The last week has been incredibly disturbing. It started with a video of a police officer, with blatant disregard for the life of George Floyd, with his knee on top of Mr. Floyd’s throat for over 8 minutes. It was an gut-wrenching video to watch. May Mr. Floyd’s family somehow find peace and comfort amid this tragedy.
That heinous act was followed by looting and destruction in many cities throughout the country. The continuous violence the last few days is appalling.
Many of you have heard of or experienced violence in your areas. Most of the violence has occurred later in the day or in the cloak of darkness. Accordingly, for many of your workplaces, most employees will not be at work during potential acts of violence. Nevertheless, you should prepare for the potential of violence. Some simple preparation now that the violence has begun may include:
- Stay informed of potential gatherings, agitation or violence in your area. This can be done via news organizations or social media.
- If something occurs, close your operations and send people home. Make sure your employees are aware of potential escape routes in the event their typical commute to home is blocked.
- Have a system to inform employees in the field not to return to the workplace, but to return home.
- If your facility could be the location of looting or destruction, consider taking steps to reinforce your entrances. You should also consider moving valuables, including information systems. Be sure to keep a back up of important data. Replacing lost information is a difficult, expensive and often unsuccessful process.
- Develop a system for contacting employees to ensure they are safely home.
- We wish you the best as you prepare for the worst. Hopefully, this violence will not reach your door. But if it does, these simple measures can help save people and property from harm.