Prepared for a Pandemic
Although most businesses are aware of the potential ramifications of a pandemic such as an outbreak of the avian flu, few are prepared for one. According to Mercer Human Resource Consulting’s 2006 Avian Flu Pandemic Preparedness Survey, which surveyed 450 respondents from 26 industries in 38 countries, “only 47 percent of respondents have a business continuity plan,” and “only 17 percent have allocated a budget to deal with pandemic preparedness.” This lack of preparation exists in spite of the consequences foreseen by the same respondents: “90 percent of respondents forecast moderate to high impact due to high absenteeism” in the event of a pandemic, “80 percent also anticipated loss of productivity,” and “almost 70 percent of organizations responded that a pandemic will have a negative impact upon profits” (Mercer Human Resource Consulting, 2006).
A smaller survey that focused on companies in the U.S. found even less preparedness. The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions surveyed 179 U.S. businesses and found that 66% of respondents are not properly prepared for a pandemic. Further, almost 75% reported that they “need help to understand how to plan for such an event” (Dunn, 2006).
Some of the discrepancies in survey results may lie in regional differences in disaster preparedness. The U.S. is among the least-prepared nations for an avian flu outbreak, according to the Mercer survey. Respondents in Asia, perhaps due to their experience with SARS, are most likely to have established a budget for business continuity in the case of a pandemic. Asia is followed by Europe in terms of preparedness, with Canada and the U.S. trailing far behind (Mercer Human Resource Consulting, 2006).
Fortunately for those U.S. businesses that acknowledge that they need assistance in pandemic planning, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have prepared a strategy checklist to help businesses prepare. It can be found at www.pandemicflu.gov and also at www.cdc.gov/business. Among other suggestions, it is recommended that businesses should name a pandemic coordinator or coordinating team, identify employees and functions that are critical to business continuity, establish and periodically update an emergency communications plan, and make arrangements for flexible worksite and work hours (Lipsitz, 2006).
Other experts concur and amplify upon these recommendations. For instance, an article in Computerworld’s February 2006 issue stressed the importance of having an overall leader of enterprise-wide business continuity who ensures that location-specific business continuity efforts dovetail into an overarching global plan even while regional variations and local government efforts and regulations are taken into account (Webster, 2006).
Also, an Associated Press report on disaster preparedness passed along some practical strategies, including recommendations that employees be prepared to telecommute or report to alternate work spaces; that employers maintain contact records for employees at home as well as at any safe place they intend to relocate to; and that computer backups include not only data, but copies of the application programs the organization uses, so that everything necessary to continue daily business is accessible from secondary workspaces (Associated Press, 2006).
Ensuring that employees can telecommute may require instituting a company policy that employees keep their laptops with them. David Erwin, CIO of Adams & Reese, a New Orleans law firm, says his firm has such a policy, even requiring people to take their laptops with them over the weekend. Adams & Reese is also upgrading its technology to support more simultaneous remote connections so that the firm is prepared to have many of its employees work from home (Dunn, 2006).
The emphasis on telecommuting as an avian flu preparation strategy is underscored by Orange County, Florida Health Department director Dr. Kevin Sherin, who informed participants at a recent avian flu preparedness symposium at the University of Central Florida that (as paraphrased by the US Fed News Service) “even if there isn’t a pandemic flu outbreak … a few cases could cause significant disruptions for businesses because many parents would keep their children out of school and stay home with them instead of going to work” (“Experts at UCF Forum,” 2006). Neal Tisdale, a vice president at energy industry software and services provider NewEnergy Associates, agrees: “A pandemic means everyone stays at home. That’s what we saw after 9/11” (Dunn, 2006). Further, Mercer’s Avian Flu Pandemic Preparedness Survey found that 71% of respondents would use telecommuting as a business continuity strategy if a pandemic did occur (Mercer Human Resource Consulting, 2006).
Can preparation help prevent an avian flu pandemic? Perhaps.
