lives.
We’ve got you covered. Call Porter-Brandenburg Agency at (972) 234-5588 as your insurance agent Dallas Texas.