No business is ever safe, especially a small business. In
today’s economy, a business can go under in a heartbeat and not always because
of financial woes. For instance, employees could be injured, important information
may be lost due to computer errors, or even a natural disaster can destroy your
factory, office, or working space.
While it’s impossible to be prepared for every disaster,
thinking ahead and having contingency plans is always a good idea. Being ready
for the unexpected can help you keep your cool as well as your business. Here
are some tips for planning for the worst:
1.
Figure
out everything that could go wrong. This is important because it tests the
vulnerability of your business. This goes well past simple things like time clock software being broken and encompasses things like mass computer failure
or integral machine break-down. When looking at the risk assessment you should
keep these things in mind:
·
List all
the risks or threats your business can face.
·
Determine
how vulnerable your business is to these threats.
·
Start
prioritizing the threats.
2.
Develop a
strong business plan. This will be known as an “EAP”, or Emergency Action
Plan, which will help deal with everything you listed in step one. Sometimes
these plans will be set by law and, at other times, you will be responsible for
setting up the procedures. Here are some tips to help you through this step:
·
Write a
clear written policy of your company’s chain of command.
·
List the
people who are responsible for assessing risks to property and people.
·
Include instructions
on how to shut down any equipment you may have.
·
Record facility
evacuation procedures.
·
Include
forms needed or procedures required to report any emergency.
With some forethought, you and your business can be ready
for any number of incidents or accidents. While it is impossible to prepare for
anything, having emergency protocol set can help deal with the unplanned
incidents as well.
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