Dodge Future Disasters: Establish Emergency Recovery Plan
<B>Dodge Future Disasters: Establish Emergency Recovery Plan</B>
Maybe because I live in Los Angeles I am more sensitive to natural disasters than some. I certainly think about earthquakes and what I need to have in my earthquake preparedness kit (comfy shoes so I can walk home, food and water to hoard, change of clothes just in case I can't walk home or it takes me days to reach my home, etc.). I must admit that my thoughts are of a very selfish nature when it comes to thinking about a natural disaster.
Disasters, natural or man made, can happen anywhere at any time. Just watch world events on the evening news and you know this is true. Earthquakes are just one of many possible scenarios: floods, tornadoes, civil unrest--and the list goes on. These disasters represent a major business interruption but, more importantly, may impact the lives of our travelers. Recently, I've begun to give this subject a lot more thought regarding travelers. I believe that companies have an obligation to help their travelers by developing, revising and continually testing a solid disaster recovery plan.
Do you have a good disaster recovery plan in place? Even if you've had the forethought to ask your travel management company or your charge card company about their recovery plan, does it include triggers for action related specifically to your travelers? If you work for a travel management company or other travel service provider, how have you talked about specific disaster recovery plans with your clients?
To develop a solid plan, ask yourself the following questions. Hopefully you'll begin to think about managing your travel program in a different way.
If your company already has started a disaster recovery plan in other areas (IT, risk management, etc.), start asking questions of those who put the plan together. If your company doesn't have a plan, starting a plan in travel and/or meeting planning can bring more value to your program.
For travelers visiting a city where a disaster occurs:
Whom do the travelers call to get help in changing their travel plans? (Consider the needs of all your travelers--U.S. and non-U.S. based).
Have you clearly defined the roles and responsibilities for each party involved (traveler/arranger/travel management company)?
What triggers are in place to initiate action? (Who calls whom and when)?
Have you developed a communication plan to explain to your travelers what action they should take if a disaster occurs?
For corporate travelers who are on the road when a disaster occurs in their home town:
Whom do the travelers call to get help getting home to their families?
If the travel management company is responsible, then what triggers are in place so they know what action to take and when?
Have you developed a communication plan to explain to the travelers what action they should take should a disaster occur?
Have you considered the impact on their families?
When a natural disaster happens to hit a city where you have a major travel operations center:
Who is responsible for running reports to find out who is on the road and impacted by the disaster?
What about those travelers who don't use the designated travel management company?
Where and how are incoming calls routed? If you don't have an ACD system that automatically routes calls to another office, then what?
Have you addressed financial considerations for the travel management company when additional services are provided by the travel management company?
Can your hotel partners help you in the face of a disaster? How, how much and how do you reconcile the billing?
How do you plan to communicate with all the parties that need to know what is happening with travel?
These are just some of the questions that need answers to develop a disaster recovery plan. Believe me, these questions will lead to more questions. Eventually you will be able to develop a solid plan, but you need to start thinking about developing your plan now. If you don't, you may detrimentally impact the lives of your travelers and the performance of your company.
<I>Betty Lucero is manager of corporate travel for investment management company Capital Group Companies Inc. in Los Angeles.