One of the most damaging and detrimental mistakes business owners and managers can make during emergency and evacuation planning is failing to allocate roles and responsibilities. This involves failing to inform team members of how information will be shared during an emergency.
You can spend all the time in the world crafting a thorough plan that includes procuring the pertinent emergency tools and mapping out evacuation routes. But if you don’t have a clear and concise strategy in place detailing how your team will respond and how they’ll receive instructions, all your tangible planning can quickly go to waste.
Read on for tips on how to educate team members, as well as how to conduct effective communications with your team during an emergency.
Think Ahead
As you may have guessed, the first pointer for emergency plans is to think in advance. Take time to outline individual roles during an emergency, and consider how information will be relayed to employees so they know precisely where to look for further instruction.
Train Team Members
Conducting false alarms, and walking team members through the stages involved for a safe and efficient evacuation will ensure optimal safety and help keep everyone calm should a real emergency occur — which will likely be a very stressful situation.
Conduct smaller-scale training sessions for team members who play an instrumental role (say, a safety officer tasked with helping those who require assistance). Walking these personnel through the process of helping individuals with mobility challenges and seniors — to name just a couple of demographics who may require help — will be especially beneficial if your building has decided to keep an evacuation chair for stairs and other emergency response tools that may involve extra one-on-one training.
Plan Your Communication Methods
How does your team learn of an emergency? Not all emergencies look the same, so the response will vary. For example, a fire will require a quick evacuation from the space, whereas a human threat or a chemical leak may involve moving to a safe zone within the building.
While the specifics will vary based on the layout of your business and the number of employees, some options for communication include:
- Intercom alerts.
- Instant messaging.
- Text messaging.
- Automated phone calls.
- A megaphone.
It’s also worth keeping a crank or battery-powered radio for external updates in case the power and Wi-Fi goes down.
Keep Communications Consistent
Make sure that your communications are consistent and without deviation. Sending mixed messages is guaranteed to cause stress, panic and mayhem should an emergency situation present itself.
Be Open to Feedback and Questions
Last, once you’ve completed employee training, key players know their role, and you’ve expressed to team members how they’ll receive communications and guidance during an emergency, leave the door open to questions and feedback.
If multiple team members are struggling to grasp elements of your emergency plan, you may need to hold another training session.
The Takeaway
You can never be too careful with your emergency preparedness. Make sure that you dedicate a portion of your planning to training team members, especially those with important roles. Doing so ensures a smooth and safe emergency response where everyone knows their place.
