Preparing Businesses for a Pandemic

As news of the spread of the avian flu grows, businesses must factor in the possibility of a pandemic into their continuity planning.

By Martin Byrne

In the event of a pandemic, remote working will allow segregation of the workforce. People will wish to avoid areas of mass congregationsuch as an officeas well as situations like air travel where large groups inhabit confined spaces for long periods of time. So in addition to remote working, organizations should also consider identifying â¬Sskeleton⬝ teams of key staff who would be the only ones to come to work in the event of a pandemic. Primary and backup teams for key activities should be identified and organized on a split-shift, split-site basis to reduce the risk of cross-contamination. Implementing a change freeze on all systems development will allow IT development staff to be redeployed into support positions if required.

Additionally, measures can be taken within a companyâ¬"s facilities, such as careful monitoring and maintenance of air conditioning; additional antiseptic cleaning of key â¬Sat-risk⬝ office facilities (e.g., telephones in a call center, consoles and desks in a data center operations bridge, etc.). Even measures such as closing the siteâ¬"s catering facilities and providing pre-packaged food would likely be considered.

Communication

It is essential that companies make employees aware of a pandemic threat, and keep them up to date on developments and procedures to be followed. The uncertainty and threat of disease can seriously impact employee productivity, even if it affects only a small number of people. Some companies have started to stockpile antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu and â¬SN95⬝ facemasks to further address employee concerns.

In addition to communicating with employees, companies must keep investors and other stakeholders informed about their preparations and measures to be taken. This should form part of a cohesive and detailed communications plan, rather than be offered on a reactive basis. In particular, in light of the direct threat to people that avian flu presents, companies need to explain how they will maintain operations with a significantly reduced workforce.

Embedding Continuity

The most effective way to maintain operations is to optimize the use of existing resourcesparticularly in the case of global companies, where scale and spread of operations can provide some protection. This includes making sure that methodology and approaches are consistent wherever the business operates, so that similar skill sets can be employed around the globe to service different clients. Work can be transferred from one location to another while maintaining consistent standards and results. In other words, clients should not notice any degradation in the service received. This approach is not just good business practice, but goes to the heart of a sustainable approach to business continuity. In this case, the business continuity strategy becomes part of the business-as-usual operating strategy.

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