Disaster Preparedness - How Ready Are You?

It was a beautiful day in North San Diego Countyemployees had lost their homes and five had
where Softec has their headquarters. Nancysuffered damage, but fortunately no one was
Mandell, the IT and Operations Manager washurt.
reviewing the firm's strategic plan and makingWhile this is an example of a fictional company, it
edits to her section in preparation for thecould happen to any of us. What did this company
Executive Team's retreat next week. Feeling thedo that made the difference? Is your company
sun streaming in through her office window, sheequally prepared? Here's a simple plan you can
gazed out and saw something a little concerning.follow to ensure your organization weathers a
In the distance was a plume of smoke. Shedisaster as well as Softec did.
quickly checked the internet for local news andA Create a Business Disaster/Continuity Plan.
learned there was a fire burning out of controlWhere do we want to be in an emergency?
about 10 miles north. Winds were kicking up andPut the systems, structures and procedures in
blowing in a southwesterly direction, and Softecplace to ensure you can stay open for business
was right in the path.or get back in business within 24 hours. How did
Time to put Level I of our disaster plan intoSoftec do this? They had a vision for how they
action, thought Nancy. She e-mailed Bob, herwould continue to operate in the event of an
direct report responsible for company-wide ITemergency. This included pre-established remote
communications. "Put Level I of our disaster planlocations so they could switch their network to a
into action. There's a fire burning north of us andremote facility and keep the critical computer
it may be headed this way. I want all staff onoperations humming. They put communications
alert."plans in place for two-way communications
Steve Wilder, the Marketing Director, was havingbetween the company and staff and clients so
a staff meeting in his office when the alarm rangeveryone knew the status of the company and
on his computer and his Blackberry simultaneously.the employees. And they made it possible for key
His two managers felt their Blackberries buzz atemployees to work remotely, accessing their files
the same time. They checked their Blackberriesand staying in communication with company
and each had received a text message: "Possiblepersonnel and clients. Once you have created
fire headed this way. Level 1 of Disaster Planyour disaster plan, it is important to review it at
activated." Steve quickly wrapped up their staffleast annually when you do a review and update
meeting and called in the rest of the department.of your strategic plan.
"Level 1 of our disaster plan's been activated. PullB Establish key success metrics. How will we
out your disaster plans and begin making theknow everything's working successfully?
appropriate preparations," he instructed everyone.If you don't have a strategic plan, create one, and
Similar activity was taking place throughout thebe sure that disaster preparedness/business
company. Messages went out to all computerscontinuity is part of it. When preparing your
and blackberries. An announcement was posteddisaster plan it's a good idea to identify metrics
on the company intranet. Human Resourcesfor tracking how well you are implementing the
Manager, Carol Standers had her Employeeplan. These might include the different ways to
Relations Representative post announcements oncommunicate both with employees and clients -
all bulletin boards, and the Telecom departmentyour company intranet, your website, email, text
issued a company-wide voice mail announcement.messages, etc. They should include an update of
Additionally, an announcement was made over thethe number of employees that have been trained
public address system. An alert went up on thein what to do, where to go and where and how
company website to inform customers andto call or email in the event of a disaster. A
suppliers of the current situation and how toregular communications plan also should be
contact Softec if they necessary.included that identifies how frequently you will be
President Joe Baum called his Executive Team intotraining, informing and reviewing the disaster plan
his office for a quick meeting. "Ok, what's thewith employees, as well as how frequently and in
status?" he asked. "We're monitoring all newswhat way you will keep your customers informed
channels to track the path of the fire," said Nancy.in the event of an emergency.
