Smart Holiday Gift For Valued Employees

(LosAngeles.CityRegions.Com, November 11, 2013 ) Irvine, California -- In the wake of so many natural disasters in 2013, a California emergency planning group is recommending an unusual holiday gift for discerning employers – a survival kit for each employee.

Super Storm Sandy reminded employers of what has been proven again and again: after a disaster, employees do not return to work until their own homes and families are safe.

Statistics on business recovery following a disaster hover around the 40-50% mark; not being able to count on valued employees puts a business in even greater jeopardy than it might be otherwise.

"A simple survival kit can be the impetus for employees to pull together supplies and plans that will make them more confident and self-reliant in an emergency," says Virginia Nicols, author of EmergencyPlanGuide.org. "With a personal emergency plan in place, they can focus on getting back to work."

Survival kits vary in size, quality and price so they can be matched to the employee or the employer's needs:

• Convenient pre-built emergency supplies kits are available for one, two or four people. They come in backpacks or in buckets and can have hundreds of different survival items including food, water, tents, cooking stoves and potassium iodate pills. Prices without shipping range from $39 to over $300.

• A Build your own Survival Kit is recommended by Emergency Plan Guide. It consists of a simple backpack with a 16-page illustrated Workbook that helps employees assemble basic items they'll use and trust. For the holiday season, the price of the Kit has been reduced to $25, making it fully deductible as a business gift expense.

• Employers can also add individual specialty items to their employees' kits, based on likely disasters in that area or on employee interest. Examples could be solar-powered phone chargers, LED flashlights or emergency hand warmers.

"We have reviewed and tested all these options and have the results on our website," adds Nicols. "Whatever you give employees, they'll be better off in the case of an emergency than they were before."

Some 30% of all businesses express their appreciation to employees with an end-of-year gift. A holiday gift like a survival kit will stand out from the classic office party by bringing the employee's entire family into the equation and stressing the value of longer-term safety and security above a one-time fun activity.

According to Nicols, a second benefit for the smart employer is an opportunity to revisit the company-wide emergency response and business continuity plans.

About Emergency Plan Guide

Virginia Nicols and Joseph Krueger, founders of Emergency Plan Guide, publish regular tips, reviews and planning ideas for neighborhood and business groups. Their recommendations and insights come from real-life experiences drawn from 20 years in emergency preparedness planning and 10 years as heads of their neighborhood Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) group. EmergencyPlanGuide.org has reviews and recommendations on survival kits along with suggestions for incorporating them into a group training activity.

Emergency Plan Guide

Virginia Nicols

949 733-3778

Virginia@EmergencyPlanGuide.org

Source: EmailWire.Com