How Resilient Businesses Plan for Hurricane Season - that was the focus of the June 6th panel discussion with subject experts from the Florida SBDC at Hillsborough County, OUTFRONT, Tampa Electric and The University of Tampa. With a more active than normal hurricane season in the 2024 forecast from NOAA, the Chamber's panel focused on what proactive steps businesses can take to minimize the impact on their operations, protect assets and ensure the safety of employees.
Experts stressed the need to create protocols on everything from tools used to communicate with employees before, during and after a storm; identifying several suppliers to rely on post-emergency; cross-training employees in key areas to ensure continuity when other staff members are impacted by the storm and unavailable in the aftermath. An engineer in the audience added that business owners should know the storm rating of the building they operate out of. The storm rating measures the capacity of that structure to withstand winds in an area and help determine how to secure equipment and assets on-site or elsewhere. Also a hot-topic was our dependency on electricity for our mobile phones, computers and other technology devices. Securing battery powered AM/FM radios, two-way radios, and battery powered chargers for your mobile phone will help keep you connected to the outside world during prolonged power outages.
Those are just a few of the insightful areas covered by subject experts during the panel discussion and the Q&A with the audience. Our thanks to panelists Katie Goodwin of the University of Tampa , Alan Hill of Tampa Electric, and Robert Pierce III of the Florida SBDC at Hillsborough County. Each one shared best practices as well as lessons learned during their experiences in emergency management over the years.
Creating a hurricane preparedness plan "in blue skies" is an important element of any business continuity plan, explained Pierce from his vantage point at the Small Business Development Center in Hillsborough. It is the Small Business Administration's primary disaster and business recovery center in the aftermath of any storm or natural disaster.
Goodwin has weathered many a storm, representing UT and the local Emergency Operation Center, and asked the audience how many were subscribed to city or county alerts. The text messages/alerts sent to residents provide important information before, during and immediately following an emergency event. When power outages roll in and WiFi service is impacted, the alerts sent to your mobile phone keeps you connected to updates directly from first responders. Hill overseas security and emergency operations for Tampa Electric and fielded a number of questions on power outages, securing important data of business operations, among others. Tapping into his decades at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office prior to joining TECO, Hill shared stories on the realities he's witnessed post-storm. "Don't underestimate storms of lower categories," said Hill, stressing the need to have a hurricane preparedness plan to implement at any time. "The hazards created by these storms can be significant," he said, sharing the story of law enforcement officers driving in neighborhoods without the benefit of street signs or markers left to guide them to residents they were trying to get to.
The panel's moderator, Don Kiceina, Jr. of OUTFRONT , created the hurricane resiliency plan for OUTFRONT, one of the largest out-of-home media companies in the U.S. with billboards on highways, subways, buses, walls and more. In New York City's MTA Subway station alone, OUTFRONT has more than 900 digital and video urban panels. Managing the tech and the people necessary to safely bring these lines of communication back after a hurricane, is daunting but necessary, he noted. Start by focusing on your employees, Kiceina said, and go from there.
For businesses new to the annual Atlantic Hurricane Season in Florida - which spans June 1 - November 30 - experts say there's help available to start your business continuity plan. Pierce pointed out the Florida SBDC has a template it shares to help business owners start a hurricane preparedness plan. Hill emphasized reaching out to business partners, other Chamber Members, or trusted customers to ask for the basics of their plan. Out thanks to our Chamber Member companies of FL SBDC, OUTFRONT, Tampa Electric and The University of Tampa for being a great resource to local businesses in attendance.