4 key benefits of having a workplace preparedness plan

Workplace threats are numerous and can happen unexpectedly. While it may seem obvious that workplace preparedness is important, there are a lot of less clear benefits that come out of a comprehensive preparedness strategy. Here are four benefits of having a preparedness strategy for any workplace threat or incident:

Mitigate risk and liability

It’s near impossible to prevent an incident from occurring. Instead, it’s important to focus on what to do once a situation arises. The faster you can respond with the right plan of action, the more you can mitigate risk and exposure. By putting the systems and tools you need in place in advance, you can more efficiently respond if there is a crisis. There are solutions that are less risky than others to put in place. You can update software on a regular basis to thwart off cyberattacks, for example. Plus, if your systems talk to each other, you can automate various parts of your preparedness plan to speed up the necessary response steps. If you automate the communications that go out to everyone in your office the moment an incident occurs, you can reduce chaos and ensure people know what to do. Having a documented plan and activity logs can also help reduce the cumbersome legal and compliance processes that follow. With a process in place to record and track what happens during an incident, you can limit the amount of time your team needs to spend on the follow-up procedures. This ensures that you can continue working on the projects that matter most and prevent further incidents. Every minute you save could be the difference between a well-handled situation and a true disaster.

Increase employee productivity and retention

Ensuring that employees are safe while at work is critical to their job productivity and happiness. Safety comes in many forms, from ensuring only approved, healthy people can enter the workplace, to providing easy access to safety protocols and keeping personal identifiable information secure. In a recent Wakefield survey, 55% of respondents would consider leaving their jobs if their employer downplayed COVID-19, didn’t follow safety measures, or urged employees to work from the office before they’re ready. When you communicate your preparedness plan to employees, you create an office environment that employees will choose to come into. Employees feel confident that you are prioritizing their health and safety. In doing so, they are able to be more productive while on-site. Plus, in a tight job market where companies are competing for talent, organizations that can point to employee protection will stand apart.

Positive brand recognition and reputation

No one wants their company to be in the news headlines regarding a security incident, but it happens more often than we think. Not only does a preparedness plan help to keep companies out of the spotlight, it can help to improve brand reputation. A survey of critical event management and operations personnel found that 75% of respondents think that a unified approach to critical event management improves their brand and reputation. Having a plan also proves an organization's resilience and further shines a light on your brand. Resilient organizations work across business units, combining internal resources, technology, and services to detect, manage and minimize the impact of emergency situations. This operational efficiency ensures that your brand maintains its positive reputation.

Impact to company revenue

A workplace incident can cause a large financial burden in many ways. It can not only have short term impacts of ransom or loss of intellectual property, but long term implications such as less trust in the organization or having to implement new technology to replace legacy gear. With a workplace preparedness plan, you can help lessen the impact to company revenue by keeping your supply chain stable, competitive information private, and investment strategies secure. If you handle these risks correctly, it can reduce the impact on revenue. Another way to reduce costs is to decrease the number of errors that occur during a response. With an automated, connected solution, you can cut down the number of errors and provide a foundation for delivering a cost-efficient response to crises. Plus, with improved data and reporting on incidents, you can make informed decisions that will reduce the impact of future events. This includes understanding where communication gaps are, areas of opportunity for more process, and what roles you need on a critical response team. All of these decisions impact your business’ bottom line.Knowing the benefits of having a preparedness plan is just the start. The hard part is actually creating your end-to-end processes.

Explore the 2021 workplace preparedness playbook for best practices and tips to get you started.