Managing in a Post-9/11, Post-Katrina World: An Introduction to Disaster-recovery Planning for Technical Communicators

When disaster strikes, helping people survive in the short term is vital but not sufficient. Those touched by a disaster need jobs to pick up their lives again, but jobs do not survive if business hasn't anticipated the possibility of disruption. The companies that survive catastrophic events with minimal negative effect are the ones that have disaster plans to preserve critical data off site and resume operation at a new location, and that have implemented knowledge management practices allowing them to adjust nimbly to the short- or long-term loss of personnel. Technical communicators must be a part of business recovery planning in the event of natural or human-made disaster because they have critical skills to offer and are a vital part of the business