Planning - Businesses

Business Planning

When planning for the impact of a flu pandemic there are lots of actions to consider. Some of the basics you need are to –

• Conduct a risk audit covering your business and your people.
• Identify a pandemic co-ordinator.
• Identify a pandemic co-ordination team.
• Identify essential employees to maintain daily operations.
• Train employees to fulfil multiple roles.
  
• Develop a plan for an increase/decrease in business.
• Model the potential impact of a pandemic on your financials.
• Find up-to-date reliable information.
• Produce an emergency communications plan.

People Planning

If up to 25% of the population could be hit by pandemic flu, there are lots of considerations. These include –

• Forecasting and preparing for employee absences during a pandemic.
• Implementing guidelines to reduce face-to-face contact – can employees work from home?
• Improving employee hygiene.
• Encouraging an influenza vaccination programme.
• Providing useful, factual information.
• Identifying "at risk" employees.

Policies

New people policies will have to be introduced if pandemic flu strikes including –

• Special sick leave policies.
• Working from home and telecommuting.
• Preventing influenza spread in the workplace
• Travel restrictions to affected countries.
• Establishing authorisation procedures/triggers for activating the company’s response plan.

Employee Protection

Protecting your people is essential. You need to consider –

• Providing hand-hygiene germ-killing products.
• Tissues on desks and at reception.
• Receptacles for the safe disposal of tissues.
• Medical consultations.
• Influenza vaccinations.

Communication & Education

Your people will want quality information. They will want to be able to distinguish fact from fiction. So you need to –

• Gather information and plan dissemination programmes.
• Manage misinformation.
• Provide information for at-home care.
• Develop information dissemination platforms – employee briefings, intranet, leaflets etc.
• Identify community sources of information – Government, World Health Organisation, Pandemic Flu Centre etc.

External Co-ordination

No man is an island, so if pandemic flu does strike you will need to plan to link up with –

• External health authorities, GP practices, insurers etc.
• Share best practices with other businesses.

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