What you need to know to prepare for severe weather

Last year, a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that globally extreme weather in the form of storms, flooding, heatwaves, wildfires, and drought has gotten worse and has become less predictable. (Carbon Brief, 2021) The increased frequency and intensity of these weather events get amplified by the chronic underfunding of firefighting services, the mismanagement of forests, water rights, and farmland management. (Mr. Online, 2021)

Moreover, the IPCC report highlights a possible compounding of extreme weather events, where one natural disaster escalates into another. (The Washington Post, 2021) In these times of heightened crisis, businesses must equip themselves adequately.

Human resource departments must prepare for severe weather with cloud communications

With cloud communication tools, HR departments can help ensure the safety of their employees during natural disasters. These sophisticated, yet easy-to-use cloud communication tools can leverage the ubiquity of peoples’ work and mobile phones, by sending notifications to inform staff not to come into work because of icy roads or using messages to locate employees during a severe flood or hurricane.

Industry leading cloud-based communication technologies empower HR departments to easily build notification systems in real time so that employees are always aware of the ongoing situation through emergency status updates for their specific work location.

Sometimes, a natural disaster threatens employees’ well-being and business operations. For example, a network outage. Best-in-class cloud communication tools empower companies to maintain collaboration across locations, allowing work to continue as usual.

Creating an emergency plan to accompany communication solutions

While it’s critical to have the best communication technology to prepare for severe weather, organizations must also have an effective and well-tested emergency plan. Businesses should establish a plan anticipating that a natural disaster will happen. Additionally, HR departments need to train employees on how to use the communication plan.

Even amid severe weather, employees and customers prefer specific communication channels over others, making it more crucial to have an automation solution that can send alerts, updates, and statements via text, phone, social media messengers, and email.

These messages could then direct everyone to the company website or portal for more details, instructions, or even let people know how they can contribute to relief efforts. Another important consideration is that all messaging to employees during a natural disaster should be congruent, originating from one trusted source.

Giving employees accurate, harmonious, and timely information will foster trust in a business’s competency while reducing stress and helping safeguard staff from danger. Nevertheless, it’s vital that companies continue to test their emergency communication plans and even perform post-crisis assessments to improve inefficiencies and enhance overall effectiveness.

Prepare for severe weather with IntelePeer’s proven technology

IntelePeer’s emergency preparedness solution is an all-in-one offering with reliable uptime, 24/7/365 support, and everything your business needs – from dynamic 911 and failover to cellular and admin management. Don’t wait until after a natural disaster strikes, be proactive, and reach out today.