Many companies are being forced to set up or beef up their emergency employee communications plans. Those that don’t may be courting liability.
Being sued . . .
Read on.
In today’s news, we learn from a simple press release that “The Boston Globe is making customized comprehensive safety guidelines available to all employees via a mobile app.” (That’s my emphasis.)
What does this have to do with YOUR company?
Start with these questions:
- What has your company done about emergency response and emergency communications? Does it have a plan?
- Is your company keeping up with what others are doing?
- Is it meeting its legal responsibilities?
Managing emergency communications is an ongoing challenge.
1 – You face threats today that may never have been threats in the past.
Again, recent news stories tell of oil train explosions, once-in-a-lifetime flooding, live shooter events and cyberattacks that can cripple entire enterprises.
Is your workplace communications system set up to respond to “new” disasters as well as the usual ones? When did you last do a “risk analysis?”
2 – New technology means the world may hear about your emergency before your front office does.
What’s your procedure for making sure employees get instructions and the public – including suppliers and customers – gets factual information that will staunch rumors?
As Paul Barton, a business communications specialist says, “Rumours are created for a specific reason: they fill in the information void. If an organization does not tell staff what is going on, they will make up their own story.”
And today, that “story” will be out via YouTube and Twitter before the smoke has a chance to clear!
In the past, companies usually assigned one person to be the spokesperson in an emergency. Today, every employee can instantly reach a huge audience. You can’t stop that, but you can train employees in how to communicate.
3 – Employee turnover means your “communications plan” must be continually updated and employees must be regularly trained or they won’t be able to use it.
Not only does your workforce change, but the company premises themselves change. You may change your phone system, switch to a different internet provider or IT set-up, add a new website or a new office, invest in mobile devices for the whole staff, etc.
All these give the business and employees new communications options that must be considered in the emergency communications plan.
4 – Don’t overlook the families.
You may expect your employees to be ready to step up to protect the business and pitch in to get it back on its feet in an emergency.
Guess what. You may be wrong.
Over and over again in disasters, employees – even First Responders! – have abandoned their posts because they were desperate to find out if their families were safe.
If you can reassure employees about their families, your business continuity plan has a much better chance of working.
What this means is your emergency communications plan has to put family communications right up at the top. It must ask and help answer questions like:
- How will the company communicate with employee family members regarding the status of the business and the employee?
- What plan does the family have to get in touch with each other in an emergency?
- Does the family have an out-of-state family contact person?
- Has the family designated a place to go if they get separated and/or they can’t get back to their home?
5 – What responsibility does the company really have?
The “Prudent Man Rule” (now probably referred to as the “Prudent Person’s Rule”) has been around in the financial world for nearly 200 years. It says that someone responsible for another’s interests should exercise the same care, skill and judgment that other “prudent men” in that position would exercise.
When articles like the one about The Boston Globe appear in the daily news, you must ask yourself,
“If others are setting up new ways of communicating with employees during emergencies, could we be found deficient or even negligent if we haven’t updated our own plans?”
Here at Emergency Plan Guide we’re not offering legal advice. But we do know that businesses and particularly owners get sued. We believe they can improve their chances of coming through the legal system safely by demonstrating that their decisions with regards to emergency response planning are consistent with good practice.
Two more resources.
Action Item: If your company’s emergency response plan needs updating, take a look at these for inspiration.
- Small Business Hit By Disaster – Is the Owner Liable? http://EzineArticles.com/8521016
This article reviews the different groups that may sue you after a disaster, and suggests three steps you can take immediately to protect yourself from legal fallout.
- Security at the Front Door https://emergencyplanguide.org/security-at-the-front-door/
If you haven’t thought about physical security, this article will list some “prudent steps” that other companies are taking in this regard.
Once again, this isn’t legal advice, but I hope it falls into the category of “good business” advice.
Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team
Don’t miss any of our free Advisories. They’re a quick read and come right into your email box. Sign up below.
Don't miss a single Advisory.
Thank you for subscribing.
Something went wrong.