Business Preparedness
Why Business Planning Matters
Disruptions are not a matter of if, but when. Without a clear emergency plan, a business may face lost revenue, prolonged closures, supply chain breakdowns, and liability exposure.
Planning in advance allows business owners to protect employees and customers, maintain essential services, communicate clearly during a crisis, and reduce downtime. A well-developed plan provides structure during uncertainty and speeds recovery when it matters most.
Business Plan Essentials
Understand Your Risks
Every organization faces potential threats that can disrupt day-to-day activities. Identify the natural, technological, and operational risks relevant to your location and assess their possible impact to employees, physical assets, safety, and the flow of goods and services.
Key actions:
- Conduct a risk assessment for hazards such as earthquakes, flooding, wildfires, power outages, or cyber threats. Access interactive hazard maps to better understand potential hazards and strengthen your business preparedness in Alameda County.
- Prioritize risks that could cause the greatest disruption to safety or operations.
- Review and update your risk assessment regularly as conditions or operations change.
Consider:
- Facility damage
- Utility outages
- Technology failures
- Supply chain disruptions
- Workforce impacts
- Cyber incidents
Plan for Continuity
A business continuity plan helps ensure that key operations continue during disruptions while supporting a faster return to normal business activities.
Key actions:
- Identify essential services and the resources required to maintain them.
- Determine backup options for staff, facilities, equipment, and suppliers.
- Develop procedures for communication, evacuation, and reopening operations.
Build Your Emergency Contact List
Quick, reliable communication is critical. Maintain an updated list of contacts needed to support operations and response.
Key actions:
- Maintain contact information for employees, insurance providers, IT support, property managers, utilities, and vendors.
- Include at least one out-of-area contact in case local communication systems fail.
- Store the emergency contact list digitally and keep printed copies available.
Maintain Emergency Supplies
Basic emergency supplies can help your business respond to immediate needs and maintain operations during disruptions.
Suggested supplies:
- First aid kits and fire extinguishers
- Flashlights and extra batteries
- Battery powered and/or hand cranked radios
- Portable chargers
- Emergency water and snacks
- N95 masks and basic safety equipment
- Copies of critical documents
- Backup power options such as generators, where appropriate
Secure Critical Business Records
Protecting essential records ensures your business can recover quickly and process insurance or financial claims after an emergency.
Important records to secure:
- Insurance policies
- Payroll and tax records
- Vendor and lease agreements
- Client, inventory, and operational records
Recommended storage methods:
- Secure cloud storage with backups
- Encrypted external drives
- Printed copies stored safely offsite
Train Your Team
Employees should know how to respond to various emergency situations. Regular training minimizes uncertainty and enhances workplace safety.
Training topics may include:
- Evacuation routes and shelter-in-place procedures
- Earthquake safety (Drop, Cover, and Hold On)
- Workplace safety and active threat response
- Cybersecurity awareness and phishing prevention
Note: Conduct periodic drills and refresh training regularly.
Plan for Recovery
Emergency planning is not static. Review and update your emergency and business continuity plans at least once a year, and after any major operational change or incident. Be sure to share updates with leadership and staff so everyone understands their roles and responsibilities.
A prepared business boosts Alameda County’s resilience and speeds community recovery. Planning ahead also helps your business reopen sooner and cut financial losses after a disruption.
Key actions:
- Document inventory and equipment for insurance claims.
- Review insurance coverage annually, including disaster-related coverage.
- Identify backup vendors, alternate locations, and mutual aid partners.
- Know how to access disaster assistance and recovery programs.
Resources
Alameda County | Business Emergency Preparedness Guide: Leads to the Alameda County Emergency Preparedness Guide (Final)—a comprehensive toolkit for businesses—including checklists, continuity planning templates, and recovery guidance to help organizations prepare for and respond to local disasters
Alameda County | Local Hazard Mitigation Map: The link opens an interactive multi-hazards map for Alameda County that displays and lets you explore relative risks for major hazards by selecting a hazard type, zooming into areas, and searching specific addresses
US Small Business Administration | Prepare for Emergencies: Directs to a guideoffering steps to assess risks, create and practice a disaster response plan, and access financial assistance and counseling to help small businesses recover after disasters.
Ready.gov | Business Continuity Planning: Guides organizations in forming a continuity team, developing, testing, and maintaining a business continuity plan to sustain operations during and after disruptions
Ready.gov | Business Resources: Offerstools to help businesses prepare for, manage, and recover from disasters through hazard prevention, needs assessment, resource and incident management strategies
Ready.gov | Employee Training & Testing: Provides guidance on conducting safety drills, exercises, and tests to evaluate and strengthen your organization’s preparedness, response, and continuity capabilities