Many companies have dealt with the pandemic by transitioning their workforce to a work-from-home setup. For more than a year, businesses managed to take care of their operations and processes, mitigating the impact of the crisis and surviving. In recent months, the workforce is slowly going back to their offices.
Getting back to the office, bringing a concern you might have encountered with your employees when you let them work remotely –power outages. With the energy crisis in many areas across the globe, the threat of power outages in offices is a concern that business owners need to keep in mind.
Power outages could be announced or not, but it will be more than a nuisance when you are not prepared for it all. Not only will your business lose time and money during the outage, you may also suffer long-term, especially when your company deals with data servers and sensitive technology, along with employee-safety issues you also need to address.
If you’re gearing your business to prepare for unforeseen power outages, here are some steps you can take to ensure your office is ready whenever your office loses power.
Have a Backup Plan
The key to making sure you’re ready for the outages is proper planning. What are the vital processes that would be affected once this happens? Don’t be a business owner that only thinks about implementing a backup power plan when the actual power outage happens.
So instead of having a would have, could have, and should have moment when all your systems and power are down, take the time to plan out what you will do. Cover all the bases starting from securing your employees’ safety, then towards the core business processes that will be impacted by an outage and plan for an alternative that you can do, as well as securing your office equipment.
You may consider getting a generator to your building (in case it is not available yet) that will automatically kick in once power fails. Power back ups are highly beneficial in this scenario. Just in case you just have a limited supply of power, you may have an office-specific generator you can add on top of the building generator, especially when you can’t afford to lose power in long hours. Generators help you avoid disruptions and it keeps your personnel and equipment safe. You can also opt for solar power on your emergency power concerns, since there are also those solar panels with battery storage so may have enough energy socked away to power you through the power outage.
Secure Your Data and Equipment
Technology company or not, it’s imperative to protect your data and equipment. Your computers and other devices should have their mechanisms that prevent abrupt power outages and jumpy electric surges.
You wouldn’t want your equipment to wear out and get severely damaged because of sudden energy influx. Surge protectors do the job because it can shield your equipment from damage that can result from sudden voltage shifts that may occur when power is both lost and restored. A good measure to do is to turn off and disconnect any equipment and appliance as soon as the outage occurs.
As for your company data, it is important to have power supply for your own IT network and local servers, but in case a power outage happens, you need to store your data in the cloud so you can access the data that you need remotely, as opposed to having all your data in one place. The worst thing to happen is to have your servers damaged by the power outage and you end up losing everything.
Equip your employees
Your backup plan is only as good as the preparedness of your employees. Make sure they are properly equipped with your company guidelines in case of the power outage by creating engaging plans and drill ahead. Include these in your onboarding processes as well. Everyone should be familiar with your building’s floor plan so they immediately access emergency exits from their location.
Have training for staff for emergencies such as accessing emergency equipment, disconnect devices, manually operating secured doors, and etc. Designate leaders for the evacuation in the event of an outage.
Emergency kits are also important in the event that natural disasters are the cause of the outage that may prohibit people from leaving the building right away. Flashlights and first aid supplies are a great starting point, and it’s wise to have bottled water and non-perishable goods on hand. Batteries, extra batteries and charged cell phones should also be in your kit.
Conclusion
Now that many companies are going back to offices a year after the world was hit by the pandemic, the threat of power outages is a concern in a business owner’s mind. Avoid the critical impact of power outages to your business by preparing an efficient plan, securing your company data and equipment, and prepping your employees with the right mindset.
