This chapter covers the following topics:
Planning for unknown events that may affect the workplace is akin to developing system requirements for new software. No matter how many bright minds get together to consider all the contingencies, there will be some potential outcome that you overlooked, never dreamed of, or could not have even imagined.
First of all, you must adopt the mindset of planning for when you’ll face a disaster, not if. This will help you view the planning process as a necessity to your work and business, rather than as an abstract exercise that’s using up valuable time.
Second, you have to put a plan on paper, developing a number of worst-case scenarios along the way. What if the entire building were 34to burn to the ground or be destroyed in an earthquake, tornado, flood, or explosion? What if a disaster happens during rush hour? During peak business hours? After hours? How would each of these situations affect your plans? What if a disgruntled former employee or customer came armed to your offices and opened fire, killing employees and/or others? What if one or more buses, bridges, or buildings were bombed? These dreaded events occur more often than we like to acknowledge.
So when a traumatic incident occurs, what will you do to help employees and their families get to safety so they can return to work as soon as possible? Where will they return to work? Should you plan now for contingent work space? How much and at what expense? Should you book hotel rooms to house workers temporarily? Where do you start?
Luckily, many resources are available to help you put together a business continuity plan.
To start or update your planning, first check the federal requirements for developing and implementing employee emergency plans. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) general industry standards are found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 29, Part 1910, on the OSHA website at www.osha.gov. The more relevant sections of Part 1910, which you can download, include:
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offers a standardized format for planning at www.fema.gov/library/bizindex.shtm. We have provided an abbreviated outline of points to consider in the Resources section starting on page 141.
States and industries also may have special standards; for example, California has a mandatory illness and injury prevention program. Your local OSHA office should have the information you need.
35In the aftermath of 9/11, many books, packaged outlines, and other resources on the topic of disaster preparedness have been made available. Be aware, however, that most of these reference materials do not cover the human elements of such planning, at least not to the extent addressed here.
What’s in a Name?
Emergency preparedness, disaster recovery planning, emergency response, business resumption planning, and business continuity planning are all commonly used names for the same basic process. We use the term “business continuity planning” (BCP) in this book because it’s short, it’s to the point, and it implies the combination of business and people issues that is at the heart of our message. Here is a glossary of other terms that we use in this book:
The first decision to be made in forming the planning team is how many people to assign to it. For the initial planning and the periodic review and practice, the bigger the better. For managing the details as well as the team, a core team can be assembled. The roles and responsibilities for the core team are listed in Chapter 1 .
The team that puts together the detailed plans should include representatives from all major functions in the organization, such as operations from all of the business units, engineering, finance, research and development, manufacturing, marketing, and IT. Also, if your company is organized based on geography, make sure that representatives from all of the geographic divisions are included; or require that each location develop its own business continuity plan, involving individuals from all of the relevant functions at that location. If some organizational services are centralized, such as HR and communications, make sure that the local planning group has access to those specialized resources.
The core team should include members from the following divisions:
An HR executive should be designated to lead the core team and the overall planning team. The reasons are threefold:
Ideally, the CEO will appoint the core team members as well as the rest of the planning team members, and give the team the power to design the plan as they see fit.
As you develop, fine-tune, and try out your plan, you may want to seek counsel from resource experts. This is especially important if none of the team members has personally experienced a major disaster. It is essential that the planning be grounded in reality rather than theory.
Chapters of the American Red Cross are ready to help. Professionals from your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) or Behavioral Health Management resources can advise you or review your plan. Your local chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) may have a list of resources, as may your local Chamber of Commerce. Also check out the Resources section starting on page 133.
Also consider asking trusted individuals, both inside and outside your organization, who are known for their active imaginations and creative thinking to get involved in various aspects of the planning. For example, they can help you challenge your assumptions, imagine and plan scenarios (or review the scenarios you’ve already developed), and vet your work to date. Their different perspectives can help you build a more comprehensive plan.
Advance planning may be countercultural in your organization. The CEO, possibly along with the board of directors, must make it clear that such planning is a top priority; not only may lives be at stake, but the business itself could perish. If there is resistance at the top, put together a business case showing the risks and benefits of a plan. It all boils down to basic risk management and protecting your profitability. (Ideas for putting together a business case are presented in Chapter 1 , in the discussion of the role of the CFO.)
It is in the shareholders’ interests as well as those of employees and customers to take the time now to plan; the organization will reap multiple benefits should the plan need to be put to use. Your initial goal is to put a planning team in place and put them to work.
39Dealing with Pushback
What if your leadership team claims you’re acting like Chicken Little? The sky is not falling, and your organization doesn’t need to take the time to prepare for a disaster that’s not going to happen. Here’s what you can say and do to respond.
