Disaster Planning for Businesses

Disaster planning can help a company's survival after a major disaster hits.

A large percentage of businesses don't survive the first year after a major disaster, largely because they weren't ready with a recovery plan that they could put into place quickly. Disaster planning (and business continuity planning in general) can stack the odds in favor of a company's survival. Following are just a few of the key issues you should plan for before you are faced with a disaster.

Who's in charge?

Form a disaster management team.

Who should be on the team?

Do a vulnerability assessment

Likelihood of various natural and manmade disasters

Impact of various disasters

Create a plan

Business continuity

Needs of employees

Disaster-related policies

Communicating with employees and responding to their needs after a disaster

Message from senior management

Informational meetings

Coping with the intense reactions of vulnerable employees

Performance management strategies

Company response to the larger community

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) disaster services available

Education and support—pre-critical event

Critical incident response—immediately following critical event

After-care services—ongoing support

If you have EAP coverage through Evernorth, please contact us at any time for assistance and support during this challenging time. You can connect through well.evernorth.com or call the toll-free number provided by your employer.