What are the critical areas that we should be addressing in our pandemic plan?

In preparing business continuity plans, there are ten critical areas that businesses should examine. When addressing these areas, be certain to bear in mind the following points

• This list is not comprehensive and does not take into account sector-specific issues:
• Planning should follow a continuum of pre-pandemic, and post-pandemic/recovery consideration
• There is no way to predict how severe the next pandemic will be; businesses need to plan for the spectrum of possibilities, from mild to severe
• Since a pandemic will be a global event, international issues (legal, cultural, travel and shipping related) need to be taken into consideration in planning efforts

The ten planning areas include:

1. Company Management Plan and Structure
2. Employee Health and Safety
3. Internal and External Communications
4. Security
5. Information Systems, Technology and Databases
6. Supply Chains and Critical Inputs and Outputs
7. Public and Media Relations
8. Legal Topics
9. Government Considerations
10. Business Continuity and Survival Strategies

1. Company Management Plan and Structure

Issues to consider:

• Planning for a pandemic should draw from existing crisis management/emergency plans
• Succession plans for key executives and methods for critical knowledge transfer should be developed
• Trigger points for when to implement certain emergency measures should be determined
• Plans should be reviewed periodically, updated as needed, and well understood by essential personnel
• Companies should understand how their plans interface with the National Incident Management System (NIMS) used by government and first responders

Sample Planning Activities

• Develop an emergency operations team for pandemic response that is at least three deep for each team member
• Develop succession plans in the event of the loss of key corporate leaders that outlines when and how critical knowledge would be transferred to the new leadership. Ensure that critical business functions can continue when key executives or managers are lost
• Develop trigger points tied to external events (i.e., WHO Pandemic Phases or US Government pandemic Response Stages) and thresholds for implementing various activities
• Test and exercise plans, then revise as needed and re-test

2. Employee Health and Safety

Issues to consider:

• Employee shortages are extremely likely. Between 25% to 50% of the workforce may be out owing to illness, caring for ill family members, fear of contagion, lack of transportation, etc.
• Employers should assume that vaccine will not be available during the initial waves of a pandemic due to lag times in vaccine development, manufacture and distribution
• Needs for personal protective equipment (masks, gloves, gowns, etc.) for employees should be identified in advance, taking into consideration that personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies will be in short supply during a pandemic
• Needs for employee hygiene supplies (facial tissues, waterless hand sanitizers, equipment sanitizing cloths for telephones, etc.) should be identified in advance, taking into consideration that these supplies may also be in short supply during a pandemic
• Company decisions about stockpiling PPE or hygiene supplies should be made in advance
• Companies need to determine whether they will stockpile antiviral medications for their employees. Decisions on the use of antiviral medications as well as their method of distribution if employed should be determined in advance
• Human Resources (HR) systems are likely to be extremely stressed by employee health and safety issues
• Healthcare systems will be stressed and employees may not have access to basic medical care, including hospital care
• Businesses with employees in cities that rely on public transportation may be particularly challenged if public transportation systems are curtailed
• Partnerships with the public sector will be important

Sample Planning Activities

• Consider the concept of evacuating top executives (and perhaps their families) and housing them in “safe havens” where they can be protected
• Develop procedures for monitoring and managing employee health at the worksite. This should include plans to handle workers who become ill or die at work
• Educate employees NOT to come to work if they are sick
• Develop a mechanism to track employee absences, survival and death
• Make decisions concerning PPE, hygiene supplies and antiviral medications. Decide whether company stockpiles will be created, and if so, how they will be distributed
• Develop policies and procedures to minimize face-to-face contact between employees, visitors, suppliers and contractors
• Educate employees on methods to prevent spread of disease. Educate employees on proper handwashing techniques and provide waterless hand sanitizers
• Develop a plan for addressing employees' additional sustained health-related costs
• Develop workforce resilience and recovery programs (e.g., psychosocial support, dependent care, grief counseling)
• Examine HR policies concerning sick leave, family leave, vacation leave, emergency employee assistance, shift limits, short-term disability, travel, etc., to determine what changes must be made during a pandemic
• Examine employee insurance issues
• Examine whether or not housing will be needed for certain employees during peak periods of Influenza activity
• For employees who are in the field, plans need to be in place for employee recall or instructions for them to stay in place

3. Internal and External Communications

Issues to consider

• Establish sources of accurate and current information (i.e., pandemicflu.gov, Department of Health and World Health Organization, etc.)
• Communications plans need to take into consideration the possibility that workforce operations will be disrupted and decentralised
• Traditional mechanisms of communication may not be available
• Communication plans should include mechanisms to communicate with key leaders, board of directors, shareholders and other key stakeholders
• Information should be sent out proactively according to a predetermined time frame to help manage expectations
• Information sent out by the company must be consistent with government and health department guidance and messages

Sample Planning Activities

• Develop an emergency communication plan that is centralised and ensures that information is timely and accurate
• Create messages in advance that are simple and address language and cultural barriers as needed
• Consider development of mechanisms to provide information to employees (such as call centres, hotlines, portals, instant messaging, e-mail distribution lists, intranet)

4. Security

Issues to Consider

• Shortages in critical supplies will necessitate security to protect critical assets
• Social disruptions may occur
• Security policies will need to consider alternate worksites
• The available workforce of security guards will be reduced
• Some facilities may need to be vacated for a period of time, creating added security needs

