Week-long events can be effective ways of raising awareness of issues that need attention, such as disaster preparedness. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration provided pointers on getting ready for crises as a part of the recently passed National Severe Weather Preparedness Week, according to Business and Legal Resources.
The organization's recommended that enterprises create a disaster response plan and educate workers on how to follow it when an emergency arises. Specific procedures should be developed for employees with crucial operations responsibilities along with an evacuation strategy.
Additionally, OSHA and NOAA suggest that response plans include methods for keeping track of workers after a crisis and implementing an emergency communications platform to maintain contact with them during disasters.
Creating a response team to perform a variety of emergency functions can also aid preparedness efforts. For instance, it may be beneficial to have designated employees that can perform search and rescue operations, use fire extinguishers, handle chemical spills, administer first aid and abide by OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard.
Executives concerned about keeping contact with workers during crises can use Omnilert, an alert and notification system that enables rapid communication via mass text messaging, phone calls, email and other forms of communication.