By Shelba Waldron - Director of Club Education and Outreach, USA Gymnastics
Every September, the United States observes National Preparedness Month to remind Americans to be ready for any disaster — man-made or natural — that could affect them, their homes, communities, or businesses. National Preparedness Month aims to mitigate large-scale emergencies by preparing every citizen to take necessary steps to protect their property, pets, businesses and, of course, their lives and their families' lives.
Member clubs are encouraged to create a business continuity plan and then review it annually for needed updates.
What is Your Business Continuity Plan?
A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is a document that consists of the critical information an organization needs to continue operating during an unplanned event. The BCP includes the essential functions of the business, identifies which systems and processes must be sustained, and details how to maintain them.
Fundamental Components of a Business Continuity Plan:
Planning, testing, and recovery of these vital components are key to building a resilient organization.
Document and Insure Your Property
National Preparedness month is a great time to have a yearly conversation with your insurance carrier about:
Documentation needed for full property recovery
Options for coverage
Ensuring you have appropriate insurance
For more information about insurance and protection of your property, visit Ready.gov.
Be Tech Ready
Technology has made it easier than ever to prepare for emergencies, especially communicating with staff and customers as well as for the protection of your crucial documents, but you need to prepare and have a plan.
Please consider the following for being tech ready:
Create a communication plan.
How will you communicate with your staff and customers during different types of emergencies such as a tornado or fire?
Do you have multiple modes of communication in case one goes down? Oftentimes during a natural disaster, phone service may go down or be slow but you can still access the internet or vice versa. It's important to have a plan for both.
Do the parents know how to access information quickly such as the club Facebook page or app such as Remind or Band? Who will be responsible for the update? Who is the backup?
Store important documents on a secure, password-protected jump drive or in the cloud.
Are key documents secure in an easily accessible place in case you are unable to return to the club for an extended period or documents are destroyed? Remember, a tornado and hurricane force wind can throw photographs and paper up to 200 miles away from the original location.
Is there a plan to protect consumer information such as credit card numbers, health information, and addresses?
For more information about being tech ready, click here.
Drills, Drills and More Drills
Written plans are great and necessary for a fully prepared club, but they are only one part of the preparedness cycle. It's important that your staff, parents, and athletes know and practice the plan in the event of a fire, tornado, power outage, active shooter, or missing child. Consider the following:
Does the staff know how to guide the children to the nearest location in the event of a fire?
Does the staff know how to direct the children and guests to the appropriate locations during a tornado?
Have the exit points and hiding spots been identified in the event of an active shooter? Does every staff member know how to lock down the facility?
In the event a child is identified as missing, is the staff trained in the appropriate response such as facility lock down, law enforcement, and parent notification?
Are front-of-the-house staff aware of their responsibilities in identifying and managing unaccompanied visitor that enters the premises?
For more information on preparing for disasters and other emergencies and to access FEMA toolkits, please visit Ready.gov or the links below.
