What would you do if disaster struck your organization, suddenly and without warning? How would you manage the potential disappearance of family, friends or co-workers? Would you have a plan in place that would help you minimize the negative impact?
The devastation that occurred as a result of the tornadoes in Oklahoma in May once again demonstrates that a crisis can happen at any time. Within the stressful and chaotic environment of a disaster, it is essential that an organization accounts for their most valuable asset: Their people. Unfortunately, providing information and assistance to people affected by a crisis can cause an enormous drain on an organization’s resources, and this task becomes even more challenging if the company also has visitors and contractors on site during an incident.
In the event of a crisis, security personnel must work with stakeholders in areas such as human resources, employee relations, legal and facilities maintenance in order to ensure business continuity and maintain operations. Without the implementation of a formalized corporate-wide crisis response plan, these individuals are unable to effectively do so.
Having a comprehensive Accounting for People plan allows security personnel to focus solely on incident management and business recovery efforts. When an Accounting for People plan has been proactively put into place, an organization is properly positioned to respond to information inquiries while also ensuring that other response and recovery operations can proceed. In effect, having an Accounting for People plan can assist with the successful resolution of a crisis and also boost an organization’s public image.