Deciding ‘Who You Gonna Call’ After a Crisis

If, following an incident, you find that you can’t perform a recovery yourself, you may need professional help to restore the important parts of your business.

Your first consideration when tackling an incident is safety, and nothing should compromise that.

If your workspace is damaged by a disaster, such as a fire or flood, don’t allow anyone to enter until a structural engineer checks the building. In the event of a flood, don’t attempt to turn the electricity on or off – call an electrician. In this sort of situation you’ll be glad that you already established the contact details of a reputable local electrician to make life a whole lot easier (as we advise in the earlier section ‘Contacting local talent’).

Solving IT-related problems

One of the expert contact names that you need to maintain to help your business recover after a disruption is that of an IT specialist. If you have an IT partner, as we describe in the earlier section ‘Considering a business IT partner’, you’re well set up to respond quickly to the problem. Flip to Chapter 17 for loads more useful tips on looking after your IT systems.

Repairing physical damage: Salvage and restoration

Even if the results of the disruption leave your workplace looking in a sorry state, all isn’t necessarily lost. The first stage is to try to retrieve anything salvageable from the building in order to prevent further damage. If you suffer a flood, for example, perhaps the files on the top shelves are worth retrieving or the folders locked away in cabinets are still in fairly good condition.

As regards the building and equipment, countless stories exist of business owners and managers attempting to recover after a disruption but simply inflicting further damage by being too heavy-handed with damaged machinery. Always consider whether expert salvage help is the better solution in the long term. Unless you’re some sort of hidden expert, or run a small business in restoration and salvation, this job can be a complicated and delicate task where good intentions can do more damage than good.

We list a few considerations in this section, but we can’t overemphasise that safety remains your first consideration:

If safe to do so, alleviate the lasting damaging to your building by removing standing water, ventilating with fans and disinfecting any areas previously covered by water. Ensure the security of the building by boarding up or replacing any windows or doors that have been damaged.

If your carpets can be saved, get in a professional cleaner to dry them out and save them from going mouldy. Generally, carpets that have been underwater or soaked for more than two days are beyond repair, but trying to salvage any that have had less exposure is worthwhile.

If water damages any vital papers or records, don’t panic. Scientific techniques and procedures can now restore documents, though you’ll undoubtedly need an expert to do it for you. Processes and drying techniques include:

• Cleaning

• Desiccant freeze-drying

• Mould remediation

• Stabilisation

If fire and/or smoke damages documents, salvation techniques are also available to help save them. This process involves careful cleaning to remove all particles of soot in order to prevent the spread of contamination. Think too about any areas of the building that may have been damaged by water used to extinguish the fire. These documents need careful handling by an expert in salvation of documents destroyed by water. A number of private document salvation companies offer specialist advice. The best way to find a reputable local company is through word of mouth; or contact your local authority, use the Trustmark website (www.trustmark.org.uk ) or try a more general Internet search engine. As always, have a contact in place already, in case the worst happens.

Another advantage of getting independent specialists in is that they may be able to help you provide evidence to support your insurance claim. Discuss this subject when you first engage the firm.