How to Save Your Business and Employees from Disasters or Natural Calamities

No one can foresee exactly when a disaster will happen, but everyone knows that a disaster can happen. This calamity has material adverse effects to everyone, be they rich or poor, person or business. The damage done to business is irreplaceable, but they can be minimized if one has proper business disaster planning and measures put into place.

How can you plan a very effective disaster plan? Here are a few things to remember:

• Go around your company building and identify existing emergency exits that employees can use, as well as other exits that can also be used in an emergency. This will be the information from which you will base your plan for organized movement in case of emergency.
• When all the emergency exits have been identified, it is now time to start planning the evacuation. Assign these exits to certain departments in order to prevent congestion and pandemonium in the event that an evacuation is to be carried out of your building. These plans should also take into consideration what you can do about your employees that are disabled and physically handicapped.
• To test your business disaster plan, you can choose to conduct a fire or earthquake drill every now and then. These drills will embed into your employees the proper procedure to be undertaken so that the procedure goes smoothly when the time comes. Conducting drills also make it possible for you to identify possible weak points so you can reassess and revise your emergency evacuation plan.
• To further ensure smooth facilitation of your evacuation plan, assign someone in a single department to handle the evacuation of that individual department. This should be someone who is capable of quick thinking, and should have the capability to keep the people calm during a disaster.
• Keep your employees informed about who to contact in case of emergency. Keep every work desk posted with telephone numbers that they can dial if they want to call the police, the fire department, and ambulance departments aside from the usual 911 number. Keep these contact numbers updated as well from time to time.
• Remember, the purpose of creating a business disaster plan is the safety of your employees. Do not burden them about making sure their files and paper work are in place before leaving. Do not formulate a business plan with consideration for productivity as it is, as they say, counter-productive.