Small business advice from Paul Plouffe
Before It Happens: Plan to Take Your Business Through the Storms
Paul Plouffe, President and CEO of ServiceMaster Clean; Stratford
In my 25 years of providing restoration services to businesses which have suffered disasters resulting from fire, flooding or other severe storms, I have encountered the following truth: the business that has a disaster plan will endure while the business that does not will usually go out of business within one to three years. I remember Rudy Giuliani speaking at a conference about his experience during 9/11. He said that while New York City did not have a specific plan for planes flying in to the World Trade Towers, it did have a solid plan for major emergencies that was effectively adapted to the situation.
Small business owners can and should take example from our cities and towns who have been doing mock drills in anticipation of these kinds of tragic interruptions. Initiate discussions with your staff about planning for potential disasters by examining three areas of vulnerability which are common to the process. Adapt these guidelines to the specific needs of your business.
1. "If our company were to experience a disaster�"
� Do we have a temporary location from which to operate?
� What will we need to have ready to continue to do what we do until we are back to normal?
� Do we have enough business interruption insurance? How much is enough? How long will it last?
� How long before our customers will looking elsewhere to meet their needs?
� How would we handle the public relations immediately and over the period involved? Do we have a PR plan in place so we can advise customers and others about the facts of our situation?
2. "What is our essential infrastructure?"
� Do we have a system for backing up our data?
� Do we store our date using an onsite server or a cloud?
� What equipment will we need to have available right away?
� Where do we get the essential equipment we need to function immediately? (i.e. computers, phones, printer, copier, internet, backups, staffing, furnishings, etc.)
3. "Who is on the team?"
� All responsibilities must be assigned to someone who is accountable to the plan. Your questions will generate a unique list of priorities as well as key people to insure your plan is working.
� Following up with these priorities and ongoing practice of the various imagery scenarios that can put you out of business will guide your success in building a plan that is best suited to your company's unique vulnerabilities.
� Consider the importance of reinforcement. Enlist the help of a disaster restoration company and a data recovery company. Putting an agreement in place in advance of any disaster will save many steps when you need to act immediately.
Every business, no matter how small, should consider the implications of unexpected disasters. At the least, a "business continuity plan" can save time and money; at the most, it can save lives.
