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 Link Associates has published a useful checklist for companies wishing to review existing pandemic contingency plans.
The Six Point Sense Check is as follows:
1. People, People, People
• Update Company Business Travel Policy with geographical countries affected. (eg essential travel only to X,Y,Z affected areas, authorized by.. etc)
• Advice to employees returning from affected areas from either business or social travel about what to do if displaying clinical symptoms
• Update staff contact details
• Familarise staff with plans and their roles within plans
• Be aware of staff who may be clinically vulnerable to flu
• Be alert to any information about affected or potentially affected employee(s)
• Nominate a person (BC Manager, HR manager or Occupational Health) to keep a watching brief on influenza for the company and alert internally as required
• Remind people of Government guidelines over personal hygiene precautions and remind of the wartime mantra “coughs and sneezes spread diseases”
• Talk to cleaning contractors to increase frequency of surface cleaning and provide alcohol sterilising hand cleanser readily available
• Consider other issues like implications to car sharing schemes
2. News Media – Hype vs. fact
• Keep a perspective on what is being reported. Early in a crisis, speculation can get in the way of hard fact. A diverse range of sometimes inaccurate stories can fill the information vacuum.
• Revisit the sources of information upon which you will base decision making – consider sharing those sources with staff to maintain transparency.
• Know who in your organization will speak to the news media
• Know what your key message to the media will be, devise the messages and stick to them.
• Rehearse
3. Technology testing
• Review and test working from home arrangements
• Review telecoms capabilities to reduce where feasible meetings face to face
• Check call cascade arrangements
• Consider timing for a moratorium on technology upgrades if delivery would be affected by loss of staff for critical activities and areas of risk or impact
4. Critical Activities
• Check critical activities for exposure and staffing
• Review detailed plans for reducing capacity when staff are unavailable.
• What critical suppliers are within the affected areas? Who could be more vulnerable?
• Review implications of offshored activities; e.g. how will business be managed if the Indian call centre is down?
• Consider the impacts on any current or planned future critical projects.
• Ask questions such as whether there are any conferences or events planned. What are the interrelationships with affected geographical areas?
5. Executive Briefings
• Provide a company update with key messages endorsed by senior management and disseminate using normal internal communications mechanisms
• Commit to update regularly
6. Don’t forget to plan for the return to a new normality
• Your plans should include a return to operations after the emergency phase. Consider that a ‘new normality’ will exist and plans will be required to manage the transition.
• How will backlogs be managed?
For further advice contact info@linkassociates.com
www.linkassociates.com
•Date: 28th April 2009• Region:UK/World •Type: Article •Topic: Pandemic planning
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