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Tips for crisis management
By Kara
Stefan • Bankrate.com
 Sixty
percent of companies that experience disaster will never open their
doors again, says Kit Tuveson, chairman of the International Facility
Management Association and worldwide facility operations manager
for Hewlett-Packard in San Francisco.
A study conducted by the University
of Minnesota revealed that, on average, companies out of business
for as little as four and a half days suffer up to a 50 percent
loss in operational capacity.
One of the primary steps in devising a crisis
management plan is to identify and train key staff qualified to
handle disaster situations. These may include a purchasing staff
responsible for equipment management, facilities managers who direct
moves to alternate locations, human resource representatives who
must inform families of injuries and a corporate communications
staff that will keep employees, customers and, possibly, the media
informed.
"An untested plan for disaster recovery is just
a prayer," Tuveson declares. All back-up plans must be tested, from
alternative sites to backup communications systems to an emergency
generator. You may have an entire facility dedicated to recovery
relief, but if the backup generator doesn't work, you've wasted
your time, money and effort."
| 10-step crisis management plan |
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1. Obtain upper-management support for personnel,
resources, and a disaster relief budget.
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2. Assign a recovery team representing every
department.
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3. Identify potential risks and hazards.
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4. Identify preparations that are already
in place, then improve or expand upon them.
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5. Pinpoint business goals and objectives,
being careful to identify those which most affect the bottom
line.
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6. Develop emergency response and recovery
plan procedures.
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7. Publish an organizational flowchart detailing
who is responsible for what.
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8. Conduct training and stock supplies.
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9. Reduce risks and hazards with periodic
inspections and defensive engineering, such as earthquake
bolts.
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10. Conduct periodic drills and exercises
to both acclimate employees and identify potential holes in
the relief plan.
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Source: International Facility Management
Association
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Kara Stefan is a freelance
writer based in Virginia
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