Many circumstances can impact your business. While it’s nearly impossible to plan for every unforeseen event, some steps can be taken to lessen the impact of sudden and unexpected changes. Managing “Change” in the workplace is the responsibility of business owners and managers and should be tended to daily.

Discussion Points:
• How do you manage change in the workplace?
• How do you manage risk in business interruption?
• How do you handle an event that has caught you completely by surprise?
• Planning for a disaster is part of emergency preparedness

Discussion:
Preparing for expected and foreseeable events and expenses is sometimes difficult. However, these can be accounted for in the business and financial plans. Often, “Change” is planned, such as implementing a new policy or system, changing leadership or management, and planning for employees to leave or retire. But, what about the unexpected changes? No matter how much you plan, life and business are unpredictable. Circumstances can change at the drop of a hat. “Change” can be difficult for any worker, especially when it’s unexpected and abrupt. How do you anticipate the unknown or unexpected incident that has caught you completely by surprise? No one arrives at work thinking to themselves, “today, I’ll have an accident.” Accidents are unexpected and unintentional, typically resulting in damage or injury.” Planning for a disaster is part of emergency preparedness. Plan for unexpected incidents by doing the following, conduct a safety assessment of the workplace, complete a thorough risk assessment, protect against fire or weather damage, purchase business interruption insurance, create a disaster recovery plan, ensure all employees are properly trained, and make sure
safety equipment and machinery are maintained and working properly. Determine how likely different events are to happen and develop response strategies. Unfortunately, unforeseen hazards and accidents do occur and may impact your business;
equipment may become inoperative, or a worker may be injured on the job. Ensure the company has safeguards in place so the business can continue without interruption.

As always, stay safe out there!