How Companies Can Be Prepared for Different Disasters

Insights for this month’s article are provided by Marci Target Smith, VP of Strategy & Business Continuity at Marriott Vacations Worldwide, and Gary Shoemake, Director of Client Engagement at National Disaster Solutions.

Question: Disaster preparedness: How can companies minimize damage from natural disasters with facilities preparedness planning?

When asked about the importance of disaster preparedness, Gary Shoemake begins his thoughts with a famous Mark Twain saying: "Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it." According to Gary, that quote resonates with the challenge of addressing commercial large-loss disasters. Similarly, when it comes to preparing for such events, the conversation often outweighs tangible action.

Facilities preparedness planning is a critical yet often overlooked aspect of business resilience. While many acknowledge the potential risks of disasters, few take proactive measures to mitigate their impact, Gary says. Unlike sudden losses or weather-related events, preparedness planning lies within our control. However, to motivate decision-makers to prioritize resiliency planning, a compelling business case is essential.

The National Institute of Building Sciences conducted a study revealing the substantial cost savings associated with investments in resiliency planning. Their research indicates that every dollar invested can yield a $6 reduction in repair and labor costs, a significant increase from the 4:1 ratio reported in 2005. This underscores the direct correlation between preparedness and lower recovery costs.

Furthermore, well-prepared organizations experience a more gradual decline in operational disruptions, resulting in lower business interruption costs and enhanced customer retention. The investment in preparedness doesn't necessitate an immediate lump sum; rather, it can be achieved incrementally with minimal effort and time.

Investing in preparedness offers five distinct benefits:

1. Increased coping capacity enables organizations to absorb the shock of a crisis more effectively.
2. Minor events may not disrupt operations at all, minimizing potential losses.
3. Resiliency planning allows organizations to maintain operations at a reduced level until full service is restored.
4. Shortened recovery time reduces revenue loss and overall recovery costs.
5. Well-prepared organizations can leverage their resiliency as a competitive advantage, distinguishing themselves in the marketplace.

When selecting a disaster recovery partner, several key criteria should be considered:

• A partner that prioritizes true partnership and offers value-added services prior to a disaster, leveraging technology to enhance resiliency.
• A client-centric partner that proactively addresses your needs before and after a disaster, ensuring a seamless recovery process.
• An experienced partner adaptable to the fluid nature of disaster recovery, assisting in identifying critical systems and logistical challenges.
• A partner with a national presence capable of servicing all your locations, ensuring comprehensive coverage.
• A financially robust partner capable of financing disaster recovery projects internally, ensuring continuity of services.

Establishing working vendor partnerships with commercial large loss disaster recovery providers is essential in achieving true resiliency. By recognizing the value of facilities preparedness planning and forging strategic partnerships, businesses can enhance their resilience and minimize the impact of large loss disasters.

Marriott Vacation’s Worldwide (MVW) has a long-established business continuity planning processes, which strives to enable a compassionate, resourceful, and effective response to disasters and significant business interruptions. According to Marci Target Smith, the team’s approach has evolved over the years, and with each new challenge, they look to improve the process and strengthen the preparedness. They do this by focusing on the following:

• Centralized Response Team - Over the years, MVW has responded to many incidents, including hurricanes, landslides, utility and system outages, and notably, a global pandemic. Although each incident is unique, they approach the response in a consistent, organized manner. MVW emphasizes business continuity planning as a strategic imperative and has created the Disaster Assessment & Response Team (DART) to lead the response. DART is composed of senior leaders representing various disciplines from all business units within the company. This cross-functional team is responsible for global disaster response planning and incident management. Each member serves as a strategic lead within their process area, with support from the Executive Management Crisis Team compiled of C-suite leaders. When an incident occurs, this team puts their ‘day jobs’ aside to provide 24/7 help to the resort or impacted business unit, associates, owners and guests.
• Planning & Preparation – DART has thorough and detailed project plans, which enable a well-planned emergency response and prompt restoration efforts. Throughout the year, plans are tested through field and corporate tabletop exercises. There is an ongoing commitment to drive decisions and implement change to further improve the program and the ability to respond to a crisis or significant business interruption.
• Communication - Communication in a time of crisis is critical. The communication senior leaders on DART provides updates on resort conditions and reopening plans. They communicate through various channels and utilize pre-approved templates to streamline the process. The communications plans ensure owners and guests have access to the latest information, plus service teams to assist owners and guests with reservation rescheduling and other possible needs. Significant attention is also given to internal associate communications who are often asked to support the response.

At the heart of each response is teamwork and a sincere focus on the care and well-being of owners, guests and associates. Even with a solid playbook, there are always some challenges with each incident and reliance on the team to address unique situations. Having a strong cross-functional team focused on planning and preparedness is the key to success.