What To Do In The Event Of An Emergency

Anything can happen at any time. Of course, we don’t want to go through our days worrying about worst case scenario situations. But, as a business owner, it’s vital you prepare your business for unfortunate circumstances. Sadly, there are many unfortunate circumstances to prepare for.

Inclement weather is just one of them. With winters sometimes being pretty brutal in Canada, your place of business may endure such damage as frozen pipes or flooding after a heavy snowfall. If such damage were to occur, you’ll need a plan to quickly figure out how to go about repairs while interrupting your business operations as little as possible.

Theft is always a possibility.

Perhaps a scarier notion is that your business could be burglarized. In the event of a robbery or act of vandalism, you’ll need to have a procedure set in motion to maximize the safety of each and every one of your employees. Furthermore, you’ll need to determine how to get the business back on its feet following such a costly experience.

In addition, it’s pretty important that you prepare for a fire. While it’s the last thing you want to have happen, a fire is something that all businesses, schools and households should prepare for. Where are your fire extinguishers? Where are the nearest exits? These and other questions that will propel your staff to safety need to be answered.

It’s imperative you prepare an emergency plan.

According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, your emergency plan should include the documentation of essential procedures and reference lists. Evacuation procedures should be reviewed and practiced every six months. The CFIB reiterates the importance of communicating to your staff where all of the alternate exits are. You should also establish two reporting areas in two separate locations.

As well, develop a procedure for reporting those who are present and those who are missing following an evacuation. “Note:  Especially in remote communities, provide all employees with instructions on how to prepare a personal emergency plan and ‘kit’,” advises the CFIB.

Create a contact list of emergency numbers.

That list should include the home and cell numbers of family members of your employees; your crisis management leader; all major clients, customers and suppliers; banks and merchant services; your insurance broker; your provincial/municipal emergency preparedness agency and a network of outside resources able to assist you during a crisis.

The CFIB also notes that there are essential operations or functions that must be recovered in order of priority. They include vital records and contracts that are critical to your business operations. Have paper copies that are kept in a safe place such as a lock box as well as electronic copies that are backed up on a memory stick. “For additional protection, consider using a cloud computing service to store vital data,” the CFIB recommends.

Secure business funding to get your business back on its feet.

The unique merchant cash advance program offered by Synergy Merchants has often been used by Canadian business owners who are looking to recover their companies’ losses following an emergency situation. For information about how we can help you, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-877-718-2026 or email us at info@synergymerchants.com. You can also apply online for a free, no obligation quote!