Last week I covered the importance of having off-site computer backups, or at least some form of backup that could survive a computer crash. A friend reminded me recently that that is only the first step. Her firm is currently putting together a disaster recovery plan, and it's far more complex than just backing up computer files. Fire, flood, wind…there isn't a region of the country that isn't subject to some potential form of meteorological disaster, and there are a number of possible factors to deal with.
Which office is affected — the corporate headquarters, a regional office, or a branch office? Was the entire building blown away in a tornado or lost in a fire, or did you just lose a few windows so only a few files and computers were water-soaked?
What kind of shape is your equipment in? Did you out and out lose your equipment? Was it just damaged? Was the damage permanent or can it be repaired? It's not just computers and associated equipment you need to be concerned with when it's a full disaster recovery. You need to worry about backup tapes, microfilm, microfiche, and paper files.
Which information is missing and how quickly can it be recreated? Do you have complete backup information, or is some of it likely to be gone? Is the site where you kept your backups still in good shape, or was it also affected? How much of what was lost can be restored by information that other branches have access to?
When did it happen? Is the monthly payroll due to be processed the next day, or do you still have a week before you have to be prepared? Are there other major deadlines, such as open enrollment, that you need to be prepared for? Were you in the middle of negotiations with any of your vendors or carriers? Do they have information they can provide for you?
Are all employees safe or did you lose people? Did you have deaths or will most people who are out be back on the job in a couple of days? Do you need to bring in support personnel from other branches or hire temps, or can you get by with the personnel you have on hand?
It goes without saying that you need to be concerned about your employees; not only for their safety, but they are also your best resource in recreating what might have been lost. Granted, employees in other departments will be busy managing their own disaster recovery, but they should be able to take enough time out to review with you who their beneficiary is; which health insurance option they chose; whether or not they elected an FSA and for how much. And your own staff? If you've involved them in putting the plan together, they'll know what to do.
Organized, or even unorganized, chaos? Certainly. But this is HR. We do open enrollment every year. We're used to chaos. There are dozens of things you need to be aware of if you're going to plan for disaster recovery. Use your employees to your best advantage!
Catherine Bannon is an HR consultant in Marshfield, MA (catherine.bannon@gmail.com). Bannon worked for 10 years in HR management before starting her consulting practice.
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