It’s May, officially “Small Business Month” 2014. The month begins with good news: ADP reported that small businesses added 82,000 jobs in April. And NFIP, the National Federation of Independent Business, reports that its optimism index reached 95, a level not seen since October 2007.
Good news outweighed by grim realities
This good news is clouded by continuing reports of natural disasters affecting business owners across the country: wildfires in Southern California, severe storms in the central states, and the hurricane season from the east coast to the south. around the corner. And as I write this, I am aware that it is the first anniversary of the tornado that devastated Moore, Oklahoma in 2013.
There is no way a business can survive some of these disasters.
But all businesses can take steps to survive emergencies and prevent them from turning into disasters. The NFIB points the way: “Emergency preparedness must be integrated into the culture of the organization.”
Build a culture of readiness
Having a plan and having practiced it goes a long way toward building that necessary “culture.” (In fact, NOT having a plan negates practically any possibility of having one.) There are many great resources available online to help you build your plan, from FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Red Cross. Even NFIB has a good starter article.
The best plans also have scheduled practice. Everyone should understand the basics of emergency or safety equipment. In many cases, when the emergency occurs, some employees may be missing. Others will have to step up to work that is not normally theirs. There will be no time to train once disaster strikes.
Customize your business continuity plan
However, most generic plans don’t go into the specifics that make the plan effective for your business.
To help fill these gaps, we are preparing a series of short videos. Each addresses a potential “missing piece” of a typical small business continuity plan.
You can watch the first three videos now. They cover different aspects of emergency communications in the business environment. In less than 16 minutes, you can get some common sense recommendations to apply if services are temporarily interrupted, buildings are damaged or your entire workplace is rendered unusable.
Interestingly, a report came out last week from Tinker Federal Credit Union, whose Moore branch passed through the Oklahoma tornado. One of his recommendations: “Improve on-site communications during a disaster.”
