by Nigel Hilton

How To Restore Your Business After A Natural Disaster

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Natural disasters like fires, floods, and hurricanes can strike at any time. And in 2019, the United States recorded a total of 92 fatalities caused by river and flash floods. These disasters take their toll on people and communities in huge ways. Therefore, making sure you and your loved ones are safe should be your priority. As a business owner, you also want to make sure to rebuild your business and restore your livelihood.

Communicate

Natural disasters can leave you in a state of shock and disbelief, and it may take you a moment to come to terms with the unfortunate experience. However, immediately you can organize your thoughts and think of the way forward, find ways to touch bases with your stakeholders, such as your employees and customers. You can use various channels such as the company website, text messaging, and social media platforms, depending on what is available. Doing this will make it easier for your stakeholders to be patient and empathize with you while you put things back in place.

Contact your insurance company and make sure customer information remains safe

Ensure your employees are safe and accounted for, and contact your insurance company to make a claim. Also, make sure your office space is as secure as possible even after a natural disaster. You may need to do this because some people take advantage of such situations and break into affected offices. If such people get their hands on either computers or paper documents containing customer information that is not encrypted, you would be obligated by law to inform your customers. So to be on the safer side, make sure you encrypt customer data, digitize paper documents, and store all data in a cloud-based document management system. A professional remediation company will also be able to help recover important items after flood damage and negotiate with your insurer. You should always make sure that you have insurance coverage for all disaster types.

Make a plan for getting back on your feet

It may take a while for your business to be restored, but you cannot get to that point without planning and beginning somewhere. For the restoration of your office space, you may want to find help to prevent further damage. For example, in the case of a flood, contacting a commercial water damage restoration company would be a good step towards finding your way back. These professionals have the expertise and resources necessary to mitigate damage during clean-up, while efficiently restoring your space back to its previous condition. They will dry out any affected areas with specialised equipment like this Airrex ADH 8000 Portable Dehumidifier, aiming to get your business back up and running as soon as possible.

Check on your backed-up data

Do a check-up on your critical business data that has already been backed up, such as your business license, contracts, and legal documents, tax returns, financial statements, customer documents, and any others. This check is to make sure that your data is still accessible from available devices. Refer to your business continuity plan on what to do during major disaster scenarios like loss or unavailability of IT systems, key personnel, etc. Then, make this plan available to your employees.

Consider preventative measures against future disasters

In some cases, there could be a risk of a natural disaster striking again in the future. Along with repairing damage, consider what new features you may be able to add to help protect your premises from future disasters. In the case of a flood, this could include installing porous paving to reduce minor flooding to adding waterproof cladding and diversion canals to prevent more serious flooding. There are companies that may be able to help you to prepare against future disasters.

Make use of your online platform

Update your online platform with some current and available products while making it known that you are open to receiving donations on purchases. It will give the people who want to reach out and assist you and your community the chance and means to do so. It will also inform them of your recovery efforts while making you some sales.

Natural disasters may be out of your control, but you can make the necessary plans to prepare you to respond and recover from them. Your preparation efforts may be more important than what you do after the disaster hits. Know who to contact and what resources and programs are available to assist your business.