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Can Your Business
Recover from a Disaster?
Editor's
note: Our cover story discusses how businesses can survive certain
disasters through adequate planning. Comp News staff recognizes that the
terrorist attacks of September 11 were a tragedy of incalculable
proportions and that no amount of planning could have prepared
a business, a family or a nation for such horrific acts. In this
article, we suggest ways that your business can prepare for and
recover from more common emergencies.
 Is your company ready for the unexpected?
Power disruption, computer malfunction, natural disaster, theft
and vandalism take their toll on businesses every year. But there
is something you can do.
You can limit the effects of
a disaster and return to normal operations more quickly by developing
an emergency management plan (sometimes called a disaster recovery
plan). The plan should contain information and procedures to
help your company restore its critical business functions at
a predetermined site within a specific time frame. The plan will
also help your company return to normal business operations within
a specified time period.
Plan Now or
Pay Later
Studies have shown that 60 percent of businesses affected by
a disaster close within two years. Even if the company carries
insurance, it may suffer substantial losses that are not covered
by its policy. The cost of developing an emergency management
plan is small when compared with the cost of being caught by
surprise.
Consider the plight of a now-defunct
North Texas roofing company. In 1995, an unrelenting storm hit
Dallas and the surrounding area. The rising water destroyed most
of the company's computers, ruined its records, and left its
work trucks at least partially submerged.
Ironically, the disaster created
a huge demand for roofing work. The company received over 200
calls during the three-day period, but it was unable to respond.
After draining their personal and business savings accounts,
the company owners were eventually forced to shut down.
 Focus on What You Can
Do
Emergency management is a dynamic process. Planning, though critical,
is not the only component. Training, conducting drills, testing
equipment, and coordinating activities with the community are
other important functions.
There are four steps to developing
an emergency management plan:
1. Form an emergency management planning team - The
team should have upper-management's full support.
2. Analyze your company's current ability to respond to disasters
- For example, you might discover that a relatively
small fire could be catastrophic to your business. Perhaps employees
have not been trained in how to use fire extinguishers, or maybe
your building lacks adequate emergency exits. Identifying employees
who have special skills, such as first aid, can help increase
your company's ability to respond to a disaster.
3. Put your plan in writing - Your written emergency
management plan should include your company's vulnerabilities
as discovered in step two. It should also address the basic components
of emergency management, such as communications, employee safety,
property protection, and operations recovery and restoration.
You should review your written plan annually.
4. Implement your plan - This step should include
employee walk-through drills in which the emergency management
team performs its emergency response functions.
Added Benefits
In addition to protecting your bottom line, there are other reasons
to develop an emergency management plan. Developing a plan may
help your company protect its employees, the community and the
environment. In some cases, your emergency management plan may
help your company comply with regulatory requirements and reduce
your exposure to civil or criminal liability in the event of
an incident. Developing and-when the time comes-implementing
an emergency management plan can also enhance your company's
image and credibility with employees, customers, suppliers and
the community. Finally, developing an emergency management plan
may also reduce some of your company's property and casualty
insurance premiums.
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