The actions taken in the initial moments after a crisis matter. These steps can determine how disruptive the aftermath will be. With this in mind, companies need to plan for any potential incidents that could occur.
What is emergency planning?
Emergency planning is the course of action a company takes in order to minimize the effects of an incident or crisis. The main objective of emergency planning is to reduce injuries, protect the community and maintain business continuity.
An emergency plan usually includes a step by step guideline for what to do in case an event has occurred and how to handle the situation. It should also include information about the key personnel to reach out to including their up to date contact information. This is a crucial part of keeping your staff safe.
Types of emergencies and disasters to prepare for:
An emergency situation can arise at any time and with it comes panic, confusion and fear. All companies have a responsibility to adhere to health and safety guidelines which require businesses to identify and mitigate any risk to their employees.
Being prepared for a crisis demonstrates good business conduct and can help companies recover quicker from an incident.
Terrorism
The unpredictability surrounding terrorist attacks make them much more dangerous and can cause fear among staff, especially those working in cities or buildings that are likely to be targeted and those traveling for work.
The very nature of terrorism means that attacks take us by surprise and often cause unprecedented periods of panic and downtime for businesses and their workforce. In order to minimize this, businesses should prepare both the company and staff for an incident. Informing employees and management of the necessary steps to be taken both during and after an attack can help to lessen fear among the organization and prevent harm if an attack occurs.
Fires
Fires are one of the main disasters that affect businesses around the world and according to FEMA 40% of businesses do not reopen following a disaster. On top of that, another 25% fail within one year. Not only are fires costly due to the high level of damage they cause, they are also life threatening.
Every company is required to have proper fire procedures that are known to all staff members. Companies should provide proper training to all employees notifying them of the emergency fire exits, recovery meeting areas and necessary steps to be taken if a fire should break out. Practicing these steps with fire drills can help to keep your staff aware and prepared should the worst happen.
One of the main concerns when a fire breaks out is establishing as quickly as possible who is in the building at the time. Although there are ways to determine this using standard sign in and out procedures, it can be time consuming and could prove to be unreliable. Couple this with the standard disorder any incident brings and locating your employees can be near on impossible.
Using technology for Emergency planning
With the influx of new technological advancements, managing the safety of staff members during a critical event is changing. ReadyAlert is an easy to use tech-based solution that allows organizations to communicate with employees during an emergency.
Schedule a free demo of our solution to support your emergency planning for employees.