The business continuity planning team must view the effort to develop the plan as a serious, if not critical, business project. The team must:
Yes, employees may view their participation on this team as volunteer work in addition to their day-to-day-jobs, but they need to understand that it’s crucial work that everyone must tackle and not put off. If need be, include the duties in their position/job descriptions. This is not make-work.
Team members should work both independently and collectively. From an individual perspective, representatives need to determine how their respective functions must prepare, and what they need to do to keep their departments productive and the business running in case of an emergency. In gathering the relevant data, each functional team member must analyze current business capabilities, environmental and business hazards, and the vulnerabilities of company operations and internal systems.
Collectively, the team needs to pull all of the data together and discuss it. With all of the major functions represented, the scope of thinking will be broader and the chances for a quick resumption of business will be greater.
During the discussions, be sure to cover such human issues as employee safety concerns; emergency contact information (local and outside the area); evacuation of employees, especially disabled employees; the need for trauma counseling under a variety of scenarios; workers’ compensation issues; and contingent HR policies such as payroll, hazard pay for those employees working in treacherous conditions, possible benefits continuation for displaced workers, transportation to and from work, leaves of absence, and housing.
Also, consider how you will communicate with each other and with all of the other employees if telecommunications systems go down, including the company e-mail system and phone lines. Who should have satellite phones? What about cell phones with text messaging 41capability? Who within the company should have a personal e-mail account with a provider such as Yahoo, Microsoft, Google, and others that may be up if your systems go down? How do you share those e-mail addresses? Do you also set up group accounts and/or bulletin boards?
You also should review your business continuity plan in conjunction with your organization’s other crisis-related plans. For example, your organization is likely to have developed a special crisis communication plan that covers a myriad of possible events, including product tampering, theft of intellectual or proprietary information, hostile takeover attempts, and so on. Some of the same triggers that set off the crisis communication plan will also activate the business continuity plan. It’s important to make sure that you’ll work in tandem rather than at cross purposes when a disaster strikes.
Throughout the planning process, the team can operate in any way it chooses, provided the team leader and members agree. For example, a self-organized work team approach can work quite well, if that fits your corporate culture. However, regardless of the team structure you adopt for the planning phase, you will need to establish a command-and-control structure for managing a disaster.
As anyone who has experienced a major disaster will tell you, the old-fashioned military “command and control” style, with clearly defined authority and responsibilities, is best suited for running operations during a disaster. Joe Bagan, Senior Vice President of the Southeast Region of Adelphia Communications, says that his team moves from consensus-style discussion and planning to an autocratic structure 24 hours before a hurricane is expected to touch land. The team stays in that mode for at least two to three weeks afterward. Having experienced 14 hurricanes in two years in his territory, which covers Florida, the Carolinas, and Mississippi, Bagan said he and his team are able to execute their plans quickly.
Veteran Incident Commander Jack Armstrong recommends that two or three lower-level employees participate in planning for what 42 the organization is to do with, for, and to its workforce. This can increase employee buy-in and commitment to the process.
As part of business continuity planning, consider setting up a place from which to operate your business in case your premises are destroyed. Common names for such a site are Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and Disaster Recovery Site (DRS). Whatever you call it, the site should be equipped with backup computers, phones, desks, emergency supplies, and whatever else is necessary to carry on business in the short term, until new quarters can be found. Considerations include:
Emergency Operations Center Resources
Consider these supplies for your EOC:
If your organization has just one location, one business continuity plan will probably suffice. However, if you have multiple locations or even occupy several floors in a single high-rise, you may want to consider developing separate plans for each unit, department, or location. You also may need more than one Emergency Operations Center depending on how spread out you are.
For example, a university, hospital, or company campus that has many buildings with different functions may need a unit-level plan, because the entire population may not face a threat of the same urgency as those employees in the building or area where the emergency occurs. For example, if a lone gunman enters a building and opens fire, the immediate impact will be on the employees in the general vicinity. Their lives, safety, and security are the ones initially at stake. Your plan needs to address that.
44Components of Emergency Response
A major part of any business continuity plan is determining how to respond when an emergency rises. There are at least 10 components to an emergency response. These conform to the OSHA requirements in CFR Part 1910, Subparts 38 and 39, Emergency Action Plans and Fire Prevention Plans:
Being prepared is the first requirement for responding effectively to an emergency. But preparation alone won’t prevent you from becoming fearful or yielding to the impulse to flee when disaster strikes. Fear and flight are instinctual, compelling reactions, even among professionals such as firefighters and police, who have undergone extensive training in crisis response.