Another of the recommendations made by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is that employers should “develop and disseminate programs and materials covering pandemic fundamentals, personal and family protection and response strategies” (Lipsitz, 2006). One of the participants at the recent avian flu preparedness symposium at the University of Central Florida, Orange County Health Department emergency operations manager James Pate, stated this in its simplest form: “The biggest issue is education. If you just convince two people that they have to wash their hands and stay home when they’re sick, then we’d have accomplished our mission today ... We could virtually eliminate diseases in the state of Florida and the United States if people just washed their hands” (“Experts at UCF Forum,” 2006).
If an avian flu pandemic never hits the U.S., will the preparations businesses make be wasted effort? Greg Holdburg, manager of disaster recovery services at banking industry software provider Sl, understands the reluctance to invest in avian flu preparations – “Executives feel they got burned a bit on the Y2K scare” – but nonetheless sees business continuity planning for a pandemic as necessary and worthwhile. As InformationWeek put it after interviewing Holdburg, “Resources dedicated to pandemic emergency efforts can produce other benefits, such as in creating more workable telecommuting environments that could be used if a building were lost because of a natural disaster” (Dunn, 2006). Similarly, the US Fed News Service reported after the UCF symposium that multiple speakers made the point that “preparations that families and businesses undertake also would be useful for hurricanes, future flu pandemics or other disasters” (“Experts at UCF Forum,” 2006).
For much more on the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s checklist, click here.
For much more on Mercer Human Resource Consulting’s Avian Flu Pandemic Preparedness Survey, click here.
Documents used in the preparation of this TrendWatcher include the following:
Associated Press. “Katrina an Eye-Opener for Small Businesses.” MSNBC.com [www.msnbc.msn.com]. April 5, 2006.
Dunn, Darrell. “Prepare for the Worst.” InformationWeek. ProQuest. June 5, 2006.
“Experts at UCF Forum Urge Residents, Businesses to Prepare for Avian Flu.” US Fed News Service. ProQuest. June 14, 2006.
Lipsitz, Cynthia. “Is Your Business Prepared for Pandemic Influenza?” Business Credit. ProQuest. May 2006.
Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Avian Flu Pandemic Preparedness Survey Report. Spring 2006.
Webster, John S. “Global Safety Zone.” Computerworld [www.computerworld.com]. February 20, 2006.
A smaller survey that focused on companies in the U.S. found even less preparedness. The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions surveyed 179 U.S. businesses and found that 66% of respondents are not properly prepared for a pandemic. Further, almost 75% reported that they “need help to understand how to plan for such an event” (Dunn, 2006).
Some of the discrepancies in survey results may lie in regional differences in disaster preparedness. The U.S. is among the least-prepared nations for an avian flu outbreak, according to the Mercer survey. Respondents in Asia, perhaps due to their experience with SARS, are most likely to have established a budget for business continuity in the case of a pandemic. Asia is followed by Europe in terms of preparedness, with Canada and the U.S. trailing far behind (Mercer Human Resource Consulting, 2006).
Fortunately for those U.S. businesses that acknowledge that they need assistance in pandemic planning, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have prepared a strategy checklist to help businesses prepare. It can be found at www.pandemicflu.gov and also at www.cdc.gov/business. Among other suggestions, it is recommended that businesses should name a pandemic coordinator or coordinating team, identify employees and functions that are critical to business continuity, establish and periodically update an emergency communications plan, and make arrangements for flexible worksite and work hours (Lipsitz, 2006).
Other experts concur and amplify upon these recommendations. For instance, an article in Computerworld’s February 2006 issue stressed the importance of having an overall leader of enterprise-wide business continuity who ensures that location-specific business continuity efforts dovetail into an overarching global plan even while regional variations and local government efforts and regulations are taken into account (Webster, 2006).
