National Preparedness Month: Business Edition 

9/27/2021 (Permalink)

As many as 50% of businesses close down following a disaster. Don't become a statistic!

National Preparedness Month: Business Edition 

September is National Preparedness Month. As a business owner, you might be wondering, what does this month mean to you? SERVPRO of South Greenville County recommends taking this month to revisit your emergency preparedness plan. According to the latest research, As many as 50% of businesses close down following a disaster. Below are a few easy steps you can take to increase your emergency readiness for your business. 

Assess Your Risk

The first step in being prepared for disasters is to determine your risk.

Based on preparedness measures you have already taken, determine which disasters you are currently vulnerable to. Most businesses in Greenville face disasters such as flooding, heavy rains, tornadoes, freezing temperatures, and fires. The first step you can take in preparing your business is to perform a safety audit. This audit should highlight any areas of your space that could present a safety hazard during a disaster. Take note of any hazardous materials. Remember to think about any additional risks that could obstruct your evacuation from the building. Remove any heavy equipment or products stored on high shelves. Assessing these risks before a disaster will help better prepare you in the long run. 

Stay Up-To-date On Local and National Emergency News 

Stay up to date on emergency news by ensuring you have a way to listen to your local and national officials. Sign up for local and national alerts as soon as possible.

Train Your Employees In Emergency Preparedness and Workplace Safety

You can develop the best safety strategy for your workplace, but it means absolutely nothing without proper employee training. You need to ensure you communicate your strategy and communications plans to all your employees. Hold regular safety training, crisis-specific safety drills, and emergency preparedness forums to give your employees a space to ask questions and obtain relevant information precisely when they need it.  

Keep Emergency Supplies On Hand 

As an employer, it is your responsibility to keep your employees safe during an emergency. You need to have enough emergency supplies to last employees at least three days. It’s not a bad idea to invest in a business emergency kit so that you don’t have to spend a ton of time assembling all of your individually-bought supplies into your own. 

Develop A SERVPRO Emergency Ready Profile 

It is never a convenient time to deal with natural disasters, water, or fire damage. Every hour you spend cleaning up is an hour of lost revenue and productivity. Creating a SERVPRO Emergency READY Profile (ERP) for your business will help you minimize interruption by having an immediate plan of action. Knowing what to do and what to expect in advance is the key to timely mitigation and can help minimize how disasters can affect your business. An ERP is a no-cost assessment of your facility that will help get you back into your building following a disaster. By developing an ERP, SERVPRO of South Greenville County will be your designated disaster mitigation and restoration provider. Your ERP will also identify a chain of command specifically tailored for your business; this, in turn, will save you valuable time and money so we can immediately begin work. When your ERP is complete, we compile everything into one document that you have 24/7 access to via our app. 

Ready to Get Started? Call SERVPRO of South Greenville County (864) 292 - 3137.