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While every industry, business and workplace is unique, there is one critical area where every business leader, without question, needs to focus this year. We are all united in the need for emergency preparedness. With new threats emerging every day and increasingly hostile environments, the need to plan and prepare becomes increasingly more significant.
We can no longer afford to keep our heads down and operate parallel to the dangers – of all forms and sizes – that threaten our businesses and communities. Instead we must maintain a constant state of readiness and proactively prepare to both prevent and respond.
As concerns over public safety evolve, have your preparedness plans evolved as well? Terrorism, radicalism and cyber security attacks are all threats that are on the rise - is your emergency preparedness posture broad enough to address them?
Do your employees understand their role in preparedness, prevention, drills and reporting?
Are your preparedness plans holistic? The combined efforts of a comprehensive team can best prepare your business for the unthinkable. From executive leadership to security, human resources, training and beyond, all departments and business units need to come together for the good of the entire organization.
With a growing focus on terrorist threats, we must carefully balance our attention to also not lose sight of preparations for other events that have the potential to negatively impact our businesses. The emergency preparedness umbrella must continue to cover natural disasters, severe weather, workplace violence and protests. Any event or activity that has the potential to harm our employees or jeopardize our business continuity must be addressed.
Organizational leaders that approach emergency preparedness as a strategic component of business operations will be poised for success in 2016. The impacts of preparedness extend beyond the threats and disasters themselves. A commitment to preparedness communicates concern for employee safety and well-being; confidence in long-term business growth; and responsibility to the surrounding community.
Read more about emergency preparedness in our article, Be Prepared: The 7 Components of an Emergency Plan.
About the Author
Bill Whitmore is the Chairman of the Board for Allied Universal. He is also the author of Potential: Workplace Violence Prevention and Your Organizational Success.
