This form can be used to document observations and notes about how the organization performed during drills and exercises. These findings should be shared amongst senior executives and will inform the plans for the next activity.
The new, all-inclusive Emergency App from the American Red Cross provides people with instant access to emergency alerts, life-saving information, and ways to contact family and friends in one free, easy-to-use app for smart phones and tablets.
Cost management is always a top concern for any organization. This is true even for important functions like emergency preparedness. While essential, comprehensive business continuity planning can seem like a complicated and resource-intensive process as it includes conducting a business impact analysis, developing a plan, testing the plan, training staff, etc. However, that does not have to be your reality.
Trust is the foundation of relationships. When your organization faces an emergency, communications to your employees, customers, and other stakeholders, or lack thereof, can support or erode that foundation. Protect your organization’s reputation and relationships by being prepared to communicate in a crisis.
Crises come in many forms and require your organization to take a range of preparatory steps. But most crises impact your organization’s finances, and, for this reason, financial preparedness is a critical part of emergency preparedness. Measures you take in advance and during an incident will help your organization weather the crisis and thrive afterward.
A business impact analysis (BIA) identifies potential impact of a disruption to your organization’s essential processes. The results of this analysis provide you with the information needed to prioritize business continuity planning, resource, and recovery efforts.
When a crisis occurs, being prepared while maintaining open and honest communication is critical. This document provides specific guidelines for those needing to act as a spokesperson.
Document the critical processes to be recovered.
Organizations operate within a network and if any part of that network stops functioning the whole thing has problems. Therefore, it is important to work together to ensure that all of your partners are able to function well after a disaster.
Succession planning is critical in disaster situations. Identify, in advance, who will be responsible for important decisions and assign at least one back up. For example, who can approve and/or access funds for emergency services or supplies if the individual who normally makes those decisions is unavailable.
