It’s hard to anticipate what unforeseen circumstances may end up impacting your business. For instance, it’s unlikely you had a global pandemic on your bingo card for 2020, but having a disaster preparedness plan in place can help you think through various scenarios and how to address them.
“When something unexpected happens, downtime can quickly turn into lost revenue and unhappy clients,” says Courtney Parrett, health & safety business partner for HeartLand, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. “Having a preparedness plan gives a business a roadmap to follow.”
Being proactive allows you to eliminate guesswork, stay organized and shorten the period of time your business is closed. Having a plan can also provide some control to an uncontrollable event, mitigating the sense of chaos for your team.
Key Elements to a Disaster Preparedness Plan
Think through the critical aspects of the business you need to protect.
“The safety of your team is most important,” says Drew Garcia, vice president of Rancho Mesa Insurance Services and Landscape Group Leader. “Making sure they know how to react during a difficult situation comes with training. Other areas to focus on would be your tangible assets like vehicles, trailers, equipment, stock and inventory, building and your building contents.”
Parrett agrees your people should come first. Then consider how to protect your vehicles and equipment because, without them, work comes to a halt. It’s also important to determine how to store and secure any chemicals or materials safely.
If you rent your facilities, Garcia recommends working with the building owner to support the safety of the building you occupy.
“Property owners are usually responsible for the structure itself, things like alarms, sprinklers, and building integrity,” Parrett says. “But the business still has to protect its people, equipment, materials, and client commitments. Even if the landlord restores the building, the company must ensure it can continue operating and get crews back to work as quickly as possible.”
Discuss with your team business continuity steps so you can continue serving clients even if your facilities are impacted.
Create a strategy for preserving records and technology. Parrett recommends backing up schedules, payroll and contacts so nothing is lost.
Your disaster preparedness plan should outline employee safety procedures, evacuation, shelter-in-place and severe weather protocols.
Develop clear communication plans that outline actions to take even when cell service is unavailable. Also, establish how you will keep clients informed to help set expectations.
Outline what backup vendors or supply options you’ll use for critical materials such as parts or fuel.
Insurance and Risk Management
With the increased intensity of natural disasters, it’s essential to consider what catastrophic loss could look like for your tangible assets, such as equipment, inventory and building contents. Garcia says owners need to be aware of the risk they are taking on or where they intend to pass the risk through an insurance policy.
“These discussions can be had at any point, but generally an annual ‘pre-renewal’ meeting should take place to make sure exposure and risk are clear,” Garcia says. “For example, consider a concentration of equipment, trailers and vehicles at one location and what the implications might look like if all assets were impacted. Consider separate policies, such as flood or earthquake, as examples, for property insurance.”
Garcia advises utilizing risk professionals, such as insurance carrier loss control professionals or third-party providers, to perform a risk assessment on your property.
“Having a professional provide their opinion should really help shed light on areas that need the most attention,” Garcia says.
Parrett also suggests walking your property and asking simple ‘what if’ questions, like what if a storm floods the area, a fire breaks out in the shop or the power is out for several days.
“Reviewing past events in the region, checking with insurers, or inviting local fire and police officials for a walkthrough can uncover risks that aren’t always obvious,” Parrett says.
This article was published in the November/December issue of the magazine. To read more stories from The Edge magazine, click here to subscribe to the digital edition.
