Business continuity planning (BCP) is essential to ensure that your organization can respond to disruptions in operations due to disasters quickly and in a manner that minimizes any potential losses. Flooding is one key area that your BCP should cover. Keep in mind that damaging floods can result from severe weather, like hurricanes, or a situation such as a sprinkler system malfunction. Either scenario can cause damage and loss.
Read on to learn how you can best protect your information from flood events and discover resources to help you create a business continuity plan that addresses flood risks..
Relying on paper documents as a primary source of data storage can be highly detrimental in the event of an unanticipated emergency, like a flood. Additionally, floods are some of the most difficult disasters to prepare for. The duration and intensity of a flooding event can span from just a few hours to months-long events, making it nearly impossible to access physical documents. (If they’re not already destroyed.)
Not only is this incredibly inconvenient when trying to keep your operations running smoothly, but it can also mean serious financial losses due to disruptions in service or lost files. Taking steps before disaster strikes is necessary for any business reliant on physical documents. Digitizing important records ahead of time provides an invaluable layer of protection that will prevent countless headaches (and possible damages) down the line.
When assessing the potential risks associated with a flooding event, RIM professionals should first ensure they have a complete inventory of their organization’s information or otherwise conduct an audit.
This process should include identifying what information is necessary for employees to perform their job duties, as well as where that data is stored and in what format. After understanding the details of the company’s infrastructure, records managers can identify the type and amount of data that could be at risk in a flooding scenario.
While this step does take time, effort, and headcount to accomplish, this knowledge is also valuable for informing other types of BCP initiatives. This includes disaster preparations for power outages, system glitches or malfunctions, and cyber-attacks, which may lead to data loss or breaches if not properly managed.
For records and information managers dealing with a large, complex combination of digital and physical documents, choosing the right document management system can make all the difference.
When assessing potential solutions, here are a few features you should look for:
Healthcare Data Strategies join this expert discussion on how healthcare organizations can take control of legacy data, improve data lifecycle management, and prepare for future needs like AI and advanced analytics.
While transferring information to a secure document management system enhances its protection, compliance with retention requirements is a vital step that cannot be ignored. Simply storing data isn’t enough, retaining records beyond their mandated retention period can lead to costly fines and legal complications.
The legal obligations surrounding record retention vary based on factors such as your industry, business size, and geographic location. Understanding these requirements is essential to avoid compliance risks while safeguarding critical information from disasters like floods.
The most effective approach is to integrate your record retention schedule directly into your document management system, ensuring automated compliance and reducing the risk of unnecessary retention.
According to NOAA, flood disasters cost an average of $4.7 billion per event, and the number of heavy rainfall and flood events per year has been increasing.
From coast to coast, flood disasters can impact widespread areas across the United States. So, it would be naive to assume that a well-chosen location would be enough on its own to protect your organization’s information from a flooding event. However, by being proactive, you can ensure business continuity during a flood event. Here’s an overview of the business continuity plans we follow before, during and after these types of events to protect your information.
For more information on how to create your own business continuity plans, or to access flood related resources.
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