Establishing Contingency Plans with Local Government

A company contingency plan should address critical operations to minimize the disruption of services to a company, its employees and clients, and to ensure timely resumption of operations in the event of a disaster. Contingency procedures enhance awareness and employee responsiveness, alleviate confusion, and ultimately eliminate the loss of the most valuable asset: employees.

Local Asia government involvement is crucial in the preparation of a company contingency plan, which should be based on four pillars: alertness, agility, adaptability and alignment with other organizations.

In most cases, the government excels at being attuned to the public good and understands what needs to be done, as well as basic ground rules, laws and societal norms. Asia companies are also knowledgeable about logistics and other aspects of disaster response. In the event of a disaster, a hand-in-hand approach is the best method to tackle the chaos.

So, what can corporations do to prepare for these events? Here are some step-by-step recommendations:

Contact local government agencies and emergency services to establish tiered and coordinated response procedures, and discuss possible post-crisis recovery-coordination efforts with other local businesses.

Clarify procedures for the coordination and meeting of response teams during and after the disaster.

Review and update employee evacuation and notification plans, including employee emergency contact lists.

Ensure all employees are aware of emergency policies and procedures.

Continue reviewing the contingency plan. Repeatedly test and refine the plan for the worst scenario that could result in the event of calamity

Review Human Resource-related issues, including skills inventories and potential payments to injured, homeless or evacuated staff.

Train personnel to assist with disaster response, especially in the areas of the evacuation plan, logistics and sanitation.

Review the company insurance policy. Understand the extent of the policy limit. Does it cover injuries caused by natural disasters or other events?

Evacuation Plans

What will happen to transferees relocating in the midst of natural disasters? Corporations and suppliers are responsible for providing all transferees with a comprehensive briefing of the current situation before they relocate to the affected areas. Realistically, it is difficult to plan for all eventualities as most disasters are unexpected. Once the above recommendations are put into place, there are additional guidelines to follow in terms of creating a clear illustration of the evacuation plan. With a transparent evacuation plan, companies are in a better position to recover

It may take months or even years for an organization to recover from some events. Therefore, a disaster recovery plan is recommended to resume normal business operations as quickly as possible

According to Ethical Corporation magazine, businesses could pre-position or move to holding warehouses for relief from affected areas. Employees can then carry on with their work. In addition to relying on government assistance, companies can have trained personnel, who understand the business process, familiarize themselves with the recovery plan to assist with the post-disaster events.

Most governments in affected areas will be involved in developing evacuation plans. When companies create their own evacuation plan, it is essential to seek advice from a government authority in order to integrate the company evacuation plan with any government plan already in place. Make sure the company plan does not conflict with the content of the government plan to avoid life-threatening confusion.

In general, preparing an evacuation map is the best way to begin preparedness efforts. Evacuation maps should show hazardous areas, provide information on how to evacuate those areas and designate safe places for congregating in the event of a natural disaster. The government can provide this information, as well as topographical data, information about potential disaster sources and the identification of safe areas. The key goal of an evacuation plan is to save lives.

There is always uncertainty in an evacuation plan, including where and when the disaster will happen. The challenge is that when the message is inconsistent, it can cause confusion. By having the right information at our fingertips, we can assess the risks to our corporations and employees.