To counter this natural impulse, Larry Parsons, Director of Environmental Health and Safety at the University of California at Santa Barbara, insists on drilling for various types of emergencies. He calls on the business continuity team members and others to act out the roles they will play in a crisis. Those who don’t have a specific role practice evacuating the site. Practice can reduce panic because individuals know that they have specific duties to perform or places to go. Build realistic simulations into your plan.
Any time a disaster strikes, the first priority is the safety of employees. Three critical questions must be answered:
“The reason you’re helping employees with their self-preservation is not empathy or compassion, but a bottom-line business reason,” explains Charles Pizzo. “You need your employees to come back to work to get the business going. If they don’t come back to work, you’re not going to be able to recover.”
In addition to following up on employees, you also have to check in with your senior leaders to assess how they’re coping. Some senior executives may be in a state of panic and unable to function. In such a situation, the HR leader needs to step up as an example and remain as dispassionate as possible.
It is the HR leader’s responsibility to be the voice of reason and calm. Even if the CEO is managing well, you should expect that he or she will look to you as the HR representative for counsel, especially on internal matters concerning employees. You represent a center or safe haven for all employees based on your self-control, the ability to “touch” at arm’s length, and the determination to inspire confidence and take command. You cannot wait to be asked—just do.
Veteran Incident Commander Jack Armstrong says, “Manage your emotional side as you take control of the situation. If you act like you are in control, then you become in control.”
You also will need to activate the contingent HR policies you’ve developed. Because you have prepared them in advance as part of the business continuity planning process, you won’t have to scramble when disaster strikes. You may need to adjust these policies to fit the specific situation you face, but that’s a lot easier than creating them from scratch under stress.
Once you have verified that your employees are in a safe zone, the next critical step is to make sure that the business continues to run as smoothly as possible, given the circumstances. Important decisions that must be made—ideally, when you are still in the process of preparing your business continuity plan—include the following:
47Although your plan must cover many topics, you should strive to keep the execution portion as simple as possible. Focus on what people need to do, in what order. Keeping the plan as simple as possible will make it easier for the team to carry it out and for employees to understand what to do. Documents and supporting materials such as handouts and wall posters should be written in plain, easy-to-read language. This is not the time for legalese or military-style requirements. Observe the KISS principle—keep it sweet and simple.
Make sure that people in several locations on each floor and in all buildings and locations of the business have assigned roles and know how to carry them out in case of an emergency. The greater the number of people who are involved, the more buy-in and commitment there will be to the plan.
Practice carrying out the plan, preferably at least twice a year. Keep the sessions interesting and different so that employees are forced to pay attention. Include role playing under various disaster scenarios. Also, participate in any disaster exercises sponsored by local emergency planning agencies. And above all, take the exercises seriously. As mentioned earlier, practice helps reduce fear; when employees at all levels know what they are supposed to do, they are better able to resist the urge to simply flee.
Dr. Mory Framer, an expert in dealing with trauma, says,
In scenario planning you may try to conceive of every possible situation, but the one you haven’t prepared for will be the one that happens. Don’t be surprised if you are surprised. Plan and carry out practice exercises. Think about what you’re learning when you do them. 49Be prepared for “open field running”; that is, the play called out by the quarterback in the huddle may not be the one that is executed after the ball is thrown. Players make quick decisions on the run.
He adds, “Things don’t always go the way you plan, but emergencies and disasters have the same patterns, and the same lessons will apply. That’s why preparation and practice are so important. Keep your eyes open. This is fundamental, and it’s what allows you to make changes on the run.”
Do You Practice in the Dark?
Are you practicing your simulations without electrical power and without landline telephone service? That’s a great way to test the thoroughness of your plan, as well as your ability to handle a severe situation.
Charles Pizzo, a 20-year communications veteran, crisis communications expert, and Hurricane Katrina evacuee, says you don’t have a true emergency preparedness plan until you test it in the absence of electricity and landline and cell phone service.
As he points out, it’s rare to face a complete collapse of the telecommunications structure, as New Orleans experienced with Hurricane Katrina. In fact, there’s no comparable word for “blackout” to describe the complete shutdown of the telephone system. Yet it did happen—and it could happen again.
Joe Bagan, Senior Vice President of the Southeast Region of Adelphia Communications, echoes Pizzo’s assertion. “People don’t grasp how dependent we are on power. It’s hard to fathom all the things you can’t do without power and all the things that can break down. For instance, you can’t get gasoline, so you can’t drive to the grocery store, to work, to the hospital, and to wherever else you need to go.”
