Partners in Preparedness Activity Guide- NYCEM

Emergency Management


Partners in Preparedness

Take Action to Prepare Your Business
Partners in Preparedness
CorpNet
Corporate Emergency Access System
Strategic Partnerships Inquiries

Take Action to Prepare Your Business

Partners in Preparedness

CorpNet

Corporate Emergency Access System

Strategic Partnerships Inquiries


Partners in Preparedness Activity Guide

To become a partner, organizations must complete one preparedness activity from each of the categories below. This detailed activities guide provides useful tips and suggestions to help you and your organization become prepared. Remember: employees who are prepared at home are more likely to be able to help when an emergency occurs.

Category 1: Stay Connected

Note: Registration for CorpNet and NotifyNYC is required for all partners.

Encourage employees and volunteers to sign up for Notify NYC, the City of New York's official, free emergency communications program. Register for emergency notifications by getting the free Notify NYC mobile application, visiting NYC.gov/notifynyc, contacting 311 (212-639-9675 for Video Relay Service, or TTY: 212-504-4115) or following @NotifyNYC on Twitter. (Notify NYC messages are available through many formats, including email, text messages, telephone, the Notify NYC website, RSS, Twitter, and American Sign Language videos.)

Download a sample email to send to employees, or download a Notify NYC postcard to distribute.

Designate one or more employees to sign up and monitor CorpNet, NYC Emergency Management's free, real-time emergency notification system designed for business continuity planners and other safety and security professionals at businesses and organizations.

Register to receive CorpNet messages. Make sure to reference Partners in Preparedness in the request.

Category 2: Get Prepared

Option 1: Set up a preparedness display promoting personal preparedness for employees and volunteers. Gather preparedness materials, such as brochures, contact cards and a Go Bag, and display them either at an event, a table in a common area, a display case, or another location. Request a free Partners in Preparedness "Event in a Box" via the contact form. Feel free to include materials from other agencies as well.

Option 2: Host a Ready New York presentation or tabling event. NYC Emergency Management's Ready New York program sends knowledgeable staff to educate employees about personal preparedness. Learn more about the program and request an event.

Option 3: Encourage employees to create a work Go Bag. Learn more about what supplies should be included in a Go Bag.

Option 4: Put your organization's preparedness on display. Download virtual Know Your Zone badges that can be displayed on your blog or website.

Option 5: Conduct an active shooter training with your staff. Training examples include reviewing the survival information included in PlanNowNYC with your staff, share a training video, requesting a presentation through NYPD Shield, or conducting a similar type of training. Be sure to include any information regarding any relevant office policies and procedures.

Category 3: Keep Your Plan Current

Option 1: Choose a meeting place outside of your office for all employees to gather in the event of an emergency. Ensure that they know where to go and what to do. Encourage them to choose a meeting place for their family as well.

Option 2: Schedule an afternoon with your staff to review your insurance policies and discuss business continuity plans. Share these resources with colleagues, partners, and private stakeholders.

Option 3: Who do you rely on for operations? Make sure your vendors, partner organizations, and any other business you rely on have business continuity plans and will be able to help you, or defer to others in an emergency.

Download a sample email to encourage vendors to be prepared and join the Partners in Preparedness program.

Download and share the Partners in Preparedness brochure.

Category 4: Share Information

Option 1: Encourage employees to download NYC Emergency Management's Resolve to Be Ready Calendar for sample messages you can use throughout the year.

Option 2: Host a preparedness lunch. Review the highlights of your organization's emergency plan. Providing lunch is a great way to encourage participation in a more informal setting. Make sure that all employees know their role in your emergency planning. For those identified as vital, make sure they also have a family plan so that they can respond appropriately.

Option 3: Create an emergency notification plan for your employees, such as a call tree or digital notification system. If you already have one, consider creating a back-up plan. Chances are, during an emergency you'll want to reach out to make sure all employees are safe and accounted for. Assess how your organization would get in contact with them in a disaster situation. Consider what you would do if email, phones, or power was out. Host an emergency preparedness meeting and ask everyone how they would find out whether to come to work or not during an emergency. This is a good place to start when looking to educate staff and find gap in the plan at the same time.

Option 4: Show your organization is prepared for hurricanes and coastal storms. Send an email to your staff encouraging them to know what hurricane evacuation zone they live in by visiting NYC.gov/knowyourzone. Download the Know Your Zone badge and display it on your organization's website, social media channel, or in an email signature. Visit NYC.gov/knowyourzone for more information.

Category 5: Test Your Plan

Option 1: Schedule and conduct a fire drill for your organization and have employees congregate at the designated evacuation meeting place.

Option 2: Test your employee emergency notification system (i.e., call tree, automated system, etc).

Option 3: Plan what you will do if your building, plant, or store is not accessible. Schedule a work-from-home day or other method to test your business continuity practices.