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We all know of the threat that Bird Flu brings to our businesses. We have all been told to prepare. But how do we prepare? It won't be like other disruptions so our current BCPs won't work. We have been warned to plan for up to 50% of staff to be absent from work during the worst period, and to expect the same for our suppliers and clients.

How can we avoid the inevitable workforce panic? What can we say when our staff, customers, stakeholders and regulators ask what we are doing to help prepare for Bird Flu? Are we confident we have done all we can for workplace Health and Safety? How can we prepare our homes and families? What can we do about the flu pandemic and individual preparedness?

Remember what happened during SARS? According to the HKTDC, 65% of businesses suffered to some extent in their bottom line, many of those went under. 33% managed to survive unscathed and an incredible 2% of businesses actually saw an improvement! So how come they were ready to take up the slack? It was because they had some sort of plan in place, even if it wasn't designed for something like SARS.

There are many ways businesses can minimise disruption, absenteeism, panic, workforce infection and financial losses with good planning, training and preparation. Here are a few tips and things to think about.

1. Know your exposure

What are the risks to your business? Some businesses will suffer more than others. Examine where you stand with:

           what are your critical processes
           who are your critical people
           which are your critical suppliers
           what utilities do you rely on

2. Training

Ignorance and panic are our worst enemies. Teach your staff to:

           understand the Bird Flu pandemic
           recognise the symptoms and know the differences with                   the common cold
           make it difficult for the infection to spread
           protect themselves and their families
           involve themselves in your own preparations

3. Human Resources

It is people who will be directly affected by Bird Flu, not systems, machinery or physical locations. Consider:

           deputy training
           back up staff
           succession plans
           leave arrangements
           temporary redundancy

4. Influenza Manager

Who will take the lead in your company’s planning for the pandemic, and the company’s response once the pandemic starts? Nominate an Influenza Manager(s) to look after:

           monitoring of the pandemic and trigger activities
           human resource contingency
           staff/supplier/customer communications
           workplace preparation and disinfection
           managing stockpiles
           regulatory obligations
           managing staff return to work after illness/quarantine

5. Managing illness at work

Discovering illness in the workplace could mean healthy employees' refusal to come to the office due to safety concerns. Mitigate this prospect by having:

           a compartmentalised workstation layout
           arrangements for quarantining the individual(s)
           clear guidelines for disinfecting and cleaning workstations
           daily illness checks before coming to work

6. Personal hygiene

Practicing good personal hygiene is probably our best offense against Bird Flu. Educate your staff to:

           wash their hands regularly and thoroughly
           cover their mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing
           dispose of tissues in sealed bags after use
           avoid touching their face with unwashed hands

7. Communications

Keeping communications open is critical to business operations. Keep in contact with staff, customers and suppliers by:

           enabling staff to work from home
           diverting phone calls and messages
           accessing email from anywhere
           installing videoconferencing or use conference calling services

8. Social Distancing

Protect staff by minimising contact with others. Consider the following measures:

           avoid face to face meetings
           review overseas travel policy/quarantine
           stagger working hours to avoid overcrowded public transport
           avoid restaurants at lunch hour
           allow customers to make orders/enquiries by email/fax/phone/website
           practice ghost shifts

9. Awareness

People need constant reminders and updates. Help increase your staff awareness with:

           posters
           screensavers
           pandemic status boards
           regular newsletters
           website articles

10. Supply shortages

During a pandemic, supplies of everything will be short. Consider the need for ensuring adequate availability of essential supplies in case of:

           breakdown of land/sea transportation systems
           suppliers own travel restrictions
           border closures
           disruption to air traffic

11. Stockpiling equipment

Businesses and individuals have already started stockpiling equipment. Have you? Consider adequate supplies of:

           face masks
           rubber gloves
           disinfecting soaps
           cleaning materials
           tissues
           Perspex barriers

12. Office environment

Maintaining a clean office environment is one of our best defenses. Check the:

           air ventilation
           office cleaning methods
           pantry for shared crockery/cutlery
           reception for newspapers and magazines
           arrangements for identifying visitors/staff who have symptoms

13. Lists and forms

As for any emergency, pre-prepare all the lists and forms you’ll need. Create:

           emergency phone records forms
           sickness notification forms
           contact lists to record affected staff travel history and
                  who they have been in contact with
           what-to-do checklists

14. Practice, practice, practice

Drills and exercises are the only way to make sure employees and plans are ready. Schedule:

           desktop exercises to check contingency processes
           minor exercises to test staff
           major full scale exercises for a real life drill
           test meetings/conferences remotely using videoconferencing or use conference calling services

You can find solutions to these and many other Bird Flu Preparedness issues by referring to our FREE online reference manual.

don’t know how to do this? don’t have the time or resources?

birdflu-manual.com are a team of seasoned business continuity planning professionals. We can help you tailor-make your response, and hand-hold you through your preparations, with these and many other business continuity ideas using our staircase approach to readiness. Ours is an affordable, practical and easy to implement set of measures aimed specifically to help prepare you, your staff, your business, your family and homes.

don’t LET LACK OF PREPAREDNESS EFFECT YOUR BOTTOM LINE

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