4. Will your employees show up for work in an emergency? Or, will they stay home to care for their families?
You’ve invested heavily in developing business continuity, risk management, disaster recovery, crisis communication, business resumption, reputation management, pandemic response, and crisis management plans. Your infrastructure is prepared, backed-up, back-stopped, doubled-up, and you’re confident you’ll have safe, dry desks, PCs and telephones for your staff no matter what crisis may assail you.
But, what if your people don’t show up? When Hurricane Katrina ravaged the US Gulf Coast, large numbers of emergency response personnel – the very people who were integral to the response plan – simply didn’t come in to work. They were too busy rescuing their own families and friends and making sure they were safe. And, who can blame them? It’s a basic, understandable need. Faced with a similar situation, would your employees be focused on keeping your corporate profits healthy? Or, would they be worried about what’s happening to their homes and loved ones?
As part of your Crisis Leadership efforts, you should consider your employees and their families. What can you do to help them improve their own readiness? How can you help them be prepared so they will be more confident in the safety of their families and the security of their homes?
It may make sense to implement an “Employees & Families” readiness plan that would include regular communication with employees, teaching them how to make their homes safe, develop and implement a family emergency plan and to purchase and prepare appropriate emergency kits.
