Employers: I've been on calls with nervous clients all day. Free advice. Here is a good template for business continuity of operations. It's a start. The major question, with #coronavirus, will be when is it properly activated.
fema.gov/media-library-… 1/
fema.gov/media-library-… 1/
The four phases of planning for business continuity are:
1)Readiness and Preparedness: major institutions should pick a POC/czar; should not be CEO but someone in operations. Work with local/state officials. Recognize racism that some employees may be facing.
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1)Readiness and Preparedness: major institutions should pick a POC/czar; should not be CEO but someone in operations. Work with local/state officials. Recognize racism that some employees may be facing.
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2)Activation: when will the plan be activated? No fixed time and will differ on geography. Headquarters (office) will differ from field operations. Will likely be tied to school closures for many businesses. 3/
3)Continuity Operations: This is the content of the policies -- telecommuting, protective gear, etc. -- that the company will utilize to keep core functions (some fxns will cease). Will require lots of variances. Communicate with employees now nature of what it could look like.4/
4)Reconstitution Operations: The getting back to normal. This is also hard: I don't know answer to this. #coronavirus is not like a hurricane or flooding; may not be short term (school closings could be a month). Plan accordingly. 5/
I'm a broken record and nothing worse than squandered time. I'm shocked at how ill-prepared some major employers are; not naming names, but get your act together. Being prepared will help fill the vacuum of panic. No panic. Not there. Never going to get there. 6/
Final thing: a crisis hits a community as it finds it (New Orleans, Puerto Rico, etc). Systemic problems -- health care, employee rights -- will get exacerbated by a crisis. We know that now. 7/
I don't mean to sound unaware to these concerns. Many are saying I'm missing the bigger picture. I'm not. A crisis hits a nation as it finds it. There are for short term focus issues vs. long term challenges. I haven't found a way to fix the latter during the former. 8/8
