Leadership Skills: Do You Already Have a Contingency Plan for the Hurricane Season? * Incedo Group

Leadership Skills: Do You Already Have a Contingency Plan for the Hurricane Season?

Hurricane season is upon us. Is your business prepared? Do your employees know what to do? According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, we should expect more hurricanes this year. And if there’s one thing we should have learned from the Hurricane Sandy disaster, it’s that leadership skills are vital to ensuring the organization survives both the hurricane and its aftermath.

You need to be prepared, and so does everyone in your organization.

“I know that we need to prepare, but what exactly do we have to do?”

Create a Hurricane Season Contingency Plan

Consider the possible threats to the business’s infrastructure– Is the company’s office in-route of hurricanes, flood and other weather catastrophes? The level of potential damage is different if the business operations are in a small building, than if it’s in a high-rise.

Don’t think you’re safe just because you’re way of the coastal line! The effect of hurricanes can spread very far from the center of the storm, so it’s better to be prepared. List all business functions and critical equipment that might be damaged or lost, this will serve as the basis for your contingency plan.

Back-up, then back-up your back-ups- Create a back-up of all important data, and then make sure it works! Instruct all employees to create a back-up of their files, and then give them instructions on how to retrieve it. Also, make sure that your back-up, has a back-up to account for any potential threats. You never know if the primary back-up’s server or storage center will be hit.

Create a disaster communication plan- Do your employees know what to do when disaster strikes? Do they know who to ask for help or report any problems?

Having good leadership skills won’t do you much good if you can’t give instructions to your team because the phone lines are down! Hence, you need a disaster communication plan. Set up a specific SMS line where employees can report weather related problems, and use the same service to alert people of potential threats.

Contact everyone in your supply chain- There’s a good chance the business won’t be affected by a hurricane, but what about your suppliers? If they’re affected, then you will be too! Ask suppliers about their contingency plan, and if they have alternative methods for delivery and production. Find two back-up suppliers that can meet deliver what you need in case the primary supplier is having problems.

Insure what needs to be insured- Do you have business insurance? Talk to the agent on record and discuss what is covered in the business’s policy.

Talk to your team- Assemble everyone and discuss the contingency plan created. By the end of the discussion, everybody should have an understanding of what to do when disaster strikes.

Your leadership skills will be put to test when a disaster strikes, but the experience needn’t be that stressful if you have a plan in place.