When was the last time your organization reviewed its processes for safety and disaster readiness? Or, a better question is – Are you ready?
Leaders know safety and disaster readiness should be a top priority for all organizations in order to safeguard employees and mitigate risks to business operations. Not all companies have dedicated resources to ensure the safety and readiness of its people, systems and processes.
“As we begin the 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season, it is incredibly important for everyone in eastern NC to take the steps now to be better prepared for what threats may come our way this year,” said James D. Jarvis, Executive Director for the Cape Fear Area Chapter of the American Red Cross. “The Ready Rating Program is a free resource that small businesses, municipalities, and communities can use to create a customizable, downloadable, OSHA-compliant Emergency Action Plan (EAP) to improve their preparedness and help them, their employees and their families recover more quickly from the next storm.”
Great news is there are resources to help businesses with its risk management!
The free American Red Cross Ready Rating program offers effective building-blocks for crafting a comprehensive emergency response plan. The 123-Point Assessment provides valuable insights on which disasters businesses are most vulnerable to and outlines clear steps and milestones to ensure the safest and most efficient response. The program scales precisely to an organization’s planning needs, no matter what types of preparedness a business previously had in place.
A few data points from the Ready Rating website to reference:
Is Your Business Prepared?
- 15-40 percent of businesses fail following a natural or manmade disaster.1
- 94 percent of small business owners believe a disaster could seriously disrupt their business within the next two years.2
- 51 percent of Americans have experienced at least one emergency situation where they lost utilities for at least three days, had to evacuate and could not return home, could not communicate with family members or had to provide first aid to others.3
Are Your Employees Ready?
- Only 2 in 10 Americans feel prepared for a catastrophic event.4
- Close to 60 percent of Americans are wholly unprepared for a disaster of any kind.4
- 54 percent of Americans don’t prepare because they believe a disaster will not affect them.5
- Only 1 in 10 American households has taken the appropriate preparedness steps: a family emergency plan, an emergency supply kit and training in First Aid and CPR/AED.4
- 82 percent of Americans agree “If someone could make it easy for me to be prepared, I’d do it”.4
Emergencies Are Inevitable.
A successful safety program includes the five elements recommended by the American Red Cross Ready Rating program:
- Participation of Senior Leadership
- Emergency Planning
- Develop an Emergency Action Plan (EAP)
- Implement Your EAP
- Help Your Community Get Ready
Harris Whitesell Consulting, a Ready Rating Member, values safety and readiness in our organization, and are optimizing the resources in place to make sure our organization is safe and ready. To learn more, become a Ready Rating member, and download your free resources, visit: American Red Cross Ready Rating.
