How to Respond When Things Go Wrong – Part Two

Every company should be prepared to face problems. The important thing is to not expect them to happen and then react. The ideal thing is to think ahead and make plans that contribute to fixing the damage before it happens so that the damage to your business is minimal, even after a serious incident.

Here is the second part of a two-part series with tips on how you can respond when things go wrong in your company.

·  Be Ready To Respond: You should already have your emergency action plan (EAP) written by now, so at this point you want to make sure that your staff know about it. It is important that each one knows what is expected of one another when an emergency pops up. It doesn’t matter how big or how small the emergency is. In fact, it is vital that you do “test runs” every month to keep them fresh on emergency procedures. You should keep in mind that no plan is ever perfect until you put it to the test.

o   Here are some areas of training you should focus on:

§  Basic first aid

§  Use of fire extinguisher

§  Emergency equipment shutdown

§  Building evacuation procedures

§  Emergency notification procedures

§  CPR

·  Recovery Procedures: Once the first the steps are in the books, it is vital that you get back in the swing of things and get your business up and running again. Make sure you have a plan for how you will recover after a disaster happens. Think about these questions:

o   Will you need another location?

o   Are you able to obtain replacement equipment?

o   Do you have someone to clean up the business?

o   Is it possible to recover any lost data on time clocks or other instruments?

o   Can your staff get to work?

o   Will your workers be able to reach you?

o   Can your suppliers still get you the goods on a regular basis?