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“What if…?” can be a scary, overwhelming question for business owners.
The tough questions are often the necessary ones. Disasters, both natural and manmade, are unpredictable, and many businesses never reopen after a disaster. However, your preparedness is in your control. Creating and implementing a disaster recovery plan is considered one of the most effective ways to make sure your business survives disasters.
A disaster recovery plan should be:
- Thorough
○ A disaster recovery plan is a detailed document that provides directions for what to do in the event of a disaster. It should act like a how-to guide for getting your business through the unexpected. Having a step-by-step plan ahead of time helps your business respond and recover more effectively. Generally, disaster recovery plans include both emergency response and business continuity plans, so that your business is prepared before, during, and after a disaster.
○ Emergency response plans are time-sensitive and event-specific. These may include evacuation, lockdown, and severe weather sheltering plans. They outline each person involved, their location, responsibility, and backup. Ready.gov has an excellent template for emergency response plans.
○ It’s also important to consider a business continuity plan to implement safeguards that ensure your business can continue operating in the event of a physical or digital disruption. This may include determining the location of data backups, an IT restoration plan, replacements for physical supplies and equipment, and contact information for emergency responders. FEMA provides a detailed operational and financial impact worksheet to start an analysis.
- Accurate
○ Keep your plan up to date and revisit it frequently. It shouldn’t be a static document that you write once. Your disaster recovery plan is a living document that you add to and edit over time. Ensure the tactics are up to date, all relevant safety hazards are addressed, new technologies are taken into consideration, and effective communication methods are in place.
- Recognized
○ Make sure appropriate employees are familiar and comfortable with all aspects of your disaster recovery plan, especially understanding their role in emergency response plans and evacuations. Ensuring new employees are informed should be an essential part of new employee onboarding. Consider employee communication methods – How are these plans shared with employees? Can they be accessed by everyone? What is access dependent on? If there are changes or additions made, how are employees notified?
Planning for disasters – before, during, and after – can be overwhelming. Open communication is always a good place to start. Consider a brainstorming session with relevant team members and discuss some high-level questions to get the conversation going:
- Do our employees know how to react in an emergency?
- Do we have a communication plan to keep in touch with customers, suppliers, and employees?
- What scenarios could put our company out of business?
- Are there any early warning indicators for threats to our business?
- What is required to keep our business up and running in the event of a disruption?
- What are our insurance policies and damage coverage?
- Do we have an IT recovery plan?
Make your business resilient. If you’ve suffered property damage due to a disaster, mobile and modular buildings from Satellite can help get your business back up and running. Our high quality buildings can be used for temporary office or meeting space, classrooms, emergency health clinics, and more. Unlike traditional construction, modular buildings can be installed onsite quickly so your business experiences minimal downtime.
For more information on disaster recovery plans and how Satellite Shelters can help, visit www.satelliteco.com