It's still 10 miles away, but the wind's kicking up.C Do a current state assessment. Where are we
Security's been in touch with the Fire Departmenttoday? Do we have the right structures/teams in
and they will alert us if it looks like we need toplace?
evacuate. Level 1 has been activated and we're inEvaluate your current situation and assess how
a watch and wait mode, she added."prepared (or not) you are in the face of an
"Good work," said Joe. "Let's hope it doesn't goemergency. Use the following Quick Assessment
beyond this."to determine your level of preparedness in these
They filed back to their departments and teamscritical areas:
to continue with preparations. Within the next two- Employee contact list
hours, things had changed dramatically. The fires- Key supplier/vendor information
had spread and were headed in their- Key contacts
direction....fast. Nancy activated Level 2. Again- Critical business functions
messages went out via intranet, e-mail, and text- Recovery location
messages. Alerts were posted on the company's- Shelter in place procedures
websites and emails went out to customers to- Vital records
alert them to the company's possible evacuation.- Critical telephone numbers
Personnel were instructed to pack up critical- Supplies
documents, laptops, and important personal- Equipment/machinery/vehicles
possessions. Everyone was on high alert.- Computer equipment and software
Employees whose homes were in the path of the- Voice/data communications
fires were told to go home and take care of their- Identification of the risks: fire, flood, earthquake,
families. Once they and their families were safe,terrorists, power outage, tornados, etc.
employees were instructed to call into the out ofD Develop Key initiatives or strategies. What do
state 800 number that had been previously setwe need to do to ensure a successful plan?
up for just such an event.Once you've identified your current state of
Level 3, emergency evacuation, was activated anpreparedness, list the key initiatives you need to
hour later after a call from the Fire Department.take to bridge the gap of where you want to be
All employees were instructed to evacuate toin terms of preparedness and where you are
safe locations except those who were part oftoday. This should include departmental action
the disaster preparedness team. After checking inplans in critical areas that need to support the
with their own families, the president and hisplan. Create a matrix that identifies each key
disaster team headed for their pre-arrangedinitiative and the actions supporting those
disaster headquarters. Their disaster plan includedinitiatives. For each key initiative, identify the
three different locations within the countychampion and who else to involve, as well as the
depending on the location of the impendingdate by when the initiative will be completed. For
disaster. Again messages were sent via internet,each action task, identify the person responsible
intranet, text messages and voice mails to all celland who else he or she needs to involve to get
phones, and e-mails to employees, customers andthe job done, as well as the date by when each
suppliers. The company had also madeaction will be completed. Establish the appropriate
arrangements for backup network operations atprocedures to follow up monthly and ensure that
two different remote locations, both outside thethe actions and initiatives are being addressed.
County. The first one was activated, and theE Scan the external environment as frequently as
network operations were switched to thatnecessary. What could/might happen in our
location. This meant no disruption of email, orinternal and external environment that could
document file access, enabling employees totrigger an emergency?
connect remotely to the network and continueConduct an environmental scan at least annually,
working. Within an hour, the building and parking lotand even more frequently depending on the
were empty.conditions under which you're operating. If you
One by one, employees started checking in viaoperate in a high risk environment, then a monthly
the pre-arranged 800 number or via email toscan may be necessary to check the external
communicate their status and location. Those whofactors that could precipitate a disaster. If you
had laptops or other computers connectedoperate in an area prevalent with tornadoes
remotely to continue working. The disaster teamduring certain times of the year, then a frequent
re-grouped at the designated location and beganexternal scan is necessary only during tornado
monitoring the fire's progress, coordinating callsseason. Set up the appropriate structures and
and information updates both to and fromprocedures so these scans are completed and
employees, suppliers, customers and governmentreported to your disaster planning team as
and emergency personnel. 12 hours later, theyfrequently as indicated in your plan.
were informed that their building complex hadIf you follow Phases A through E, you should be
been spared and they were cleared to return.as prepared as our mythical Softec was in the
Notices went out to all employees that they couldface of an emergency. At some point in the life
return to the office the next day. Customers andof a business, there will be a critical emergency
suppliers were notified via email the next day thatthat tests the organization's preparedness and
they were back in their offices and open forability to continue operating. Don't wait until then
business. A similar message was posted on theto discover your level of preparedness. Take the
company website. Thanks to the advancesteps now to ensure your company's and your
preparation and quick action of the disaster team,employees' safety.
there was no business interruption. Three