Avoiding pitfalls: Pre-storm planning and post-event recovery
- Properly plan for emergencies, stay informed about weather updates, prepare your workplace and maintain clear communication with staff to prevent costly errors during severe weather.
- After a storm, secure your workplace, assess and document damage to support insurance claims and prioritize worker safety to facilitate a smooth recovery.
- Ensure your business is adequately insured with property damage and weather insurance to protect against revenue losses and operational disruptions caused by extreme weather events.
When inclement weather strikes, employers must swiftly safeguard their worksites and employees. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to make mistakes along the way. Here are some typical mistakes you may encounter while preparing for a significant storm and a few storm-ready strategies to manage damage control in the aftermath.
Mistakes to avoid when preparing for the storm
Inclement weather is no time to cut corners. Serious precautions are essential for major storms and natural disasters, or you may bear severe consequences. Take care to avoid the following when bad weather is about to strike:
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1. Neglecting emergency planning
Does your agency have a continuity or backup plan in case of a natural disaster? Do you know your building’s designated exit points during an evacuation? What’s your procedure for leaving in an emergency? Emergency planning is often overlooked during major weather events, despite its critical importance.
However, you can do something about it right now. A comprehensive emergency plan creates organization during troubling times. It ensures everyone’s safety and creates continuity through data backups, remote work solutions and communication protocols with staff and suppliers.
Related: What’s your insurance agency back-up plan?
The supply chain is particularly vulnerable to extreme weather. For example, freezing temperatures in Texas closed three semiconductor facilities in 2021, resulting in a semiconductor shortage and slowed microchip vehicle production. Power outages also obstructed railroads used for supply chain transports for three days. So, consider whether your business is prepared to address a supply chain disruption and develop a plan if similar events occur.
2. Underestimating the impacts
Most people watch the weather forecast closely if significant rain or snow is expected. So, if meteorologists are concerned about potential impacts, your company and its workers shouldn’t ignore the warnings.
Stay informed with alerts from the National Weather Service, local news and smartphone apps. The National Hurricane Center is another vital resource if you live in an area prone to tropical cyclone activity. Ensure employees know where to find weather updates by sending an email with essential information.
3. Failing to prepare your workplace
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 60 U.S. climate disasters have caused more than $1 billion in losses from 2020-2022 (latest statistics available). You don’t want your business to be another statistic, so take the necessary steps to prepare your workplace for the worst.
Flying debris, shattered windows and water damage can ruin your workplace’s electronics and drive up recovery costs. It’s good practice to cover electronics with waterproof tarps and bring outdoor furniture inside. And make sure to move essential paperwork and objects away from windows before you vacate the building.
4. Poor communication
Employers must ensure clear and consistent communication with staff before, during and after the storm. Unfortunately, these efforts often fall flat.
So, consider composing email templates as part of your emergency plans. These should include protocols and expectations for workers, updates for closures and safety reminders. Setting up a hotline for employees to call with questions is another way to keep everyone informed about workplace changes during the storm.
Damage control tips after inclement weather
Wild weather events can cause significant destruction, making damage control crucial. These four tips will help you address problems in your business when the storm passes.
Related: Flood preparation steps for businesses
1. Secure your workplace
First and foremost, employers should ensure the building or worksite is safe to access. This means turning off utilities if there’s a flood, boarding up broken windows and checking the structure’s overall integrity.
Test sitting water and faucets before allowing anyone inside, especially if flooding or torrential storms occurred. Water testing looks for harmful bacteria and chemical contaminants, some of which may be airborne and hazardous. Securing the workplace also means checking for any leaks that may eventually cause mold or mildew and having professionals give the go-ahead that your site is secure, safe and compliant.
2. Assess the damage
Once the workplace is secure, you can assess the damage. Although you should maintain a checklist of things to look for, it may be best to hire an inspector to examine areas needing considerable repair.
A professional will write a report detailing the damage so you can submit a claim to your business’s insurance company. You’ll also gain a better idea of the cost to repair damages.
3. Document weather destruction
Take several time-stamped photos of any leaks, shattered glass, broken equipment and inventory loss; these will help support your insurance claim.
And don’t forget to also document the exterior of your building, which may have endured damage to its siding or roof.
4. Prioritize worker safety
Above all, employers should prioritize their team’s safety. Of course, everyone will be eager to return to normalcy following a storm, but you don’t want to put your employees at risk of injury or disease.
So, through regular communication with your workers, reiterate the importance of remaining safe and if possible, instruct them to work remotely until conditions improve.
The importance of business insurance
Extreme weather could disrupt operations and cause revenue losses or closures, which is why employers must obtain several types of insurance policies to protect themselves and their workplaces. Property damage insurance covers repairs for anything damaged at a worksite, including computers and other office equipment.
Weather insurance is also crucial for companies of all sizes. It compensates for canceled events, vendor fees and nonrefundable deposits. One example of weather insurance in action is helping contractors with increased expenses and losses after a storm stalls construction projects.
Always review your insurance policies and coverage limits to prepare for potentially wild weather. You don’t want to be inadequately insured when a major storm rolls through.
Careful preparation is key in preventing weather damage
Businesses should maintain protocols and procedures for handling inclement weather. As an employer, you owe it to your staff to keep them and the workplace safe. Ensure you know the critical measures and opportunities to carry your business through the storm unscathed.