In the face of a natural disaster, do you know what to do to protect and resurrect your business?
Seeing the sadness and destruction happening in Houston/South Texas and Florida now, while it is fresh on our minds, would be a good time to do some research into disaster preparation planning. Think about it; between blizzards, wildfires, hurricanes, flooding, etc., every part of the country could potentially face some sort of natural disaster. Business interruption and good insurance is ideal, and your dealership probably has some degree of coverage to help the shop and the employees recover from the worst in the long-term. But let’s talk about what you can do, in the short-term, to get your shop up and running again. Here are some disaster planning steps that every service manager should take.
If you are not sure where to start in your planning FEMA has an excellent template (that can be located at here) that should cover a variety of situations.
In speaking with service managers who have been through the worst, you should form a storm or disaster crew. Since the news of an impending disaster usually precedes the event, many employees may take off prior to tend to family or personal obligations. Talk to your employees; find out who can be there up until and immediately following the event. You will need a dependable crew to do the work needed. It could be clear snow, secure the building and possibly relocate tool boxes, equipment and inventory away from rising waters.
Next, it is recommended to have an immediate post storm plan to ensure that your shop is up and running as soon as possible. Some things that you will face immediately after the storm could be: no power, no phone or Internet and physical damage. You should have a list of computer support people, electrical contractors, cleaning services, and whatever else you can think of before the storm hits. You could even schedule these services before the storm to get ahead of the rush.
By knowing who to contact and how the clean-up and recovery will be handled, you can help yourself and your co-workers get back to normal as soon as possible.
Contact Us
For more information on this topic, please reach out to a member of Withum’s Dealership Services Team.
