Chaos has broken out in your office. There’s been a fire in your server room, and people are tripping over each other running for the exits as all your data and hard work is destroyed. This is what happens when you aren’t prepared for a crisis.
In the event of a crisis, effective emergency management can have a crucial impact on its outcome. It provides a framework for dealing with the unexpected with minimal consequences and can even prevent disasters altogether. This structured approach covers several phases, providing guidelines for preventing, preparing for, and reacting to any emergency.
Prevention/Mitigation
The best kind of emergency is one that doesn’t happen at all. Emergency Management, like the kind GEM Technology offers, prioritizes Prevention and Mitigation as the first of the 4 phases of emergency management. This is done not through just personnel training, but adherence to building and infrastructure codes as well. As far as buildings are involved, the aim is to have disaster prevention in mind before the design phase even begins. With safety baked into a structure’s blueprints, the chances of a crisis occurring have already been heavily reduced.
Of course, there’s still plenty of precautions to take outside of design and construction. It comes down to training and awareness. The more people who are properly trained in prevention, as well as the effectiveness of awareness campaigns, can make a huge difference in emergency risk. When your business is at stake, we cannot recommend employee safety training heavily enough. It can prevent loss of property and life!
Preparedness
Of course, we never want an emergency to happen. But the reality is that it’s a possibility. Because there will never be a guarantee that chaos won’t come knocking, it’s vital to be prepared for the worst.
To start, craft a comprehensive emergency response plan. What should people do if there’s a fire or physical security breach? Which exits should they use? How will company data be protected or recovered? These are just a few questions that should be answered when planning for the four phases of emergency management. Equally important is training your team to spot potential threats and hazards. This varies depending on the industry you’re in, so a customized plan is ideal for each business. Whether you need a Continuity of Operations plan, a Business Continuity plan, or another solution, we’re happy to help!
A plan for preparedness means nothing if not everyone on your team is aware of it. Don’t file it away in the employee handbook and forget about it! Once you’ve finalized your plan, hold company-wide training sessions and Q&As so everyone is on board.
Response
The third of the 4 phases of emergency management is the response phase. This is the unfortunate stage that all the planning was for. When alarms are going off and chaos breaks out, organization is everything. Trained personnel will spring into action and take the necessary measures to keep as many people as possible safe. Depending on the situation, these responses could be anything from evacuations and medical assistance to rescue operations.
Coordination and level heads are vital in this phase. We understand that it’s easy to panic, but it’s our mission to give you the confidence to deal with a crisis in a way that will allow you to save lives and property. We hope it never comes to this for any of our customers, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Looking for an effective pathway in the emergency management cycle? Contact us for Emergency Operation Centers or Occupant Emergency Evacuation Plans that will provide solid guidance for you in the event of the unspeakable.
Recovery
When the immediate threat has passed, and things are settling down, the last of the emergency management phases begins. The most urgent priority is to assess the wellbeing of every person and provide medical attention to anyone who needs it. Once everyone is taken care of, it’s time to take stock of the damage caused to your property and resources. This is a time to come together and support everyone affected by the disastrous event.
If there’s a silver lining at all, it’s that the end goal of this phase isn’t to return to the way things were before disaster struck, but to be in an even better place. Every bad situation has a lesson to be learned so that it doesn’t happen again. What new measures need to be taken? What initially caused the crisis and how can things be improved across the board? In the unfortunate event that your business is faced with a situation of this nature, we’re ready to help you bounce back and emerge stronger than before.
As of 2023, only 54% of companies have a solid plan for their emergency management cycle. We’re here to make sure you are part of that percentage.
GEM’s Commitment to You
Emergency management is complicated, but it’s well worth the effort. The 4 phases of emergency management should be viewed and treated as a whole rather than compartmentalized. If you don’t have a mitigation plan, how are you going to be prepared? If you aren’t prepared, your response will be met with chaos. If your response is ineffective, recovery may not be possible.
All of these emergency management phases are linked together to create a real-life firewall that can help you manage anything that’s thrown at you and your business. In those situations, you want someone behind you. You want GEM Technology.
You never want that fire to break out in your server room, but if it does, preparedness is key to keeping everyone safe and recovering your work and information. Get in touch with us today, and let’s make sure you have a solid plan for the 4 phases of emergency management.