Business Continuity Planning - Part 6 - Employee Involvement

Employee Involvement in Emergency Planning

Disaster recovery and business continuity planning is an enormous project that cannot be completed by one person alone.  It is essential that your project involve employees at each level so that everyone can prepare and protect all aspects of the business.  Instead of formulating a roster of your employees right away, I suggest that you first consider the make up of your team.  For example, what employees are best suited for being a part of the team?  What abilities and qualities do you feel make them a good fit?  What roles and responsibilities are they capable of handling?  The answers to these questions will go a long way in forming the best possible team for the project.

Below I have complied a checklist that will help you determine who in your organization may be fit for certain responsibilities.  It will also give you several ideas on how employees can be more involved in disaster recovery and emergency situations.

Getting Employees Actively Involved in Emergency Planning

• Make sure you involve employees at all level in the plan.  Keep in mind that strategic planning will enable staff with disabilities and other special needs to play a critical role in the project as well.
• Take advantage of emails, newsletters, staff meetings, intranet sites and other communications mediums to effectively discuss emergency plans and procedures with all employees involved.
• Establish a set of policies and procedures to warn staff members of emergencies. Particularly, you should determine who will communicate with employees who may not speak fluent English and those who are hearing-impaired or suffer from other disabilities.
• Set up a communications medium for communicating with staff during and after an emergency.  This could be a special page on the company website, an email alert or voice recording system.
• Designate a phone number that allows employees to call in and let everyone know they are okay in the event of a disaster.  Make sure that everyone keeps their calls brief so that others can get on the line.
• Encourage all employees to arrange alternative means of transportation for traveling to and from work in case normal modes are interrupted.
• Maintain a record of employee emergency contact information, emergency kits and other essentials at an off-site location.

No one looks forward to a disaster, but when getting everyone involved, the entire organization can survive an emergency situation and quickly get normal business operations back in order.