We often talk about being prepared. In fact, we wrote three posts about it awhile back. If you missed them you can link to them by clicking for general preparedness, disaster preparedness and one for all you sports fans. Each of those posts offers some great tips to help you prepare but they all focus on how to prepare for things you think might happen. Today, we're going to talk about how to prepare for something that you never thought would happen. It might seem impossible, but with these tips you can have a strategy in place to help you get through any unforeseen circumstance that might arise.
Few people like to think about these types of situations. It is more comfortable to believe that it simply can't happen and therefore we don't need a plan. If you follow the news though you know that sometimes strange and terrible things do happen. And while you can't afford to dwell on all the bad possibilities you can prepare in a way that will lessen the impact on you, your employees and your business.
First, and foremost, you need to have a plan. If something unexpected happens your first instinct might be to panic. Curling up in a ball and waiting for someone else to swoop in fix things probably isn't the best idea though. If you have a plan in place it will be easier to take that first step. Focusing on following your plan can also help keep you, and your employees, calm.
- Call list. There may be people that you'll want to call in case of an emergency. Of course, 911 should be the first call you make but don't stop there. Depending on the situation you may need to contact other family members, friends, your insurance company. Sit down with your staff and make a list of those business and personal contacts that should get a call if disaster strikes. Don't forget to include schools and other caregivers who may be impacted if your employees are unable to leave on time to pick up their children. Just knowing that there is a call list and that someone will make an effort to contact others can provide extra peace of mind for everyone.
- Comfort items. We hope that you have an office survival kit for weather related or other type of emergency. Often we focus on the must-have items and we forget to include things that might make us more comfortable or just improve our emotional state during an emergency. Including comfort items with your survival kit can be a great idea. Having toothbrushes, toothpaste and some blankets could make spending the night in the office more pleasant for everyone. Having some food and water is great, having chocolate or some other treat could be even better. Many times employees keep some things in their desks already. If you have a plan and everyone is willing to pool their items and share it could really ease the situation.
When you are planning for an unknown event the natural tendency is to gather anything and everything you could possibly need. Not only is this a time consuming endeavor, it also takes a lot of space to store all those items. To make matters worse, some items will need to be tracked to ensure that they are replaced when they expire. Stockpile is the simple inventory solution that you need to tackle this challenge. Because Stockpile is fully customizable you can easily add fields specifically for the items in your emergency kit. Can't keep everything in one place? No problem! Thanks to areas and locations you can pinpoint exactly where items are and it will always be quick and easy to locate them. Stockpile simple inventory solution is also mobile compatible so you can access your data, even when you're not onsite.
Plan for the Unexpected & Use Stockpile Simple Inventory Solution
You can't plan for every possible eventuality but you can have a plan in place to help get you through the unexpected. Knowing who to call and where to find the items you need can make the whole experience more bearable. If you already use Stockpile simple inventory solution be sure to add your survival kit supplies to your inventory. If you haven't tried it yet, this is a great way to get started. Try Stockpile today!