As mentioned earlier, your business continuity plan requires a component that addresses how you will communicate with employees before, during, and after a disaster. Major issues to consider include the following.
Regularly communicate the importance of disaster planning and preparation for the business and for individuals. Share the key components of your business continuity plan, including what actions employees will need to take if disaster strikes. (Basics include how to evacuate the building, whom to call for further instructions, and whom to notify if there is a problem.)
Also, encourage employees to make plans for themselves and their families, independent of what’s happening at work, including getting supplies. Refer them to the excellent resource materials available from the Red Cross and other agencies. You don’t have to re-create materials. You do have to reinforce employees’ knowledge of the actions they need to take at work to reach safety—or, if disaster strikes during off hours, how they are to get in touch with their managers to make sure they’re accounted for. See “Suggested Actions to Take at Home” in the Resources section on page 157.
You also need to get to know representatives of the local media—especially those in radio news—in the cities and towns where you have offices, plants, and other operations. Depending on the severity of the disaster, you may need the help of local radio and TV stations—those that still have their own news departments—to broadcast messages. Ideally, you always want to communicate directly with employees, but that may not be possible. The news media usually will cooperate, especially if you’re a major employer in their market, as they will thereby be providing a public service duty as well as reporting breaking news. For example, they can broadcast a special toll-free number for employees, which you should have set up in advance, as well as a special website, which also should be prepared in advance.
Also, for all the communications team members and those involved with business continuity, set up personal e-mail accounts with such providers as Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google. That way if your organization’s e-mail system goes down but Internet service is still available, you’ll be able to communicate with each other. You also may want to encourage employees to share their personal e-mail addresses with their managers for the telephone tree.
Communicate often in as many ways as you can, considering the tools you have available. The initial messages should focus on the safety of employees and their families in the disaster area, and all the “me” issues, such as:
Be sure to communicate to employees in unaffected areas too. They’ll want to know what’s happening with their co-workers, and what they can do to help. For example, can they prepare and send care packages? Can they give blood? Are cash donations better? Later, they’ll need to know how their job duties may change—for example, if they need to cover for certain people or tasks, or if they’ll be working with more employees if you decide to relocate employees to unaffected areas and offices.
For affected and unaffected employees, there’s a very good chance that you won’t know all the answers to all the questions in advance. However, you can say, “We don’t know. We’re looking into it, and we’ll get back to you,” and then do so. See the Prologue for real-life examples.
Once you address these basic needs, you can start communicating what’s happening with the business, including the plans for recovery.
Also, as soon as it’s safe, have your leaders meet face to face with employees. Group meetings, especially when people can see their co-workers en masse, can be therapeutic experiences. You’re survivors! These meetings are also good opportunities to assess in real time how well your overall business continuity plan is working from the employees’ perspective, as well as the employee communication portion, and what changes you need to make on the fly. Also, employees appreciate seeing their leaders on the front line rather than hiding out in a bunker somewhere.
52After the Disaster
Once your business is back on track, you need to balance two types of communications: the follow-up messages related to the disaster and the ongoing business messages. To put it another way: You want to be respectful of what has happened, especially if some employees and their families have suffered, but you don’t want to get stuck in the past. If you don’t watch it, you risk encouraging everyone to relive their experiences. The employees and the organization both have to move on.
Keep in mind that you may have some employees who remain traumatized, and it is important not to say “Get on with it” when they are not emotionally ready. Keep the trauma consultants handy just in case. Those affected employees also need to be counseled carefully by the managers so that they can return to productive work as soon as possible, as discussed in the following chapters.
For everyone, however, it can be a healing exercise to document for employees, their families, and the organization what happened. This communication, especially if it’s print or video, can serve as a record of events that pays tribute to a challenging time and that recognizes people for their efforts.
For example, in September 2002 Agilent Technologies issued on its intranet a special series remembering 9/11 and reminding employees about the importance of disaster preparedness. The series featured personal perspectives from three employees who assisted the rescue efforts using Agilent technology, and reviewed the actions Agilent leaders took to ensure the safety of employees. There were also wellness tips for dealing with traumatic events, and a checklist of how to be prepared amidst the potential confusion of an emergency situation.
However, you also have to focus on events happening now and those on the horizon, especially if the competitive landscape has changed. For example, competitors may be providing products and services your customers need but can’t get from your organization at present. Therefore, you need to work with your company leaders to refocus, re-engage, and re-energize employees.
53Phrases to Ban
Regardless of what else you do, ban the following common phrases from your post-disaster formal and informal communications:
Even though you have put considerable effort into emergency preparedness, things can still go badly when disaster strikes. However, adverse consequences can be minimized if you avoid the following pitfalls:
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