The first type of emergency to consider is the destructive emergency. These include fires and other disasters that can destroy the physical structure of your business. The kinds of destructive disasters you may face depends on where you live — an online retailer with servers in the American south must plan for different threats than a shop owner in Saskatoon.
The second type of emergency is the non-destructive emergency. These include disturbances such as blackouts and snowstorms. They won't destroy your place of business, but they can put you out of business for days or weeks at a time.
The third type of emergency to consider is the personal emergency. These emergencies, like the sudden death of an employee or a partner, can be personally devastating and interrupt business too.
Dunham suggests retailers should take inventory of the types of emergencies they can expect to confront and develop a plan to deal with each one.
TALK TO PEOPLE
Once you have an idea of the types of emergencies you might face, start talking to people.
Talk to municipal officials such as the fire department, police and municipal planners since they will be the first responders to most emergencies. Also, research the municipal emergency plan for your community — it determines what will happen during an emergency, who will respond and who will have control over the situation. These plans should be published and easily accessible at City Hall or the local library.
In addition to corresponding with the municipal emergency planners, talk to your landlord or head office about how they will respond. Determine what's expected of you during a disaster and what kind of support you will receive.
Bring your neighbours into your plan too. What happens to your business will most likely affect them. See if there are ways to share costs (such as purchasing an emergency generator) and mitigate damage to any shared property. If you are a retailer operating on Main Street, you may want to encourage your BIA to create an emergency plan. If you're in a strip mall, power centre or enclosed mall, encourage your landlord to coordinate the development of an emergency action plan or start your own.
TALK TO EMPLOYEES
With any emergency, it is imperative that you keep employees safe.
Make sure everybody understands evacuation procedures, knows where to go and who to call.
Communicating with employees is important. Create wallet cards that list important instructions and phone numbers in the event of an emergency. Look at creating a call tree to help relay important messages to employees during trying times. You will also want to have an alternate location where your employees can meet in the event of a disaster. But remember, make sure the alternate place is safe before you send them there.
Finally, talk to your bank or payroll department about developing a plan for paying employees during emergencies. Make sure every employee understands how disasters will affect their pay and benefits.
PROTECT YOUR DATA
With worms, viruses and thieves prowling the Internet, the chance that your business will suffer an e-emergency is growing all the time. Even with security experts repeating the threats regularly, many small businesses do little to protect themselves.
"The problem with preparing for a disaster is overcoming the 'it won't happen to me' syndrome," says Christopher Faulkner, Founder and President of C I Host Inc., a Web hosting company. "Today's a great day, but tomorrow might not be."
Faulkner recommends retailers back-up their data, preferably in two spots. The first is your daily back-up. It saves electronic data at the end of every day. The second happens weekly and should be stored at a secure facility off-site. It's a security feature in case something happens with your first back-up. Whatever way you choose to secure your electronic data, test the back-ups to make sure they work.
WHAT ABOUT INSURANCE?
Marsh Canada's Dunham encourages retailers to familiarize themselves with the details of their insurance coverage.
Talk to your insurer. Find out particulars like how their appraisers work. How do they operate during large-scale disasters? How should you communicate with your insurer during an emergency? Make sure you understand your roles and responsibilities during a disaster.
Also, find out what you need to do to be fully reimbursed for damages. Opening your shop during a declared state of emergency can jeopardize how your insurer will reimburse you. What are the rules regarding replacement insurance? What are you liable for during an emergency?
Finally, talk to your insurer about the usefulness of purchasing additional riders for floods and business interruption.
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