Emergency preparedness and disaster recovery in the US post 9/11

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine how facility managers currently plan for emergencies and disaster recovery. Although preparation and drills have been demonstrated to improve lifesaving and business recovery capabilities, many organisations still do not have these plans. The scope of unpreparedness and reasons for lack of preparation were key issues, along with preferred methods to gain support for setting up plans. Design/methodology/approach – Online surveys sent to members of facility management (FM) groups within the USA were utilised. Qualified FM professionals made them relevant survey groups. Findings – With 78 percent of respondents responsible for their organisation's emergency preparedness planning, only 87 percent in 2007 and 92 percent in 2008 actually have these plans in place. Reasons for lack of plans included “other priorities taking precedence” and “lack of personnel to address the issue”. Provision of sample or boilerplate templates could result in improved performance. Research limitations/implications – US FM professionals were surveyed. Results in non‐US locations may provide different information; locations with strong mandates for emergency/disaster plans would be expected to have better results. Industry types were not identified in this initial research data; however, future research could help to align specific industries' needs. Practical implications – Despite 11 September and other tragedies, many organisations are still delaying or not understanding the importance of emergency/disaster recovery plans for their employees and business continuity. Originality/value – Direct feedback from FM professionals was utilised to understand emergency preparedness/disaster recovery planning. This is the first survey to report details of the many organisations still lacking these critical plans.