Are you adequately prepared in the event of a crisis in your company? It’s not easy to plan for occurrences that often arrive out of the blue, without any warning at all. It’s important to have plans in place where possible though, it’ll help you manage the problem as effectively as possible when the worst happens.
Some events will force you to improvise a response but for common problems faced by companies, there are measures you can put in place. The following list of disasters are experienced by many business owners every year, so we’ll help you make plans for them.
Fires and Floods
As our climate continues to change and become more volatile, the chances of natural disasters occurring increases. This can be catastrophic for your business if you don’t know how to handle the situation. Floods and fires are two of the most dangerous events for businesses.
Floods might not be an issue for you if you’re not located near a river or coastline. But if you are, it’s only sensible to make plans. If your business is at risk, make sure you build with flood resistant materials where possible and make sure your electrical systems aren’t located on the ground level. And when a flood does occur make sure you have plans for moving important things up to higher floors.
Every business should have fire safety procedures in place. Smoke alarms must be tested regularly and up to date extinguishers available throughout the workplace. Make the guidelines clear to everyone, so they know where the fire assembly point is. To limit the damage of fire, install fire resistant roofing and paint.
Workplace Conflict
Disasters aren’t just caused by unpredictable outside forces; they can come from within too. People argue and disagree in all workplaces, it becomes a problem when these conflicts turn violent or start to affect morale and teamwork within the company.
You should have an in-house Human Resources department that you can rely on to manage the workforce effectively. Have them pinpoint and resolve problems as soon as they arrive, rather than letting them fester.
Electrical and Heating Failures
Power outages occur, and there’s rarely anything we can do to prevent them. Therefore, you have to be prepared for when they inevitably arrive. The simple stuff can be important; make sure you have flashlights and battery powered equipment at hand.
Sometimes the electrics and heating can fail on you at the worst possible times. If you have a big event that needs heating, you should prepare for the event of failure beforehand. Get in touch with a company that offers boiler rentals and make preparations for backup. That way you won’t be left in the lurch later on.
Employee Absenteeism on the Big Day
If the day of a big presentation or event arrives, but one of your key employees doesn’t, you’ll be put in a very difficult situation. There’s no reason why this should be the case though. You can easily make sure that everyone has access to all the documents and information needed, you shouldn’t ever really on one person for these things.
And make sure it’s a team effort. If your project leader falls ill or doesn’t show up, there should be a vice leader ready to step in and ably take on the task.
