Proper storm preparedness can help your organization continue to operate if an incident occurs within your offices that require your employees to transition to remote work. A weather incident like Super Storm Sandy in 2011 taught us these tips on weather preparedness.
- Transfer incoming business calls to an answering service ( located off the east coast preferably), or your cell phone voice mail. No power no calls. You could be down days! Not too late to set up a Google Voice Account that provides a text translation of every call.
- Alert your team to back up their workspaces onto an offline platform like a USB-drive or removable hard drive. Email the team to ensure they’ve backed up any information they may need while the servers are offline. If you didn’t do that, call all hands on deck to save these files. Burn it to a CD.
- Back up all Server Data to a portable device or even better to a service like Google Drive. Duplicate and move the data so you can plug and play when the power is back, or from a remote location.
- Make sure employees can access their email remotely. Remind everyone to charge their cell phones Saturday. Shut them down until Monday to conserve battery as power may be out days. Have them buy car chargers so they can charge the cells from the car battery.
- Unplug all computers, servers, and electronics to prevent circuit damage from power surges. There are a million ways the circuitry can get fried, unplug it to reduce the risk of losing your electronics to fried circuitry.
- Remove electronics from the floor. Many organizations set desktop workstations on the floor to maximize desk space. If your employees are not working in the office, remove these electronics from the floor to prevent water damage if flooding occurs. Leaks, blown windows, and floods coming from all directions can be a problem. I don’t care where your office is, water is fluid and indiscriminate. Get it all off the floor, and put something over the top so leaks from above can’t hit it.
- Have a list of employee contact information. Designated an employee or two (always good to have a back-up in case the first employee lacks cell phone service) as the designated contact. Cell service may be spotty, texting has a better shot of getting through. Create this list and distribute it to every employee. You might be working remotely for a long time.
- Establish a chain of communication with employees. Keep them posted. Efficient communication is critical. Set up social media accounts, or email chains to ensure quick and easy communications.
- Alert your clients of an alternative way to contact your staff, if conventional means of communications are down. Create a banner or landing page on your website to alert clients of how to reach you in the event that your office is closed. Create a landing page on your website that gives clients or customers an indication of how to reach you and what is happening with your business. Emergency contact numbers e.t.c. Communication is key!
- Seal wind-exposed window seams with duct tape, remove sensitive items away from windows and off the floors. Take sensitive documents off the floor, and out from the bottom drawers, put them someplace safe.
For more information on storm preparedness for your business operations, contact a risk advisor at 914-357-8444.
