How resilient is your business against natural disaster?
If you think creating a simple evacuation plan is all your business needs to survive a natural disaster, think again. To bring your business through, you will need to address all four stages of business resiliency planning.
Prep
The more complex your business, the more time you need to spend on preparation. Your team will need to give careful thought to each of your locations, for both your operations and your suppliers. Remember, if your supply chain shuts down, so do you.
Pro-active preparation can include retrofitting infrastructure and investing in self-contained solar power grids. These types of forward-thinking investments can help your business navigate a new world in which extreme weather is no longer a once-in-a-lifetime event.
During the crisis
This is the stage that most businesses focus on – and for good reason: the idea of being caught in the middle of an extreme weather situation is scary. Since people may not be thinking as clearly when their adrenalin is pumping, your business needs to have a clear plan.
That plan needs to address the needs of employees stuck on-site, as well as those able to evacuate. It also needs to be clear on how your team will determine when people will be told to evacuate and operations shut down. There should also be a plan for how your team will shut down or otherwise protect sensitive equipment during an event.
Immediate aftermath
Directly after a natural disaster, you may be left with the biggest clean-up on your hand that you have ever seen. Your team will be in shock; many may be grieving. Yet this is the time when you will need a plan to help your team think clearly and navigate all that needs to be done.
You will need to document all the damage. You will be reaching out constantly to insurers, FEMA, bankers, and lawyers. You will also need to know how you will finance your business during the transition back to full operations.
Rebuilding
The rebuilding stage presents a tremendous opportunity. This is your chance to make sure any infrastructure is built or repaired with the most resilient, sustainable materials. This is definitely the time you want your business to think long-term.
There may be governmental grants that can help you rebuild with better materials. This is also a very good time to explore green infrastructure, which can reduce your energy costs for years to come.
Have you prepared your business for extreme weather?
There are four stages of preparation for any business planning against extreme weather and natural disasters. Has your team devoted the time necessary to ensure your business is ready? Business resiliency planning will steer you through an event and help you make the most out of rebuilding.
Photo by Ivan Vranić on Unsplash