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Author:DaveKellerwww.desktopresources.com

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PandemicThreat:KeepingYourBusiness"InBusiness"

PlanningforToday's#1PublicHealthIssueforBusinessWhitePaperPublished:5/4/2009

Abstract

Swineflu.SARS.Birdflu.Withtheadventoffast,worldwidetravel,thechallengespresentedbytheage‐olddilemmaofhowtodealwithinfectiousdiseaseisnowsomethingthateverybusinessmustplanfor.Failingtodosomeansthatyourbusinesswillbecompletelyshutdownduringthesetimesofcrisis.Thatmeansthatthepublichealthcrisisforyourcommunitycouldturnintoacrisisofcashflowforyourbusiness.Willpublichealthemergenciestriggeredbytheoutbreakofinfectiousdiseasesbeterminaltoyourbusiness?Willyousurvive?Orperhapseventhrive?

PandemicThreat:KeepingYourBusiness"InBusiness"

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Introduction

Infectiousdiseaseshavebeenaroundsincetheprehistoricperiod.EvenduringtheMiddleAges,wellbeforetheadventofmodernmedicine,societyhadawaytoaddresstheissue:quarantine.Keepingthoseinfected(orpotentiallyinfected)individualsawayfromthegeneralpopulationhasalwaysworked.Intoday'sinterconnectedworld,we'rebeginningtounderstandthattoeffectivelyaddresspublichealthissueslikeswinefluandSARS,wemayneedtoperiodicallylimitcontactamongthegeneralpopulation.ThatmeansthatpublichealthofficialsmayaskthatyouremployeesNOTshowupforwork.Asabusinessowner,youneedtohaveaplantodealwiththatpossibility.

The(Temporarily)MobileWorkforce

Ifyourstaffisforcedtoworkremotely(i.e."fromhome"),therearemanyissuesthatyouneedtoaddressonmanyfronts:Howwillyouknowiftheyareactuallyworking?Whatiftheyhaveafamilymemberthatisaffected?Howwilltheyinteractwiththeirpeersandcustomers?Howwillclientsgetintouchwithcustomer‐facingstaff?Themanagementandpsychology‐relatedissuesofthiseventarebeyondthescopeofthisdocument,howeverherearethetoptechnology‐relatedissuesthatyoumaywanttoconsider.Thefirststepisunderstandingwhatyouneed.

UnderstandYourBusinessNeeds

AssessDay-to-DayResource/ToolsRequirements

.Whatresourcesdoeachofyourstaffneedtodotheirjob?Dotheyneedatelephone?Computer?Accesstospecificapplications?(accountingsystems,time‐trackingsystems,corporatee‐mail,inventorysystems,etc.)Dotheyworkindependently,ordotheyrequirealotofinteractionwithothers?Dotheycontactcustomers?Dotheyneedaccesstocustomerlists?Docustomerscallthem?



AssessRemote(Home)ResourceAvailability

.Whatresourcesdothestaffhaveathomethattheycouldusetodotheirwork?Dotheyhaveacomputer?Willitrunanyclientsoftwarethatyouidentifiedinstep#1?Dotheyhavereliable,high‐speedinternetaccess?Dotheyknowhowtoaccessyourofficeremotely?3.

Understand"theInterfaces"

.Mostbusinessesinteractwithotherbusinessesmanytimesaday.Youmayreceiveproductsfromasupplier,whichyouthendeliverorshiptoyourcustomer.Yourbusinessmaybeonewhereyouvisitcustomersattheirlocationorjobsite.Mostbusinessesstillreceivepaymentfrom

PandemicThreat:KeepingYourBusiness"InBusiness"

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customersviathemail,andmanystillsendouttheirinvoicesviathemailaswell.4.

Consider"SinglePointofFailure".

Asyouthinkaboutresourcesthatyoualreadyhave,certainlyyourmostimportantoneisyourstaff.Considerthatoneormoreofyourstaffmaybeaffected(eitherdirectly,orhaveafamilymemberaffected)bythediseaseinquestion.Itisworthwhiletounderstandifotherstaffmemberscanfillinforthem,atleastonanemergencybasis.

ResourcesYouWillNeed

Soifyouunderstandwhatrequirementsyouneedtodoyourbusinessundernormalcircumstances,whatwillyouneedduringtimesofpublichealthcrisis?Specificresourcesyouwillneedwillvarybasedonyourearlieranalysis,howevertherearesomecommonresourcesthatvirtuallyeveryorganizationwillrequire:1.

RemoteAccesstoofficecomputersystems

.Staffwillneedtobeabletoaccessstandardofficecomputersystemsfromhome,includingaccountingsystems,time‐accountingsystems,payroll,companye‐mail,fileservers,etc.2.

RemoteAccesstoofficetelephonesystems

.Staffwillneedtobeabletouseyourofficetelephonesystem,orhaveawell‐documentedplannedalternative(homephones,cellphones,etc.)Keepinmindthatstaffnotonlyneedtocontacteachother,butalsoneedtointerfacewithsuppliersandcustomers.Ifyouareusingan"alternative"telephoneplan,suppliersandcustomerswillneedtohaveawaytoalsoaccessthisalternativeplan.3.

Coordination/CommunicationPlan.

Ifyou'reusedto"walkingaround"theofficetocommunicatewithyourstaffandcoordinateactivities,you'llneedtoplanawaytomakethathappenremotely.Ifyourplanistousee‐mailforcommunication,youneedtomakesurethatallyouremployeesknowtochecke‐mailthroughoutthedayforofficecommunicationsanddirection.4.

Cross-TrainStaff.

Rememberthatsomeofyourstaffmaybeaffectedbytheissueandmaybeunavailable.Identifyothermembersofyourstaffwhocanpickuptheirdutiesintheirabsence,atleastduringaninterimperiod.5.

Communicate"ThePlan"inadvance,includingwhere/howtoreferenceit.

Creatingaplanforyourorganizationiscriticaltothisprocess.Itneedn'tbeelaborate,andhopefullyisfairlyshortandto‐the‐point,sothatpeoplecancomprehendit.Youneedtocommunicatewhattheplanentailstoyourstaff,andalsomakesurethattheyknow"wheretolookitup"incaseofemergency.Thismaybeassimpleasgivingthemawrittensynopsisandaskingthemtotakeithomeforfuturereference.

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Pandemic Threat: Staying in Business

In a world where pandemic threats like swine flu, SARS and other threats are commonplace, how do you plan for those contingencies? From a technology infrastructure point-of-vie... (More)

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