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A workplace crisis can be an immediate safety emergency, a business disruption, or a disaster that affects employees’ well-being. Readiness comes down to whether people can recognize an alert, know what to do next, and know who is responsible. The right response depends on the hazard: evacuating, sheltering, and locking down are not interchangeable.
Start with the hazards your workplace could actually face
Ready.gov’s Ready Business guidance, last updated February 5, 2024, groups potential threats broadly as natural, health-related, human-caused, and technology-related. The examples below are prompts for a site-specific assessment, not a complete checklist.
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- Natural: severe weather, flooding, or other local hazards that could threaten people, buildings, transport, or utilities.
- Health-related: an illness event or another health emergency that disrupts staffing or requires protective action.
- Human-caused: fire, a hazardous-material release, or another immediate threat to people or the site.
- Technology-related: an IT or communications failure that interrupts critical operations or access to essential information.
For each plausible event, consider who may be present, how the site is laid out, accessibility needs, what functions would be affected, and what instructions employees may need. OSHA’s nonmandatory Appendix to Subpart E says plans should address emergencies an employer may reasonably expect; its examples include fires, toxic chemical releases, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, and floods. That appendix is guidance, not a separate binding requirement.
Know what an emergency action plan must cover
In the United States, OSHA’s general-industry rule at 29 CFR 1910.38 requires an emergency action plan when an applicable OSHA standard requires one. It does not impose the same plan requirement on every employer or industry. Check the standard that applies to your work and consult qualified safety or legal professionals when you need a determination for your workplace.
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When 1910.38 applies, the written plan must include these elements:
- How employees report a fire or other emergency.
- Evacuation procedures and escape-route assignments.
- Procedures for employees who remain to operate critical plant operations before evacuating.
- Procedures to account for employees after evacuation.
- Rescue and medical duties for employees assigned to perform them.
- The names or job titles of people employees can contact for more information about the plan or their duties.
The rule also addresses an employee alarm system, training, and review of the plan. OSHA’s Getting Started with Emergency Preparedness page provides related guidance. A plan that satisfies a required written checklist still needs to work in the real building, for the people who use it.
Make alerts and protective actions clear
Employees need to know how an alert will reach them, what it means, and where to get reliable updates. Ready.gov’s Emergency Plans guidance recommends planning response, crisis communications, continuity, and IT recovery in advance. It states: “Establishing an emergency response plan ahead of time will save valuable minutes when an emergency happens.”
Choose actions for the hazard and site rather than relying on a single all-purpose instruction. A fire may call for evacuation; another threat may call for sheltering or lockdown. Specify who can issue alerts, how to reach workers away from the premises, how to contact emergency dispatchers, and what accurate location and hazard information callers should provide. Follow the site plan and instructions from authorities during an event.
Assign people, account for everyone, and protect critical work
Write down who does what before an emergency. Depending on the site and hazard, responsibilities may include sounding or relaying an alert, guiding an evacuation, checking designated areas, reporting missing people, contacting emergency services, or communicating with employees and customers. Assign rescue or medical duties only to employees designated and prepared for them; do not expect untrained staff to act beyond their competence.
Set a reliable method and location for accounting for employees after a protective action. Consider visitors, contractors, shift changes, remote staff, and people who may need assistance moving or receiving instructions. Clarify how to report someone unaccounted for without sending employees back into danger.
Business continuity planning answers a different but connected question: what must keep running, and what can wait? Identify critical functions, the people and systems they depend on, how staff will communicate if normal channels fail, and the order in which operations and IT services should be restored. Keep employee safety and official emergency instructions ahead of restoring service.
Train, practice, and prepare supplies
A plan only helps if employees know their roles and can use it under pressure. Brief staff on alerts, protective actions, exits or shelter locations, accounting procedures, and how to raise a concern. Ready.gov’s Business Emergency Preparedness Toolkits advises businesses to identify supplies, communicate plans, practice, and review plans as business needs change.
Choose exercises that match likely hazards: for example, talk through how staff would receive and act on an alert, or practice an evacuation if appropriate for the site. Record confusion, inaccessible instructions, communication gaps, and blocked routes, then assign an owner and deadline for each fix. Stock emergency supplies based on the workplace’s hazards, applicable requirements, and response plan. A workplace emergency first-aid kit may be one useful supply; no single kit is established as sufficient for every workplace.
Support people during recovery
The consequences of a disaster may continue after the immediate danger ends. Ready.gov’s business continuity guidance describes possible disaster-related stress signs and advises crisis counseling for disaster-related stress. Managers should not diagnose employees. They can share available support resources, make it clear how to seek professional help, and allow people to raise practical needs affecting their return to work.
FEMA’s Workplace CERT Starter Guide includes psychological first aid among its training topics. That is a training topic, not a substitute for professional care when someone needs it.
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Quick Recap
Run a short readiness review
- Name a plan owner. Give someone responsibility for keeping the plan, contact lists, and assigned roles current.
- Check alerts and contacts. Confirm employees can recognize the alarm or message and know who to contact for instructions.
- Brief the workforce. Make sure people know the actions relevant to their location and role, including how employee accounting works.
- Exercise one plausible scenario. Test the response and communications without asking untrained employees to take on hazardous duties.
- Record and resolve gaps. Assign follow-up actions, then review the plan when hazards, staffing, site layout, or business needs change.
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