In case of a disaster such as a flood (like what happened in Calgary in 2013), fire, tornado, or earthquake, does your business have a plan in place? A plan does not need to be complicated, but should as a minimum have these two parts:
1. A method to contact all employees or staff. This is important as staff need to be informed about the occurrence of the disaster at the workplace in a timely manner. They would also need to know if, when, and where to return to work.
If your company is small enough, direct phone contact of employees may be the best method so ensure a current employee phone number list is maintained and is readily available. If you have a large staff, an alternate method could be social media. For example staff could be told that in case of a disaster, they should check the company’s Facebook or Instagram account for updates.
2. Alternate arrangements to recommence business operations as quickly as possible. This is important as any lost productivity for the business will mean a potential loss in revenue and customers.
A plan should be in place that if the original business premises is unusable, there should be arrangements for an alternate location for the business to operate. Having a functioning data backup system is essential for this part of the plan as well as having an alternate location for the business to operate.
Additional Planning Resources
For more detailed help on creating a disaster recovery plan your company could consider using an external consultant who specialize in disaster recovery planning or online resources such as The Disaster Recovery Guide at www.disaster-recovery-guide.com