b'u s i n e s s!\\1 a n ag e m e n t Emergency Planning for Employees By Tom Knight, in behalfthe MRCA Business Management Committee of (NOTE: This is part one offour 1. T communication is Engagepeoplewithdisabiliawo-way parton Emergency Planning)central,and after aties in emergency seriesbefore duringplanning. Your employees and co-workersdisaster. Askaboutcommunications are your business\'sIncludep ared difficulties,physicallimitamost importantemergencyrepand valuable asset. T are somenessinformationinnewslet tions, equipment instructions here proceduresyoucanputinplaceters,oncompanyintranet and medication procedures. , before a disaster,but youshouldperiodic employee emails andIdentify peopleto help willing also learn about what people needotherinternalcommunica co-workerswithdisabilities to recover after a disaster.tions tools.andbesure they are able to the It is possible that your staff willConsidersetting upa tele handlejob. This is particuneed time to ensurewell-beingphonecalling tree,a pass larlyimportantifsomeone the word-protected pageontheneeds to be Ior carried. ifted Do You Have acompanyweb , anemail Planyou will alertrm or Plan?alert or asite record howanpeople call-in voicewho cannot hearalaingtocommunicatewithinstructions. catastrop esan eme requently Majorh in the news have likely raised questions among youremployees inrgency.2. F review andpracemployees about their duties if awere to occur in your area. HelpDesignateanout-of-iowntice what you intend to do during disaster them un your expectations and the procedures they shou followphone number where employ and after an emergen with drills derstandldcy by asking yourself these questions:ees canleavean" Okay"and exercises. I\'m Do you have adisasterthat is communicated to all employ message in adiswrittenplancatastrophic ees?aster.Write a Crisis Communication~ Do you have arisk manager and ateam who know howProvideallco-workerswithPlanJ designatedsafety to react in various situations?wallet cards detailing instruc D howyourorganization etail Do your employees understand their individual roles and priorities totions on h to get companyplans to commu with employownicate help secure th work areas without endangering themselves?informationin anemergencyees,localauth ies,customers eiroritDo they know what to do iftion is necessary?s uation.Includeteleph and others during and after a disasevacua it one Do you have alternative communication methods in case of aout numbersorIn tpass ter. powerterneage?words forreferen 1.ployees:prepared to proeasyce.Em Be Do you have aof employees\' and vendors\' addresses and phoneMaintainopencommunica vide employees with information list numbers stored away from the premises?tionswhereco-workersareon,and how to report to when ifDo employees know how to report their whereaboutsaccount forfreetobringquestionsandwork following an emergency. and themselves afterconcerns to company leaderSet upa telephone call tr , an event?ee Do you have ater recovery plan to minimize business interruptionship.password-protectedpageon disasafter an emEnsureyouhaveestablishedthe company website,email ergency?an call-in Do you encourage employees to have personal disaster plans for theirstaffmemberswhoarealert or avoice recordhomes and families?responsible for communicat ingtocommunicatewith Periodic safety meetings can helpemployees of their responsi ing regu toemployees in an emergency. remindlarlyemployees. bilities in a disaster and may ease anxiety about making decisions in diffi 2. T to co-workers with disBe clear on how their jobs may alk cult situations.abilities. Ifhave employeesbe af cted. youfewith disabilities ask about what2. Managemen P top t:rovide membe s,eleof their familyr but gettingassistanceisneeded.Peoplecompany executives with all r back to work is impor to the per withdisabilitiestypically kn vantinformationneededfor the tantow sonal recovery of people who havewhat assistance they will need inprotectionofemployees, cusexperienced disasters. It is impor an emergency.tomers, vendors andfacilnearby tant to re-establish routines, wh Identifyco-workersinyourities. en possible.organizationwithspecial needs. Continued on page 1,'