Sample Planning Activities

• Identify sites where additional security will be needed and take appropriate steps to enhance security technology (e.g., add locks or gates to facilitate shutting down facilities, add cameras to locations, add other security equipment in anticipation of a shortage of security guards)
• Develop security plans for workers operating at alternate worksites (including security of computer systems, databases, etc.)
• Security plans should consider the impact of reduced staffing (retail stores, for example, may become particularly vulnerable)
• If security is contracted out, discuss pandemic planning efforts with security vendor
  

5. Information Systems, Technology and Databases

Issues to Consider

• Normal systems may not operate due to power shortages or lack of personnel support
• Secure remote access may be critical for continuity of business operations
• IT infrastructure (Internet) may be limited due to overload, lack of support personnel or remote location. If the workforce is international, the IT infrastructure may become very limited or nonexistent
• Local telephone service may be impacted by the huge increase in tele-work usage or by service restrictions imposed by government or telephone companies. Cellular service may be impacted by overload or other technology-related issues

Sample Planning Activities

• Ensure that redundancy is built into all databases and that systems are backed up appropriately
• Identify critical information systems and ensure that data from such systems can be retrieved as needed
• Determine which IT tasks run automatically and which require a person to run and ensure redundancy in that position
• Determine trigger points on when to freeze IT systems and prohibit any upgrades or system changes
• Consider development of system-wide Internet portals with secure remote access
• Ensure that company IT infrastructure can support anticipated increase in tele-work needs
  

6. Supply Chains: Critical Inputs and Outputs

Issues to Consider

• Because most supply chains operate on a just-in-time model, many core items and critical inputs will not be available
• Shipping of goods and materials may be severely disrupted, especially from overseas
• Shortages of dockworkers or truckers will contribute to the supply chain disruption
• Companies with outsourced parts of their company may have service disruptions
• Ports and borders may impose restrictions or be entirely closed

Sample Planning Activities

• Identify core items and critical inputs
• Categorise critical inputs as either vulnerable to disruption or not vulnerable to disruption
• Question key suppliers or contractors on their pandemic planning activities
• Develop contingency plans and "work-arounds" for unavailable supplies or inputs
• Identify alternative supply chains
• Create emergency purchase orders and have them on file with vendors
• Create trigger points that automatically activate purchases
• Negotiate with vendors ahead of time as much as possible
• Provide a prioritized list of key customers who will receive product and develop plans for scaling back production to these customers
• Work with local government to anticipate as much as possible their likely actions that could impact the supply chain or the delivery of your product
  

7. Public and Media Relations

Issues to Consider

• Communications to the public need to be accurate and timely and should be based on reliable sources of information
• Strategies should be in place to rapidly disseminate new relevant information
• Managing expectations is a key component of crisis communication
• Public relations plans should reflect the role of the business in the community
• Company messages should be consistent with government guidance and messages

Sample Planning Activities

• Develop plans for providing ongoing information to the public
• Identify media strategies and coordinate with other organizations
• Consider pre-drafting messages for different phases of the company’s response
• Identify key trusted spokespersons
• Consider the role of the business in community support
  

8. Legal Topics

Issues to Consider

• Legal issues are specific to each business sector
• Businesses will be expected to rapidly comply with changing local, state, federal and/or international laws, mandates or regulations
• Liability and legal implications surrounding employee health and work environment will need to be addressed
• Businesses will need to explore how to manage various contract obligations in the setting of supply chain interruptions
• Employee and labor union or trade council agreements may need to be amended
• Security and protection of the confidentiality of medical information will need to be considered
• Companies with offices in other countries will need to consider the possible impact of local laws and policies

Sample Planning Activities

• Identify the legal issues that could affect operations
• Consider ways to reduce liability exposure
• Ensure that redundancy exists in your legal support system
  

9. Government Considerations

Issues to Consider

• Government agencies have broad emergency powers that could be enacted during a public health emergency
• Businesses need to be aware of how such emergency powers may affect their business
• Regulatory reporting may change during a pandemic, requiring related process changes
• Possible governmental interventions include quarantine, isolation, travel restrictions, port restrictions and border closings

Sample Planning Activities

• Identify key contacts in relevant government agencies and build relationships
• Factor possible government actions into company pandemic plans
  

10. Business Continuity and Survival Strategies

Issues to consider

• A pandemic could impact a company’s operations for months and operational plans need to take this fact into consideration
• The leadership of an organisation may be seriously disrupted by illness or death
• Operations may need to be consolidated, diversified or closed depending on specific situations

Sample Planning Activities

• Identify essential and nonessential operational functions and prioritise them, taking into consideration any products or services that are needed to support the community
• Identify personnel skill sets needed for essential functions
• Develop cross-training programmes to ensure adequate staffing of essential functions. Consider developing "job sheets" that outline key activities by position
• Anticipate staffing shortages and develop plans to reallocate employees as needed
• Anticipate changes in operations (store hours, consumer demand, plant closings)
• Anticipate changes in consumer / customer/client practices, buying patterns, access to services, and plan accordingly
• Consider the impact of social disruptions on your business
• Determine alternate strategies for sales (e.g., online sales)
• Develop a plan to shift workers to home offices or other sites to minimize exposure risks, address fuel shortages and curtail dependence on public transportation
• Consider whether alternative workforces could be deployed and trained for your organization (e.g., idle restaurant workers, idle clothing-store workers, etc.), or alternatively, if your workforce could be subcontracted to assist with other businesses, or vital and emergency services.
• If appropriate, ensure that knowledge and skills are distributed geographically in case one area is hit particularly hard
• Determine the potential impact of a pandemic on business financials
• Develop plans for recovery after a pandemic wave has passed and prepare for any subsequent waves that may occur