Tip of the Week: National Preparedness Month!

Tip of the Week: National Preparedness Month!

September is National Preparedness Month!

Two of the largest natural disasters hit within a two-week period. This is a reminder to update your Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plan. The key to protecting your assets and becoming resilient in the face of a natural disaster, cyber-attack, or random power outage, is having a solid plan in place.

Here are 9 tips in protecting your assets from such disasters so that you are prepared and protected.

Keep your plan updated and accessible to key team members. This could be in the form of a digital copy or an App. Paper copies are a must in the event that there is no internet or electricity.
Designate primary and alternative facility locations to store your Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plan. You will have to have plans in place if your building or area is not accessible.
Conduct regular practice drills with your employees to determine that your plan will continue to work and to iron out kinks. This should include backup personnel in case your assigned key members are not available.
Implement the plan.
Data Backup should be maintained off site or in the cloud.
Your plan should identify critical processes, systems, personnel, and their continuity.
Develop communication plans for an alternative method of communication if phone lines are not available.
Coordinate your plan with local government, FEMA, fire and/or police.
Make sure your plan covers a range of disasters. These could include earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, fire, gas leak, explosion, terrorist attacks, bomb threats or flooding.