Disaster recovery is serious business

Corporate Report Wisconsin, May 2006 by Haney, James E

GOOD BUSINESS PRACTICES LEAD MOST OF US to have some kind of disaster recovery plan in place, but these tend to be business continuation plans that contemplate damage from a fire, explosion, or wind storm that might cause a temporary disruption of operations. Here in the Midwest, we don't contemplate disasters on the scale of hurricanes or earthquakes.

But what would most of us do if we faced cumulative absentee rates of up to 30% for three to four months? That is exactly what public health officials say could happen if our country experienced an avian flu pandemic.

According to the nonprofit Trust for America's Health, each winter the regular strains of flu kill approximately 36,000 Americans, hospitalize more than 200,000 and cost the economy over $ 10 billion in lost productivity and direct medical expenses. As shocking as those statistics are, health officials are seriously concerned that the avian flu emanating from Asia could mutate into a strain that could spread easily from person to person, and against which humans have no natural immunity.

A recent report from global risk consulting company Kroll cites the Centers for Disease Control, which estimates that a pandemic could kill more than 200,000 in the United States, hospitalize another three-quarters of a million people, and cost our economy a staggering $70 billion to $160 billion!

Kroll analyzed past pandemics to arrive at its conclusions. Pandemics occur only three to four times a century and can typically occur at any time. The worst pandemie of the last century - the Spanish Flu of 1918-19 - killed up to 675,000 in the U.S. and an estimated 20 million to 100 million worldwide.

Emergency government and public health groups are busy assessing contingency plans for dealing with avian flu should it hit our shores. But here are some steps Kroll suggests companies should be taking right now:

* Check that existing contingency plans are applicable to a pandemic.

* In particular, check to see that core business activities can be sustained over several weeks.

* Plan accordingly for interruptions of essential governmental services like sanitation, water, power, and disruptions to the food supply.

* Identify your company's essential functions and the individuals who perform them. The absence of these individuals could seriously impair business continuity.

* Build in the training redundancy necessary to ensure that work can be done in the event of an absentee rate of 25% to 30%.

* Maintain a healthy work environment by ensuring adequate air circulation and posting tips on how to stop the spread of germs at work. Promote hand and respiratory hygiene. Ensure wide and easy availability of alcohol-based hand sanitizer products.

*Determine which outside activities are critical to maintaining operations and develop alternatives in case they cannot function normally. For example, what transportation systems are needed to provide essential materials? Does the business operate on "just in time" inventory or is there typically some reserve?

* Establish or expand policies and tools that enable employers to work from home with appropriate security and network access to applications.

* Expand online and self-service options for customers and business partners.

* Tell the workforce about the threat of pandemic flu and the steps the company is taking to prepare for it. In emergencies, employees demonstrate an increased tendency to listen to their employer, so clear and frequent communication is essential.

* Update sick-leave and family- and medical-leave policies, and communicate with employees about the importance of staying away from the workplace if they become ill. Concern about lost wages is the largest deterrent to self-quarantine.

Additional information about this threat will be made available in the coming months. No one wants to play the role of Chicken Little and say "the sky is falling." But forewarned is forearmed!

JAMES E. HANEY

PRESIDENT

WISCONSIN MANUFACTURERS & COMMERCE