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Communicate Facility Disaster Planning to Tenants

Major natural or man-made disasters may seem out of our control as professionals in commercial real estate, but many building owners and property management teams are developing a “no excuses” standard on communications with tenants about their disaster preparedness. Given that up to 25 percent of small businesses do not reopen after a major disaster like a flood, fire, or hurricanes and considering the skyrocketing costs of disaster related losses in recent years, many owners and tenants are more concerned than ever before.

Communications are essential to any business operation. A communications failure can be a disaster in itself, cutting off vital business activities. Reporting emergencies, warning personnel of danger, keeping families and off-duty employees informed about what's happening at the facility, coordinating response actions and keeping in contact with customers and suppliers are all activities which require the attention of property management teams and building owners.

At a minimum, tenants want to know that the building owners have a plan to insure the safety of employees and that they show commitment to maintain or restore business operations if at all possible during the emergency. In the event basic operations cannot be restored and business is interrupted, an important aspect of disaster planning is to communicate status, updates and general information as to when basic operations can be restored or normal operations can resume.

So when and how is the best way to communicate with tenants? The time to communicate is continuously year round. Diligence during economical challenging times especially is required to factor in tenant changes and staffing changes within tenant businesses that are the primary communicators, as well as taking into account that it is human nature to ignore messages. The how is much more complicated. Here are a few common mistakes we have seen in facility communications of disaster preparedness:

Mistake #1
Not communicating the roles in an emergency. It is easy for tenants and building owners to make assumptions about who is responsible for what within the building during an emergency. Without clearly defined roles about what the facility is handling, you can have multiple people giving conflicting information. This can especially be true in regard to evacuations from the building.

Mistake #2
Not communicating that you are keeping on top of your game. Let your tenants know that you are prepared and their plans are updated regularly. If tenants do not know that the property has a well thought out plan or it is not communicated well, the tenants may question whether the building is a safe, secure environment. This can also degrade confidence in the building management’s ability to handle unexpected situations which can hamper resuming building operations quickly. The tenant should know in the event of a disaster that the building’s management will strive to minimize business disruption and financial impacts to the tenants and their businesses. Additionally, tenants need to know (and see) that facility personnel are periodically conducting safety audits and emergency tests.

Mistake #3
Not putting the communications in writing. Yes, you may have talked in July at a tenant meeting about what the facility’s processes are in case an evacuation is needed, You may have even sent an e-mail to each tenant after the meeting. If this is just one aspect of your disaster plan, you need to put all of your processes in one written document which can be shared and given to each tenant’s designated employee for handling emergencies.

Over the past few years we have seen the devastation that can be caused by hurricanes. Many organizations, agencies and the media have made educating the public about the importance of being prepared as their priority. It seems this information is everywhere, and while it is very important, we should remember that the most common disasters in buildings are fires, floods, and power outages. Property management companies can assure their tenants that in the event of any disaster, their primary goal tenant safety and to minimize disruption of business for the tenant and its customers.

Kathy Taylor is Business Development Director for SERVPRO® of Newport News, Chesterfield and Tri-Cities. If you would like more information about the company’s disaster planning services, Taylor can be reached at 1.804.378.2323.