Disaster-Recovery Plans: Not Just for Your Data

Photo: Los Angeles Times

 

 

Hurricane Sandy has come and gone for the United States' Eastern Seaboard. There's a lot of cleanup left to be done.
At The Hub, we were lucky: All three of our facilities were spared damage, although we kept them closed until today to ensure safety of our staff. SEPTA and Philadelphia airports were shut down, as well as Amtrak.
For The Hub, like many brick-and-mortar facilities on the east coast, the call to stay closed was easy: We certainly weren't going to hold our clients to a contract if it meant endangering their safety. But how did we make that call, and what steps did we take to ensure both good customer service and diligence in the face of a disaster?
The answer was plain elbow grease: We put all hands on deck, called each and every client, and offered to reschedule their meetings. By way of contingency plans, it wasn't complicated, but it did get the job done.
It also allowed us a chance to touch base with our clients, so that we could provide the white-glove service they're used to getting from us. But it did reinforce the concept of a good disaster-recovery plan: When all else fails, count on your employees.
We're hoping all our event professionals friends and colleagues are safe and sound, and wishing our New York colleagues especially a speedy recovery.