Let’s face it. No matter how many fail-safes or backup plans are in place, disasters happen. It’s inevitable. The question is, how well prepared are you for after a disaster strikes? Oftentimes, companies focus solely on preventing a disaster that they forget to plan for the big ‘what if.’ As they say, the best defense is a good offense.
Don’t let a disaster leave you crippled. Follow these three tips in order to execute flawless communication after a disaster.
To each disaster recovery plan their own.
First and foremost, not all disaster recovery plans are created equal. And, they shouldn’t be. For example, a natural disaster strike affects employees and productivity in an entirely different way than a security breach. Create a disaster recovery plan for natural disasters, terrorist attacks, security breaches, etc.
Identify your communications team.
Now that you’ve determined your disaster recovery plans, the next step is to get organized. The first rule of disaster recovery: don’t assume anything. Once you’ve determined whom the key players in your communication plan are, make sure they are informed and up-to-date on the protocols. Don’t forget to include members from upper management, directors, managers, team leads and individual employees. And, have backups, just in case.
Organize, update and distribute.
Keep your contacts and communication plans current by reviewing and reevaluating on a regular basis. Make sure each version is labeled with the most recent date, initialed and distributed to all involved parties. Finally, keep an ongoing dialogue with your key communication stakeholders, so everyone is on the same page and any or all questions are answered. At the end of the day, you need to be confident your team will know what to do in any type of disaster.
When it comes to disaster recovery, every minute counts. The longer your company or business is offline, the more money you lose. Make sure you’ve created individual disaster recovery plans and identified the key communication stakeholders for each plan. In order to communicate your disaster recovery plan effectively and swiftly, ensure your contact information, data and recovery plans are current.
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