Whether you call it disaster management or business continuity, it is still all about the safety of your customers and staff, and then the business of banking. Sometimes to get this done, people need to be empowered and to know what should be done, and when.

Cledith Clemons is a customer at the Wachovia Bank in Edgewater FL. He found a suspicious looking item on the ground. It was a copper tube capped at both ends, 5 inches long and 3/4 diameter. So he brought it inside the bank! This could have been a pipe bomb. The bank was evacuated and the police were called. The Volusia County Bomb Squad blew it up and it has been sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for testing.

We often think of disruptions to business in major issues such as hurricanes, or minor issues such as a temporary power failure. But when was the last time you discussed a scenario like this with the branch staff, and how would your employees react? Does your manager, and those under that person, know what the priorities are or would their first thought be to call someone for advice?