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Make Sure Your Commercial Team Is Prepared for a Weather Emergency | SERVPRO of Cape Girardeau & Scott Counties
9/19/2023 (Permalink)
If your home or business was damaged in a storm, call SERVPRO of Cape Girardeau & Scott Counties to get you back in action.
“Always be prepared” is not just a motto taught to young boys and girls in scouting—it is also a great principle to teach your employees. When you own a business, no matter what it is, you need to have a contingency plan for everything and anything in order to avoid losses. A prepared team is a resilient team that works well together.
As a small business owner, you need your crew to be able to overcome lots of different work-related challenges in order to stay afloat. While you prepare them to handle a multitude of different situations, make sure severe weather safety is also on your list.
Weather emergencies can strike fast and with very little warning—and the last thing you want is a panic-stricken staff. Get your team ready to handle any storm and keep business going.
One of the best places to start in preparing your team is by assessing the threats they could face. Getting to know what weather is common in your area and what kind of storms have damaged property near yours can help you create better plans for every situation.
Here in the Cape and our surrounding areas, tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, flooding and high winds can’t be ruled out during any season. While spring brings us the most volatile weather, our mild climate means these threats happen year round.
Cape Girardeau and the surrounding counties see enough severe weather that a multi-layer alert system, including 19 different sirens, has been installed.
The more you can learn about potential weather threats, including everything from tornadoes to flooding risks, the better you can be completely prepared for anything that could leave your building damaged or your staff threatened. Make sure you always have two ways of receiving weather alerts as well in order to respond as quickly as possible.
Communication is key when it comes to handling an emergency well. During a weather emergency, this can be particularly challenging as some systems may go down while the storm passes through.
Make sure every staff member has two reliable sources to receive weather alerts, including a battery operated weather radio. Create a plan to communicate how you will be taking action in order to keep everyone on the same page and moving in the same direction. This might mean creating a code that can be relayed around the office in order to get everyone out appropriately.
Along with solid sources of giving and receiving information among your team, the best way to ensure a safety plan works is by practicing it often. Creating and regularly rehearsing an evacuation plan is key in making sure everyone in your building can get out safely and quickly. Make sure routes are well-labeled, and install emergency lighting that will work even if the power is out.
When exiting your building is not safe, make sure your team knows where to go. When you rehearse your emergency plans, visit your safe sheltering location so that everyone knows how to get there. Make sure it is also clearly labeled. Choose a room without windows and on the lowest level.
Not only does a prepared team respond well, they also can respond in a calm manner. Emergencies are scary for everyone, but when you know what to do you can keep stress levels lowered and clearly think through every step of your safety plan. Work with your team so that your emergency plan is like an extension of them, and your commercial team will be ready to handle any storm.
Don’t let extreme weather take control! If storms strike your business, SERVPRO® can help you restore your losses.