Wicked winter weather and why mobility needs to be ready for anything

As a Minnesotan, I can empathize with people in Texas and elsewhere in the U.S. who have faced power outages, treacherous roads and store closures recently as a result of a massive winter storm.

In Minnesota, we generally do a good job of preparing for these types of storms, because they are fairly common. Many of us have extra supplies in our basement, we always keep spare blankets in our cars, and snowblowers and plows are ready at a moment’s notice.

Texans are likely less sure of what to do with ice and snow, but this storm underscores how important it is to have an emergency plan — even if you don’t use it often. To their credit, cities like Houston have stayed on top of the emergency by issuing a detailed overview of the situation as well as regular updates to help keep residents safe.

There are certainly mobility lessons to be learned here. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that the unexpected can and will happen. Mobility teams and companies that have emergency response plans in place are a step ahead when disasters arise. The article below from the Society for Human Resource Management looks at how to optimize a global mobility emergency response plan.

Of course, you want your relocating employees to be well prepared, too. Here are some thoughts on how employees can prepare for disaster situations before they travel across the globe.