Preparing Makes 

Good 

Business Sense.

How quickly your company is back in 

business following a disaster will depend 

on emergency planning done today. The 

regular occurrence of natural disasters, the 

occasional utility and technology outages, 

and the potential for terrorism demonstrate 

the importance of being prepared for many 

different types of emergencies. While 

recognizing that each situation is unique, 

your organization can be better prepared 

if it plans carefully, puts emergency procedures in place, and practices for the kinds 

of emergencies it could face.

This guide outlines common sense measures business owners and managers can 

take to start getting ready. A commitment 

to planning today will help support employees, customers, the community, the local 

economy and even our country. It also protects your business investment and gives 

your company a better chance for survival.

Every business should 

have a plan. Get ready now. 

Plan to Stay in Business

Business Continuity Planning: Bring together 

co-workers from all levels of your organization as 

a planning team. Consider the different types of 

disasters that could impact your company and the 

likelihood that they might occur. The risks faced 

by your organization will vary according to the size, 

location, and nature of your operations. Start by 

reviewing your business processes and identify 

operations critical to survival of your company. 

Plan what you will do if your building is not 

accessible. Determine the staff, building, machinery, 

equipment, materials, supplies, computers, electronic 

information, vital records that are critical to keep the 

business operating. Document strategies to relocate 

to another facility, provide required resources, and 

restore critical business functions.

Make a list of your customers and plan on ways to 

serve them during and after a disaster. Also, identify 

key suppliers, shippers, contractors, other resources 

that you interact with on a regular basis. Assess the 

impact that a disaster could have on your suppliers 

and identify additional suppliers just in case.

Write a Crisis Communication Plan: Detail how 

your organization will communicate with employees, 

local authorities, suppliers, customers, the news 

media, and others during and after a disaster. Include 

information specific to the interests of customers, 

employees, company management, and others that 

may be affected by an interruption of your business.

Ready Business was developed in consultation 

with the National Fire Protection Association. 

These recommendations reflect the Emergency 

Preparedness and Business Continuity 

Standard (NFPA 1600) developed by the 

National Fire Protection Association and 

endorsed by the America National Standards 

Institute, the 9/11 Commission, and the U.S. 

Department of Homeland Security.

This common sense framework is designed to 

launch a process of learning about business 

preparedness.

Go to www.ready.gov for more specific 

information on these topics.

www.ready.gov

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Washington, DC 20472

www.ready.gov

Get Ready Now

 Prepare For

Emergencies Now.

Information For 

Businesses.
Talk to Your People

Emergency Planning for Employees: Your employees and 

co-workers are your business’ most valuable assets. 

Provide emergency planning information to employees so they 

know what to do if there is an emergency. Include emergency 

information in newsletters, on your company intranet, in periodic 

employee emails, and on bulletin boards. Promote family 

disaster planning. Tools for developing a family disaster and 

communications plan can be found at www.ready.gov. 

Ask employees to provide emergency contact information so you 

can reach them after a disaster. Designate a telephone number 

at a location away from your primary facility where employees 

can call in and leave an “I’m okay” message and receive 

instructions. If you have employees with disabilities or special 

needs, ask them what assistance they would need.

Protecting Employees during an Emergency: When an 

emergency occurs, the safety of everyone within the facility is 

most important. Depending on the nature of the emergency, you 

may need to evacuate everyone from the building, shelter themin-place within the building, or lockdown the building. 

Make an Evacuation Plan:

Some emergencies will require 

employees to leave the workplace 

quickly. The ability to evacuate 

workers, customers, and visitors 

quickly can save lives. A fire, chemical 

spill, bomb threat, or other hazard 

inside the building would require 

prompt evacuation. Make sure there 

is a warning system that everyone 

can hear and two ways out of every 

part of the building. Identify a location 

where everyone can gather outside 

the building to identify any missing 

persons. Develop an evacuation plan 

for all buildings. If your company is in 

a high-rise building or large multitenant building, coordinate planning 

with the building manager.

Make a Shelter-in-Place Plan

There may be situations when it’s 

best to shelter inside the building 

when there is a hazard outside. 

If you’re located in areas where 

Secure and Protect Your Buildings: There are many 

things you can do in advance to help protect your physical 

assets. Install smoke alarms, fire detectors, and fire 

sprinklers to enhance fire safety. Evaluate physical security 

to ensure the perimeter of the building is secure. Secure 

valuable equipment, materials, computer rooms, and building 

utility systems to prevent unauthorized access. Document 

the locations and operation of building systems, and train 

staff so they know how to shut down systems or implement 

shelter-in-place.

Improve Cyber Security: Protecting your electronic data 

and information technology systems may require specialized 

expertise, but even the smallest business can be better 

prepared. Protect networked computers with firewalls, 

install anti-virus software, and keep it up-to-date. Instruct 

employees not to open email from unknown sources. 