Also, an Associated Press report on disaster preparedness passed along some practical strategies, including recommendations that employees be prepared to telecommute or report to alternate work spaces; that employers maintain contact records for employees at home as well as at any safe place they intend to relocate to; and that computer backups include not only data, but copies of the application programs the organization uses, so that everything necessary to continue daily business is accessible from secondary workspaces (Associated Press, 2006).
Ensuring that employees can telecommute may require instituting a company policy that employees keep their laptops with them. David Erwin, CIO of Adams & Reese, a New Orleans law firm, says his firm has such a policy, even requiring people to take their laptops with them over the weekend. Adams & Reese is also upgrading its technology to support more simultaneous remote connections so that the firm is prepared to have many of its employees work from home (Dunn, 2006).
The emphasis on telecommuting as an avian flu preparation strategy is underscored by Orange County, Florida Health Department director Dr. Kevin Sherin, who informed participants at a recent avian flu preparedness symposium at the University of Central Florida that (as paraphrased by the US Fed News Service) “even if there isn’t a pandemic flu outbreak … a few cases could cause significant disruptions for businesses because many parents would keep their children out of school and stay home with them instead of going to work” (“Experts at UCF Forum,” 2006). Neal Tisdale, a vice president at energy industry software and services provider NewEnergy Associates, agrees: “A pandemic means everyone stays at home. That’s what we saw after 9/11” (Dunn, 2006). Further, Mercer’s Avian Flu Pandemic Preparedness Survey found that 71% of respondents would use telecommuting as a business continuity strategy if a pandemic did occur (Mercer Human Resource Consulting, 2006).
Can preparation help prevent an avian flu pandemic? Perhaps.
Another of the recommendations made by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is that employers should “develop and disseminate programs and materials covering pandemic fundamentals, personal and family protection and response strategies” (Lipsitz, 2006). One of the participants at the recent avian flu preparedness symposium at the University of Central Florida, Orange County Health Department emergency operations manager James Pate, stated this in its simplest form: “The biggest issue is education. If you just convince two people that they have to wash their hands and stay home when they’re sick, then we’d have accomplished our mission today ... We could virtually eliminate diseases in the state of Florida and the United States if people just washed their hands” (“Experts at UCF Forum,” 2006).
If an avian flu pandemic never hits the U.S., will the preparations businesses make be wasted effort? Greg Holdburg, manager of disaster recovery services at banking industry software provider Sl, understands the reluctance to invest in avian flu preparations – “Executives feel they got burned a bit on the Y2K scare” – but nonetheless sees business continuity planning for a pandemic as necessary and worthwhile. As InformationWeek put it after interviewing Holdburg, “Resources dedicated to pandemic emergency efforts can produce other benefits, such as in creating more workable telecommuting environments that could be used if a building were lost because of a natural disaster” (Dunn, 2006). Similarly, the US Fed News Service reported after the UCF symposium that multiple speakers made the point that “preparations that families and businesses undertake also would be useful for hurricanes, future flu pandemics or other disasters” (“Experts at UCF Forum,” 2006).
For much more on the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s checklist, click here.
For much more on Mercer Human Resource Consulting’s Avian Flu Pandemic Preparedness Survey, click here.
Documents used in the preparation of this TrendWatcher include the following:
Associated Press. “Katrina an Eye-Opener for Small Businesses.” MSNBC.com [www.msnbc.msn.com]. April 5, 2006.
Dunn, Darrell. “Prepare for the Worst.” InformationWeek. ProQuest. June 5, 2006.
“Experts at UCF Forum Urge Residents, Businesses to Prepare for Avian Flu.” US Fed News Service. ProQuest. June 14, 2006.
Lipsitz, Cynthia. “Is Your Business Prepared for Pandemic Influenza?” Business Credit. ProQuest. May 2006.
Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Avian Flu Pandemic Preparedness Survey Report. Spring 2006.
Webster, John S. “Global Safety Zone.” Computerworld [www.computerworld.com]. February 20, 2006.