Have you taken the proper steps to protect your business should you encounter a natural disaster? You need to ensure that you don’t experience a slow-down in your business. You will still have bills to pay regardless of what is happening in the world around you. Here are 6 ways to protect your business from natural disasters.
There are many things to consider as a business owner, but one that is often overlooked is ways of taking care of your business should a natural disaster strike. What is one of the first steps to obtain insurance for your business?
1. Assess potential vulnerabilities.
Depending upon where your business is located will determine what type of vulnerabilities you are subject to. The first consideration is whether or not your business is in a flood zone. Are you subject to high winds? These are two important considerations to make when it comes to business interruption insurance.
2. Prioritize.
It’s all about priorities. As you assess what you’re vulnerable to, you’ll know exactly what you need to do first to protect yourself. First things first. What is your first priority? If you are looking at your list and you’ve written it all down, start at the top. Flooding is a big issue for businesses that are in a flood zone.
Flooding can shut down a business in its tracks. There is a ton of cleanup work that has to take place and for a business, it means it cannot run, and there is no profit being generated.
3. What is your line of communication with your internal and external team?
When it comes to a natural disaster, you have to have a way to get in touch with everyone. You’ll need a good system to get in touch with those who work with you, as well as those you who come to you as customers. Having a system in place that is reliable to make contact with everyone, employees and customers is the best & effective way of informing everyone of what has happened, and what the next steps are.
It’s important to ensure that you have contact information for all employees, vendors, and anyone else that you are expecting to hear from.
Read More: How Emergency Managers Creating Safer World for Everyone
4. Prepare for dealing with suppliers.
Your suppliers may also be impacted when a natural disaster strikes. It is imperative that you realize how these disasters can impact your suppliers in addition to how it impacts your staff. Do you have more than one supplier that you work with? It’s important to have more than one supplier that you can work with so that you don’t run out of supplies.
Serving your customers is important, and without your customers, you won’t have revenue. Always ask about service contracts and how they operate. Stay on top of this so that you know what’s happening.
5. Taking care of your people.
You may not realize this now, but when shut down occurs you’ll need to take care of your employees. Can you force them to use vacation time? What about a package that allows them sick time due to extended illnesses like Coronavirus?
You may want to consider offering paid sick time for a definitive amount of time. Whether it’s 3 days, a week, or more, it’s important that you communicate this clearly in your company policies for the sake of everyone involved.
Natural disasters can occur at any time. Whether it’s a type of virus, a flood or some type of storm, it’s important to make expectations clear for your entire business.
