Survey Reveals Significant Gaps in Small Businesses’ Disaster Preparedness
May 15 2012 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Half of small businesses have not taken action to prepare for
disasters that are prone to happen in their areas, according to a
new survey from FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and the American Red Cross.
In addition, slightly more than half (51 percent) have not
practiced evacuations or other emergency drills, and almost half
(47 percent) have not communicated employee roles for the business
in a disaster.
Further, while 40 percent of small businesses do not believe
they could fully recover within six months if their business was
completely destroyed in a disaster, fewer than one third (29
percent) of those surveyed are prepared if a disaster disrupts
their business for just one month.
Additionally, the majority of small businesses may not fully
realize how a disaster could impact one of their greatest
resources—their employees. Seventy-seven percent have not taken
steps to encourage employees to create disaster preparedness plans
for their homes and families.
“Many small businesses put off disaster preparation because of
concerns about lack of resources or expertise,” said Rose Flenorl,
manager, Global Citizenship, FedEx Services. “But some simple,
inexpensive steps can go a long way toward helping businesses be
prepared if disaster strikes. The survey found that 77 percent of
small businesses would be more likely to take action to prepare for
disaster if they were provided with educational materials. That’s
why we’ve teamed up with the Red Cross to host a virtual roundtable
to share our expertise around preparedness.”
On May 22, the one-year anniversary of the devastating EF-5
tornado that hit the Joplin area, FedEx will host a virtual
roundtable to share insights and answer questions on how small
businesses can prepare for a disaster. The event will feature
experts from FedEx, the Red Cross and the Joplin Area Chamber of
Commerce (JACC) and will be hosted on the FedEx Facebook page at
http://facebook.com/fedex. While participants will connect
virtually, the experts will gather in Joplin at 11:30 a.m. CDT.
For those unable to attend the roundtable live, recordings of
the discussion will be available on the FedEx Facebook page
following the event. Additionally, there will be a rebroadcast of
the roundtable at 6 p.m. CDT on May 22 with at least one panelist
available to answer questions via the Facebook page.
According to the JACC, 161 lives were lost, and 545 businesses
were destroyed or severely damaged by the tornado, which had a path
of destruction up to three-quarters of a mile wide and 13 miles
long. As of April 17, JACC reports that 116 businesses still have
not reopened.
“Emergencies are inevitable,” said Tom Heneghan, manager of
Preparedness for the American Red Cross. “We have a long tradition
of helping individuals and families prepare for disasters, and
we’re proud to work with FedEx on this event to extend that
assistance to small businesses.”
The Red Cross has developed a preparedness program called Ready
Rating, which helps businesses, schools and other organizations
become prepared for disasters and other emergencies. Ready Rating
members have access to one-of-a-kind tools, resources and
information for evaluating and improving their ability to withstand
disaster, maintain operations, and protect lives and property.
FedEx has worked with the Red Cross for more than 14 years, is a
founding member of its Annual Disaster Giving Program, and was
presented with the Henry Dunant International Partnership
Excellence Award in gratitude for its generous contributions and
longstanding commitment to the humanitarian mission of the
organization. The company contributes more than $1 million in cash
and in-kind services to the organization every year and has
supported efforts to respond to disasters such as the Joplin
tornado, Hurricane Katrina and many others. In addition to lending
logistics expertise to the Red Cross, many FedEx employees spend
their personal time serving as volunteers in their local
communities.
Survey Methodology
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs conducted telephone surveys with 200
small businesses in May 2012 to learn about their level of disaster
preparedness and their interest in improving their disaster
preparedness. A random national sample of 200 small businesses has
a margin of error of +/- 6.9 percent at a confidence level of 95
percent.
About FedEx
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses
worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and
business services. With annual revenues of $42 billion, the company
offers integrated business applications through operating companies
competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the
respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world's most
admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 300,000
team members to remain “absolutely, positively” focused on safety,
the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of
their customers and communities. For more information, visit
news.fedex.com.
About the American Red
Cross
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional
support to victims of disasters; supplies more than 40 percent of
the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides
international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and
their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that
depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to
perform its mission. For more information, please visit
redcross.org or join our blog at blog.redcross.org.
About the American Red Cross Ready
Rating Program
The American Red Cross Ready Rating program is a free,
self-guided program designed to help businesses, organizations and
schools become better prepared for emergencies. Members complete a
123-point self-assessment of their level of preparedness and have
access to tools, tips and best practices to help improve their
level of preparedness. The 123 Assessment has been aligned with the
federal government’s Private Sector Preparedness standards
(PS-Prep). For more information, please visit
readyrating.org/smallbusiness.
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