Disaster Recovery for Small Business Case Study: Everyone Needs to Get Paid!
Event: Hurricane Sandy
Location: New York City
Date: Monday October 29, 2012
Disaster Recovery Summary
Even during a natural disaster or unexpected business interruption, employees expect to get paid. Having a partner with experience in disaster preparedness and resources for small businesses can help you keep your business running smoothly after a crisis. Read how clients of SourceOne Partners were able to make payroll following Hurricane Sandy, despite power outages and major flooding.
Small Business Payroll Issue
On Sunday October 28, 2012, Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for every county in the state of New York. The railroads were closed and even subway and bus service was suspended. In anticipation of damage that would be caused by the super-storm called Hurricane Sandy, President Barack Obama signed an emergency declaration for the entire state. Most businesses closed ahead of the storm – even Starbucks closed all of their stores in NYC on Sunday afternoon.
When the storm hit on Monday, there was major flooding in lower Manhattan. On Monday evening, a substation exploded, causing power outages below 39th Street. Businesses were shut down and employees could not get to work for days. Telephone and cell phone service was out in some locations and spotty in many areas. Yet, payday was approaching for many businesses. The employees would need to get paid for the pay period they had worked before the storm.
Payroll Solution
SourceOne Partners contacted all of their clients in the areas hit by the storm. Some had online access through the online payroll systems we setup to process the information and were able to access it from their homes. Others did not and needed our team at SourceOne Partners to provide assistance and advice on how to gather hours from employees.
SourceOne Partners recommended that the employees text their hours directly to their supervisors, who then gathered the information and sent it to the manager. The managers tallied all the hours and sent texts to SourceOne Partners with all of the employee hours. For those we could not get in touch with we paid them based on their standard hours and made adjustments the following pay period.
SourceOne Partners’ Results for Clients
SourceOne Partners was able to ensure that all of our clients’ payrolls were submitted and their employees were paid on time. With most of the employees on direct deposit, we could get them paid for Friday’s pay date, and we confirmed with the banks that the money would arrive in the employees’ accounts. For the few employees not on direct deposit, they would have checks waiting for them at their office when the flooding subsided, the power came back on and their offices opened again.