A disaster is accidental and could hit any business establishment anytime. Being prepared for a disaster is one of the prerequisites for running a successful business. A call center is no exception to the rule. Like any other industry, a call center also has its own intricacies and when a disaster hits a call center, the way to tackle the same would be entirely different from any other organization. Consequently, a unique checklist needs to be prepared for any unforeseen disaster such that the organization could come out of the shock as soon as feasible. Here goes the checklist so that you could manage a disaster that might hit your call center:
- Check what the extent of damage is after a disaster has hit your call center. This is essential so that you know exactly the steps that are supposed to be taken. Make sure that you contact all your existing employees if cellular connections are still available. If not, take a rechargeable flash torch and move around safely inside the building housing your call center to find out if anything at all has happened to any of the staff.
- Check if the employees need to immediately evacuate the facility. Talk to the disaster manager in your team and ask if as to what might be the right steps to initiate under the given circumstances. All this while, you need to be quick such that no further damage happens. There are many disasters like fire and earthquake where evacuation also is an uphill task. Check the safety propositions before instructing your staff to do whatever they need to do. However, for such purposes, there should be a dedicated team to assess the situation and prescribe the right method.
- Check if all the key data have been protected before you evacuate the building. A call center is dependent on its technicalities including its data. Hence, for any business continuity plan, all the data need to be protected. Again, there has to be a dedicated person or a team who would work on taking backups. Every call center should be well endowed with skilled information technology professionals so that technical mishaps are at least avoided. Also, make it a point to see that you have consulted all the senior staff in the call center before deciding on the safety of the properties.
- Establish contact with the senior management and give them a proper rundown of the situation. It is pertinent that they get firsthand information about the intricacies of the disaster. This is essential so that steps are initiated at the earliest. Remember the same call center has to get back to action if your business needs to be reinstated. Hence, the recovery button needs to be pressed even before the actual management has started. Contemporary solution systems let us solve a host of imbroglios practically at the press of a key. Hence, being on top of the situation is essential.
- Find out what caused the disaster and start taking steps right away. Remember a little analysis now would substantially help mitigate similar disasters in the future. Call up the rectification teams as soon as possible.
- Remember to call up the electricians, technical managers and other utility teams so that they could assess the damage and initiate rectification efforts. While a disaster is bad enough, failure to address the problem might cause even bigger problems such as a stampede in case the electricity is not there. It is absolutely important to always be on your toes while dealing with such situations.
- Make an attempt to find out as to when the call center might start its operations again after the management of the disaster. The business would largely depend on how soon the doors are opened. While it is important to ensure all the conditions necessary for the resumption, hasty decisions are best avoided as such decisions might lead to yet another unsavory episode. Again, while ensuring the above process, do meet all the members of your team and check their preparedness. After all, the business can’t run without the active support of all the concerned stakeholders.
- To top it all, make sure that you keep on contacting the senior management and give them updates about how the process is going on. They might be able to advise you on the best practices and make your job a hell lot easier. While, it is very important to be proactive, it is also essential to understand the difference between the right process and the wrong process.
Let us just say that a good bit of planning including preparing a checklist would substantially reduce the damages caused by a disaster and resume the call center business as soon as possible.