Emergencies happen. Big or small, your organization needs to be prepared. Disaster plans even help businesses better deal with the unexpected (like a pandemic). Learn how to improve on your current health and safety protocols so the next big emergency doesn’t end in negative brand association or devastating financial ruin. A well-planned, well-organized strategy could mean the difference between your organization’s success and total failure during a disaster. Learn what you can do to update your emergency plan.
Implement a Team
Major emergencies don’t happen often. Worldwide, there are roughly 400 natural disasters each year. If your organization has managed to escape unscathed so far, don’t rest too easy. When you add in man-made disasters, the potential for disaster rises. Incidents happen. Emergency preparedness is a continuous process and not a one-and-done event. Perform a vulnerability assessment to ensure your organization is on the same page in every department when it comes to different disasters:
- Draw on the knowledge of relevant personnel.
- Turn to inside and outside associates for well-rounded advice.
- Compose a team of knowledgeable employees, supervisors, safety officers, and a union representative (if applicable).
- Include related outside experts, insurance company reps, and representatives from area fire, police, and government as appropriate.
- Present any overlooked data to the team.
- Create drills and role play scenarios to train employees how to handle any situation.
- Put in place an effective safety signage that warn of potential hazards, indicate the location of the nearest emergency exit, first aid facility or fire fighting equipment. You can get the low-down on safety signage on the Internet.
By using a team to determine hazards, your organization can better predict potential emergencies now, to better deal with them later, whenever the need arises.
Inspect Prior Plan
Nothing stays the same. Everything from the people in your organization to the outside world changes, and that can affect your disaster strategy. Even business relocation and staff changes can diminish the effectiveness of your plan. Does your current emergency preparedness plan still make sense to the way your company operates today? Look for new sources of danger and revisit past plans for modern relevance. When disaster strikes, your personnel may not know where to turn. Make it clear by updating your strategy.
If your organization has undergone a past emergency, comb through after-action reports to learn what went well and what could use an adjustment. What were the points of failure? How can you prevent those issues from reappearing in the future? Speak with current staff members to learn of any emergency situation kind of concerns.
Invest in Software
Advanced technologies make emergency preparedness a smoother process. Implement the right software platform to better prepare, respond, and recover in stride from any emergency that hits your organization. Don’t use just any software. Be picky. Look for software that grows with your company with scalable software capable of usage anywhere from a solo site to worldwide, large-scale enterprise operations.
Hazard vulnerability assessment provides actionable ways companies can improve emergency preparedness plans in their organization. It’s a sleek, all-in-package to kick any emergency plan up a notch (and better keep them updated). Built-in workflows, capabilities to handle operational challenges, multichannel communication, and multi-platform operation make for more effective, efficient emergency planning.
Increase Employee Awareness
A team under stress is a team with poor reaction skills. Minimize the chaos of an emergency by improving your emergency preparedness strategy. Decipher previous data, form a team to determine the current potential for emergencies, and invest in the necessary software to create a resilient company — even in the face of an emergency.
