Blog (http://bluehost.blog) > Small Business (https://bluehost.blog/category/small-business/) > In Case of

Emergency: Why Your Small Business Needs a Crisis Management Plan

In Case of Emergency: Why Your Small Business Needsa Crisis Management PlanSeptember 1, 2016 (https://bluehost.blog/small-business/why-your-small-business-needs-crisis-plan-7123/)by Megan Hendrickson (https://bluehost.blog/author/megan/)

Consider this a test of your emergency preparedness.

You’re in the office when the floor begins to undulate. It takes you a moment to process what’shappening — an earthquake — but by then the shaking has intensified. Suddenly, the lights flicker andgo dark. Bookshelves and desks topple and jerk across the room. Windows shatter. What do you donext?

If you don’t have an answer, it’s time to get serious about preparing your small business for a workplaceemergency. After all, not many of us think clearly when facing life-or-death situations. Creating a crisismanagement plan as part of National Preparedness Month (https://www.ready.gov/september) canhelp you, your employees, and your company survive — no matter when the really big one(http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/20/the-really-big-one) strikes.

What Is a Workplace Emergency?

Nobody wants to be at their desk when a disaster unfolds, but the unfortunate truth is emergencieshappen without regard for time or place. A workplace emergency is defined by the OccupationalSafety and Health Administration (https://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3088.html) (OSHA) as “anunforeseen situation that threatens your employees, customers, or the public; disrupts or shuts down

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your operations; or causes physical or environmental damage.” These emergencies can be natural ormanmade, including:

Floods

Hurricanes

Tornadoes

Earthquakes

Fires

Toxic gas releases

Chemical spills

Radiological accidents

Explosions

Power outages

Civil disturbances

Workplace violence resulting in bodily harm and trauma

Terrorism

Small businesses can also experience company-specific crises. These can include the loss, illness, orserious injury of company leaders, an IT systems failure, public relations problems, or even a downturnin the financial market. A well-crafted crisis management plan can help you deal with these threats aswell.

Conduct Solid Research

Start with thorough research. Gather information about common risks in your industry, possible naturaldisasters in your area, and other relevant environmental factors.

“Top management personnel need to pull together experts in various fields to identify the biggestthreats in terms of a possible disaster,” explains Kathy Hubbell, a crisis management expert and ownerof consulting firm AdScripts (https://adscriptsllc.com/). “These experts may be employees, or they maybe vendors. It helps to research examples of disasters that have happened to similar companies.”

Robert D. Sollars, a 33-year veteran of the security field (https://todays-training.com/) w(https://todays-training.com/)it (https://todays-training.com/)h ex (https://todays-training.com/)te(https://todays-training.com/)ns (https://todays-training.com/)iv (https://todays-training.com/)e ex(https://todays-training.com/)pe (https://todays-training.com/)ri (https://todays-training.com/)en(https://todays-training.com/)ce (https://todays-training.com/) w (https://todays-training.com/)ri(https://todays-training.com/)ti (https://todays-training.com/)ng (https://todays-training.com/) c(https://todays-training.com/)ri (https://todays-training.com/)si (https://todays-training.com/)s ma(https://todays-training.com/)na (https://todays-training.com/)ge (https://todays-training.com/)me(https://todays-training.com/)nt (https://todays-training.com/) p (https://todays-training.com/)la(https://todays-training.com/)ns (https://todays-training.com/), recommends that “all levels of thecompany be involved in the planning process, from hourly employees to the C-suite.” He recommendsusing focus groups and surveys to gather information from key stakeholders.

Write Your Plan Down

Once you have conducted research, you need to put your plan in writing. OSHA recommends that youinclude the following (https://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3088.html) basic information:

A preferred method for reporting fires and other emergencies;

An evacuation policy and procedure;

Emergency escape procedures and route assignments, such as floor plans, workplace maps, and safe

or refuge areas;

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or refuge areas;

Names, titles, departments, and telephone numbers of individuals both within and outside your

company to contact for additional information or explanation of duties and responsibilities under the

emergency plan;

Procedures for employees who remain to perform or shut down critical operations, operate fire

extinguishers, or perform other essential services that cannot be shut down for every emergency

alarm before evacuating; and

Rescue and medical duties for any workers designated to perform them.

But that’s just the beginning. Info Entrepreneurs (http://www.infoentrepreneurs.org/en/guides/crisis-management-and-business-continuity-planning/#1) recommends adding these valuable items to yourplan:

a list of the primary business functions you need to quickly get back up and running after a disaster

an outline of all of the resources you’ll need to get back to business as usual

While you want to be detailed and organized, Eden Gillott Bowe, a crisis and reputation managementexpert at Gillott Communications, cautions against going too in depth. “The biggest mistake — besidesnot having a plan — is making one that’s so lengthy and boring it ends up sitting in a drawer unread,”she says. “That’s not an effective crisis plan; it’s an expensive paper weight.”

Because of this, it can be worthwhile to create several emergency plans(http://www.smallbizdaily.com/set-crisis-management-plan-company-6-easy-steps/) for differenttypes of crises instead of drafting up one comprehensive plan. Once the key stakeholders have signedoff on the plan (or plans), distribute it to staff members. Be sure to save a digital version that can beaccessed remotely.

Test Your Plan

But remember: writing the plan down is only the first step. Roleplaying your plan will ensure your teamknows what to do in the event of an emergency and will help you work out any possible kinks.

“Testing is, without a doubt, the most overlooked portion of the crisis management pipeline,” says DrewFarnsworth, an operations manager at a disaster recovery company (http://agiledatasites.com) basedoutside of  Philadelphia. “We have seen many businesses that have implemented crisis managementplans only to realize when it’s too late that there were key deficiencies in their processes whichseverely hampered their responses.”

Test your policy by running emergency drills, making sure all the contact numbers work, and confirmingthat everyone understand their roles.

Finally, set regular intervals to review and update your crisis management plan and to do emergencyprevention tasks, such as changing the batteries in your smoke detectors, checking your fireextinguishers, testing security systems, backing up your servers, and updating important passwords.

Other Tips for Crisis Preparedness

Being prepared for a disaster also means supplementing your crisis management plan with additionalresources. Here are some to consider:

Keep Survival Supplies at Work. Supply kits (http://thesurvivalmom.com/36-lessons-learned-from-

testing-a-72-hour-kit/) can be a literal lifesaver in the event of a natural disaster. A basic kit could

include a small supply of food and water, a flashlight, a clock, a radio, an emergency blanket, a

toothbrush, and toothpaste.

Get a First Aid Kit. Similarly, all offices should have a first aid kit at hand. This can help address

wounds until emergency services are available to provide further help.

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wounds until emergency services are available to provide further help.

Learn CPR. Did you know that if CPR is performed within the first few minutes of cardiac arrest

(http://cpr.heart.org/AHAECC/CPRAndECC/AboutCPRFirstAid/CPRFactsAndStats/UCM_475748_CPR-

Facts-and-Stats.jsp), it can triple a person’s chance of survival? Keeping your employees updated on

CPR can save someone’s life.

Sign up for SMS Emergency Alerts. You can opt into a government service that will alert you via

text message (https://www.ready.gov/alerts) of impending disasters.

It takes work to plan for emergencies, but Boy Scouts, seismologists, and first responders will all tell you

how important preparedness really is. When you take the time to create a crisis management plan, you

can rest easy, knowing that when disaster strikes — from the annoying to the unthinkable — you’ll be

ready for it.

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