Enforce the use of strong passwords and require them 

to be changed periodically. Back up your computer data 

off-site. Subscribe to the U.S. Department of Homeland 

Security National Cyber Alert System, www.us-cert.gov, to 

receive free, timely alerts.

Promote Family and Individual Preparedness: Create 

a culture of preparedness. If individuals and their families are 

prepared, your company and your coworkers will be better 

prepared for an emergency. Encourage your employees and 

their families to get an emergency supplies kit, prepare a family 

emergency plan, and stay informed about different threats and 

their appropriate responses. Go to www.ready.gov for more 

information or print out and distribute copies of “Preparing 

Makes Sense” brochures to your workers.

Support Employee Health After a Disaster: In a 

community disaster it is possible that your staff will need time 

to ensure the well-being of their family members, You may also 

want to consider offering professional counselors to help coworkers address their fears and anxieties.

Talk with your staff or co-workers and frequently review and 

practice what you intend to do during and after an emergency. 

Just as your business changes over time, so do your 

preparedness needs. Review and update your plans at least 

annually and inform your employees of the changes.

Protect Your Investment

Protect Your Employees

and Your Facilities tornados are possible, identify protected space within the core of 

the building to shelter employees. There are other circumstances, 

such as a transportation accident that releases chemicals into 

the air, when everyone should shelter-in-place within the building. 

Sheltering in place requires shutdown of heating, ventilation, and 

air conditioning (HVAC) systems and the closure of air intakes. 

This will minimize the amount of chemicals that could enter the 

building. Monitor news reports to obtain information and official 

instructions to evacuate the building after the chemicals pass.

Make a Lockdown Plan

In situations where an individual has gained access to a building 

with intent to harm employees, a lockdown warning should 

be broadcast and authorities notified. Employees should be 

instructed to immediately hide and remain silent until help arrives.

Warning System: Identify a system to warn everyone to take 

protective action. Make sure the fire alarm system works to warn 

everyone to evacuate. Identify a public address or other system 

to warn everyone to shelter-in-place or lockdown. Train multiple 

employees so they know how to use these systems. Be sure 

the telephone numbers for fire, police, and emergency medical 

services are posted at every telephone.

Identify ways to receive warnings of severe weather and other 

emergencies. This may include free text, social media, and 

email alerts. Determine ways to monitor television or radio news 

reports for information and to obtain official instructions as they 

become available. 

Emergency Supplies: When preparing for emergencies, 

identify the supplies that you need to have on hand. Go to Ready.

gov/build-kit for a recommended list of emergency supplies. 

Reach out to local emergency management officials who can 

assist you and help address your needs along with the rest of 

your community.

Providing for your co-workers’ well-being is recognized as one 

of the best ways to assure your company’s recovery. That means 

communicating regularly with employees before, during and after 

an incident. Use newsletters, intranets, staff meetings and other 

internal communications tools to communicate emergency plans 

and procedures. Use informal communication, such as coffee 

break discussions or short staff briefings, which been shown to 

be highly effective for all types and sizes of organizations.

In addition to emergency planning and communicating with 

employees, there are steps you can take to safeguard your 

company and secure your physical assets.

Review Insurance Coverage: Inadequate insurance 

coverage can lead to a major financial loss if your business is 

damaged, or operations are interrupted for a period of time. 

Check with your insurance agent, broker, or underwriter and 

discuss your insurance coverage. Ask for guidance to determine 

whether you are fully insured for property damage. If you your 

business could be damaged by flood or earthquake, verify 

that you have appropriate coverage. Evaluate your business 

interruption coverage to determine what your policy covers and 

what is not covered. Check out Ready.gov/business for a form 

that you can use to evaluate your insurance program.

Prepare for Utility Disruptions: Businesses require water, 

electricity, natural gas or heating oil, telecommunications, 

sewerage, and other utilities. You should plan ahead for extended 

disruptions during and after a disaster. Evaluate options such as 

portable generators for backup power and strategies to deal with 

interruptions of other utilities.

Test, Practice and Improve

Practice the Plan with Co-workers: Frequently 

practice what you intend to do during a disaster. Conduct 

regularly scheduled education and training sessions to provide 

co-workers with information, identify needs and develop 

preparedness skills. Include disaster training in new employee 

orientation programs. Practice emergency procedures, such as 

evacuation drills, with all employees.

The planning team should conduct periodic tabletop exercises 

using a hypothetical disaster to understand what resources 

would be impacted, how assets could be preserved, how 

employees could be protected, and how recovery could be 

hastened. Weaknesses in the plan should be noted and the 

plan revised to include needed improvements. Review plans 

periodically to identify changes required by new operations or 

new information about threats.

Inspect, test, and maintain fire detection, suppression, and life 

safety systems including standby generators. Make sure that all 

resources required for your emergency and business continuity 

plans are ready in case an emergency occurs.