Disaster Protocol: Is Your Company Prepared for the Worst?

By Susanne Dwyer

Pappas_Christina_60x60

This month’s National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Power Broker Roundtable discusses broker disaster/emergency policies and procedures.

Moderator

Christina Pappas, District Sales Manager, The Keyes Company, Miami, Fla.; Liaison for Large Firms & Industry Relations, NAR

Panelists

Rick Haase, President, Latter & Blum, Inc., REALTORS®, New Orleans, La.

Goldschlag_Marnie_60x60Marnie Goldschlag, Co-Owner, NextHome Wine Country Premier, Santa Rosa, Calif.

Mesa_Rei_60x60Rei Mesa, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty, Miami, Fla.

Saunders_Michael_60x60Michael Saunders, CEO, Michael Saunders & Co. Realtors, Sarasota, Fla.

Christina Pappas: Around the world, 2017 was an extraordinary year in terms of natural disasters. Fires, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes inundated numerous areas, threatening lives and testing resources even in regions not typically thought of as being particularly at risk. There is almost no way to adequately measure the cost in terms of lives and property—or, for that matter, the bravery and resolve it is still taking as we work to repair the damage. But one thing is clear: Whether we are testing disaster protocols long in place, or newly struggling to create procedures to help bring order out of chaos, tragedies like these present an alarming call to action. How prepared are you and your company to effectively face catastrophe? Rick, in your markets, Hurricane Harvey was only the most recent disaster. What protocols have you had in place, and what advice would you offer?

Rick Haase: First, let me say that even if you have procedures in place, it isn’t until you experience substantial threat that you find out how protected you really are. In our case, the Katrina disaster became a mental model for me. Once we dug our way out of that, we seriously scrutinized every area of our business, and we came up with questions we needed to answer: Do we have a central number in place where agents and employees—some of whom suffered personal loss—can get emergency information? Can we get into our accounting system so that payroll is not disrupted when our people need it most? Today, our operations are totally portable and accessible. Even if an office or two are nine feet underwater, we can operate from a remote area, get those paychecks out, and keep backup procedures running.

Marnie Goldschlag: Having recently been through the devastating—and totally unanticipated—fires in Santa Rosa, I can certainly relate to that…and we quickly realized the need for outreach extends to our client base, as well. My partners and I called every agent first to determine how they were and what they needed, and then had them call everyone on their client lists. As it turned out, my business partner and I alone had 12 of our clients who lost their homes, and our office agents have similar stories. Our agents were out there with them, helping to deal with insurance agents and sift through the ashes for any salvageable possessions. This was a test of community, which is what our …read more

From:: Real Estate News

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