(montecitobank video)
Nothing like a little rain and mud to remind us to prepare for flooding and other obstacles that might affect our commute to work.
When the first El Niño storms hit last week, however, Montecito Bank & Trust employees already were prepared for the worst.
That’s because community bank officials took the opportunity during National Preparedness Month last September to review protocols for how its 220 employees in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties can prepare for disaster events like El Niño at work and at home.
Department heads met with employees to talk about emergency preparedness kits, alternative work plans or locations if routes are blocked, evacuation plans at home, personal insurance or legal documents, and how to best reach fellow employees when the unexpected happens.
“Family and personal safety are important for the bank,” said Pasi Puentes, vice president and information security officer for Montecito Bank & Trust. “This is also to help people at home.”
Bank officials gauged employee preparedness via a 15-question survey, learning that 54 percent of employees said they already had a disaster preparedness kit of food, water, batteries, flashlights, first aid kits and more — a figure Puentes was surprised and pleased to see.
Just half of those employees admitted to having kept the kit replenished, he said, noting that FEMA encourages checking on a preparedness kit at least once a year.
Most employees who had kits stored them at home, while only 4 percent had kits at home, work and in their vehicles — the Homeland Security Department recommendation.
Supervisors educated employees, and an updated list of recommended kit items went up on the company’s webpage.
Puentes said training and testing of a calling tree also revealed that many employees did not have the phone numbers of their colleagues saved in their personal or company-issued mobile phones, a discovery that has since been remedied.
The change was especially critical, he said, because the bank is following FEMA protocols, which indicate texting is better than trying to call someone on a cell phone during an emergency since the phone lines could be full.
“Text messages are a way to get important information out there,” Puentes said.
Montecito Bank & Trust already provides employees with updates via a hotline and electronic notifications.
The survey found that 98 percent of employees don’t rely on public transportation to get to work, with the average employee driving 27 miles to and from work a day and only 3 percent of employees carpooling.
More than 60 percent of employees take Highway 101 north or south to get to work, which could cause disruption if the freeway is closed in either direction, said Puentes, who noted that several employees receive emergency weather and traffic-related alerts.
Puentes said some select employees can telecommute in the event of inclement weather. The Montecito Bank & Trust facilities manager and special emergency preparedness committee also identified alternative work locations so employees from one of 10 branches or two offices could work from branches that are outside the impact zone of a disaster event.
After learning that 60 percent of employees don’t have a family preparedness plan to set up meeting locations, call trees, etc., the bank provided tips to start and test one.
“Even something as simple as a calling tree,” Puentes said. “Testing and exercise are definitely worth every second or minute.”
Click here for more emergency preparedness information and helpful tips from Montecito Bank & Trust.
— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.