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 Abraham Maslow is well known for his widely accepted theory of the hierarchy of human needs. His model states that people have specific and predictable needs, some of which take precedence over others until they have been met. The most basic of these are physiological needs (oxygen, water, food, etc), safety and security. When these needs are not met, either for themselves or their immediate family, people will focus on these things to the detriment of other responsibilities. An understanding of Maslow is therefore useful to any business continuity strategy.
“7/7 was a good example of how people’s general reaction to any incident follows Maslow’s model,” explains Andrew Waterston, senior product & services development manager, SunGard Availability Services. “Companies should consider this when planning recovery and crisis response. Basic needs (family/personal safety) will have to be prioritised before companies can expect employees to focus effectively on the business.”
“Maslow’s theory also explains the communications crisis that usually follows any major incident. People’s need for safety includes knowing that loved-ones are safe and this results in an immediate and all-consuming need for information. As a result communications networks can quickly become overwhelmed, as can public and corporation information sources.”
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In practice, this means an organisation needs to know where all staff are located at any given time so that it can determine which people may have been affected by a disaster. It also means appreciating the fact that staff may be more concerned about who is going to look after their children (or the dog) in the event that they cannot get home, than they are in working or implementing a business continuity plan. A BCP should also take into account the provision of food and temporary overnight accommodation, and the distances that staff would be prepared to travel to a recovery centre.
Furthermore, when planning, companies need to consider the risks to staff of actually implementing the business continuity plan in earnest – if staff do not feel safe, it is extremely unlikely that they will execute a plan, no matter how great their loyalty to the company. It is after all, ‘only a business’, and ‘only a job’.
Addressing these lower order needs in the business continuity plan, often considered a non-essential ‘nice-to-have’; should be integral to the plan itself. Furthermore, it is essential to get employee buy-in to the plan. If only 55 percent of employees are aware of the company’s business continuity plan or where they fit into it, it is unlikely to work. However, by having a BCP and communicating it effectively with the staff, a business is meeting one of its employees’ basic needs – the knowledge that their business can survive a disaster and continue to employ and pay them.
“Before 7/7 many companies had not sufficiently considered the potential ‘people’ implications of a disaster,” concludes Waterston. “However, it is human nature for people, when faced with such a tragic and frightening event, to want to feel safe and secure, and to know that their family and friends are also safe. It is short sighted in the extreme to imagine that staff will look to effect any BCP before they are satisfied that their loved ones are safe from harm.”
From Adversity to Availability
This article is adapted from one first published in ‘From Adversity to Availability: A Practical Insight Into Business Risk, Continuity & Information Availability’. To receive a free copy of the full report go to http://www.a2areport.co.uk/
•Date: 15th August 2008• Region: UK/World •Type: Article •Topic: BC general
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