Hope is not an option

“To build trust, organizations must provide information in a timely manner and need spokespersons who genuinely display empathy and care,” says the report. It explains that a central challenge during a pandemic is to effectively communicate with employees, customers, supply chain partners and authorities. By providing clear messaging based on credible sources, organizations can build trust in the midst of a crisis.

In order to properly prepare for a pandemic, the Conference Board suggests the following steps:

Develop internal support and capacity
Senior leaders are critical to achieving organization-wide support, and by having supportive departments, organizations can develop comprehensive plans and nuanced policies. Sharing these plans will also clarify roles and responsibilities and educate all personnel.

Garner external support
Organizations need to understand and plan for the dependencies and interdependencies that exist in their business network — and for the potential effects of a failure of one or more of these relationships. Working closely with external stakeholders and sharing information can help organizations adapt their responses.

Establish “dark” websites
A “dark” website — typically a small site that has been designed in advance of a crisis and can be launched quickly — can contain fundamental information on personal hygiene, resources, tips on preparing one’s families and information specific to the operations of the organization. Having a separate website ahead of time can be used to divert increased traffic from the regular site and save time in issuing official statements.

Choose a single credible voice
It’s critical to maintain the same spokesperson and monitor the tone and content of external messages for consistency throughout a response. Failure to do so can reduce trust and credibility.

Stay focused on operations
Organizations need to tune out any noise and hysteria during a pandemic and maintain focus on operations. Foremost on their minds should be the protection of staff, managing expectations and understanding the interactions employees have—with co-workers, supply chain partners, customers and others—that could lead to the contraction of the H1N1 virus.

Monitor absenteeism carefully
Keeping track of absenteeism and predicting future absentee rates can be of great importance to organizations. For companies that rely on highly specialized individuals to perform critical functions—such as the nuclear energy industry—this is particularly important. As a result, the power generation industry has been particularly proactive in preparing its staff, developing and implementing its plans, and establishing protocols to ensure its ability to operate.

Legal issues
“Organizations have a duty of care not just for their customers, but also for their own employees and supply chain partners,” warns the report. “They must exercise a reasonable level of care similar to that provided by others. Without adequate levels of preparedness, an organization may fail to provide due diligence and could be held publicly and legally liable.”

Jody White is associate editor of benefitscanada.com.

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