Floods, wildfires, tornadoes and hurricanes dominate the headlines these days, and although no area is immune, you do have some control over your club’s survival in the “after-life” of disaster.
I think most of us do pretty well when it comes to preparing for disaster. We know how to prepare our structures, golf courses, marinas, employees, and so on. But even with the most thought-out preparations, in the event of an unanticipated disaster, damage still happens.
When Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne temporarily knocked my club, John’s Island Club, out of operation, we learned some invaluable lessons—some after the fact—that helped lead to a quick recovery.
Advanced Contact
Prior to a disaster, your club should already have an open dialogue with various recovery teams: a remediation company, industrial hygienists, civil engineers, forensic accountants, roofers, a landscaping company, an insurance consultant, food/water suppliers, fuel suppliers, and other necessary services.
Advanced contact with these crucial teams means you have cost estimates, descriptions of assistance each company will provide, and, if necessary, where out-of-town teams will stay. We had remediation teams camped out in our Fitness Center for a short while, because hotels in the area were either full or out of commission.
A contact list with names, phone numbers (both land lines and cellular), fax numbers, and e-mail addresses should be included in your recovery plan. Never underestimate the power of face-to-face contact either.
Insurance Issues
It is beneficial to have an amenable relationship already established with your insurance broker and underwriter. They can ensure your club has adequate insurance coverage, including a business interruption policy, and can provide advice in dealing with insurance adjusters, assistance in getting them on site quickly, in obtaining proper documentation, and making the entire recovery process smoother.
Understanding the adjusting process is also beneficial. Extend your knowledge and be familiar with the roles of the various “players” available with an insurance team: forensic accountants, consultants and underwriters.
Also, review and become familiar with your insurance policy. Know exactly what is covered and document everything while in the recovery process, from verbal promises from contractors, to what crews are working on and when.
Take photographs or video, too. This kind of documentation pays off when filing claims. It’s impossible to over-document when it comes to disaster recovery.
Lastly, off-site access to your insurance documents is important. This saved us when our administration offices suffered water damage. With today’s technology, you can scan your club’s most crucial documents and have the electronic files stored off site.
Communication
Communicate with everyone: club members, board of directors, employees, local government, insurance companies and recovery crews.
Keep a phone roster with both land-line and cellular phone numbers for all points of contact. Consider buying a satellite phone, too. I found it very useful when phone service was disrupted, and cell phone service was sporadic, at best.
For us, the quickest communication tool with club members in the early days of recovery was through a mass e-mail letter and the club Web site. Having an off-site—or across-state, in our case—Web site administrator and laptop computer allowed us to provide members, most of whom live out-of-area during hurricane season, with regular updates and links to local government agencies.
As the recovery process continued, we sent letters from the club president with accompanying photos to provide reassurance.
As for communication with key recovery teams, if there is advanced warning of a potential disaster, such as a wildfire or dangerous storm, communication should already be in progress. Contact the remediation and recovery teams so they can respond as soon as possible after the disaster.
This is truly important when an area-wide disaster hits, because obviously your club won’t be the only one suffering damages. Furthermore, you don’t want to be taken advantage of or get hit with super-inflated costs.
Also, establish rapport with the local public safety office in advance—it pays off in regard to overall safety in the area, from road closures to curfews.
The Not-So-Obvious
My final disaster recovery tip is dealing with the psychological impact.
Having your world turn upside down takes its toll on you, your family, employees and their families, and your club members. At first, energy and adrenaline fuel people, who are busy accessing damage and cleaning up, meaning the stress isn’t felt.
But as days and weeks blur, your staff is crowded into available office space, and everyone bustles to get back to normal operations, the recovery process can slow down. Plus, many people are dealing with getting their own homes in order. It can get tough on the psyche.
It’s important to include morale-building efforts for employees and provide support, whether offering an informational training session with FEMA representatives or providing information on accessing mental health professionals.
Lead as an example, for how you handle the transition from disaster “after-life” to recovery can be adopted by your employees, club members and others.
Brian Kroh, CCM, is the general manager of John’s Island Club in Vero Beach, Fla., and is NCA’s secretary.