As I mentioned in last week’s article, now is the time for businesses to be considering lessons learned and how to develop and implement policies, plans, and procedures that can address some of the challenges faced during the pandemic and during the phase-in stages of getting back to work. Large companies and government entities have contingency or disaster plans that detail the who, what, when and how of managing on-going business in unusual circumstances. Having a written plan that all employees are educated on may save your business time and money in the event of a future disaster or shut down. Questions answered by a contingency/disaster plan:
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- What do we do before, during, and after a disaster?
- Who’s in charge of what?
- What disasters and risks are most likely to affect our business?
- How do we communicate and keep in contact with customers, suppliers and employees before, during and after a crisis?
- Will our preparedness plan work? How will we test it?
- What emergency supplies should we have on hand?
- What extra insurance coverage do we need for a future emergency or shut down?
- Who will we look to for the safety and well-being of our employees and clients, customers, or patients?
The Florida Division of Emergency Management has an easy online tool where you can plug in the specifics of your plan and it will create a document for you to use as a contingency/disaster plan; if you don’t like the results the first time you complete it, you can go back and create another one. You can find it here: https://apps.floridadisaster.org/getaplan/.
The Department of Homeland Security also has some useful resources here: https://www.ready.gov/business.
Ann Beecham is a Senior HR Consultant with Newland CPI with over 15 years in the human resources field. Along with her work with Newland, she is also an adjunct instructor for Valencia College’s School of Continuing Education, providing professional development to executive and emerging leaders.
