Most of us are responding and evolving every day with this crisis. This is a note to myself to be ready when we hit the ground running again. While we are in the midst of dealing daily with our emergency list, we should spend time on a plan for recovery. It will not come swiftly, however being ready with the right steps will make recovery a lot easier – and give you an advantage.

I’m a planner and an optimist. So I crave being ready to go. Consider those who bounce back earlier than others after any crisis event – tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfire, flood, etc. They are already asking themselves, what does success look like when the doors open? 

1. Think about recovery now. Every day we are changing our routines as we react to the crisis news. So it makes sense for us to put together what first steps need to be taken for the first day of reopening. This is important for our family, for employees and for the general operations of our daily lives. Set aside a little time today to visualize – on that first day back to the world, what do I need to have ready? 
2. Make a list of first day priorities. Do you have gas in the car? Do you have a rehire process ready to go? Have you talked to your team about that process? At the beginning of this crisis, I heard a lot of sharing of HR policies for furlough, for expanding sick time for employees. You may have a staff member or you have time on your hands right now. Get your rehire HR policies and process ready now. Waiting only means you may lose one of your best employees to someone else who is ready to hire them back before you can.
3. What tools have to be ready? Be sure you are tracking where your laptops are (and the cords that make them work), remember what files need to be where, and reorder supplies now. It may take some time to get back to normal and waiting for the basic tools is the last thing you want holding you back. (… really, we don’t have paper here, and where are the staplers? Good grief~!)
4. Who should come back first? Decide soon who you need available in the office on day one and phase the team back. Depending on what products and services you provide, you will need some people physically back before others. A cleaning crew comes to mind. Talk with your leaders about what a phase back in looks like.

If you need help planning recovery strategy, give me a shout out. Planning processes, strategy and communications is what makes my heart sing.