Everyone who works for you should have a personal emergency plan and emergency kits. When your team and their families are prepared and safe, you’ll be able to focus on business recovery.
Business Preparedness
Prepare your business for an emergency
Forty to 60 per cent of small businesses never reopen their doors after a disaster (Federal Emergency Management Agency).
Don’t let this happen to your business. Preparing for an emergency will help you stay safe, stay open and recover faster.
Start with personal preparedness
Where is your business vulnerable? Think about how a disaster would affect your employees and customers, your processes (like your point of sale), and your buildings and equipment.
Take steps to protect the most important areas of your business. You can:
- Back up your documents
- Make sure your employees can work from home
- Get the right insurance coverage
- Have a list of backup suppliers, in case your usual suppliers aren’t available
A good preparedness plan is flexible, clear, tested regularly, understood by all employees, and integrated into your day-to-day business. There are resources and templates to help you write your plan. Get started with one of the following websites:
- Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction – Open for Business
- Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety – Open for Business
- Insurance Bureau of Canada – Business Insurance and Emergency Preparedness
Pandemic plan resources