Client Pandemic Update

**WHO raise pandemic alert level to Phase 5 – Human to Human human-spread of the virus**

As the swine influenza story has broken there has been a huge surge in news reporting which is drawing on the information available from the UK Department of Health and the World Health Organisation as well various media sources.

The LINK team continues to monitor this to keep our web page and email service on pandemic planning up to date. Our advice to clients remains the same at the moment and recommend, keeping focused on the facts and the potential impacts on the operational, transactional and contextual environments. Scenario planning is the best tool to help review the potential impacts. We have some examples below to start your thinking.

Scenarios to Consider – what is your response?

Scenario 1. A critical supplier contacts you to say they are reliant on sourcing through Mexico and the southern USA. The supplier can only offer a reduced service. Output will not meet agreed levels The supplier is trying to find alternative sources. There are significant financial penalties built into the contract if you try to cancel and the supplier has indicated that they may have to claim force majeure.    
(Force majeure: is a common clause in contracts which essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, which prevents one or both parties from fulfilling their obligations under the contract)

Scenario 2. An HR problem occurs when personnel walk out of one of your company’s sites. The location undertakes a number of business critical activities. The walk out is caused by concerns over a report that a group of cleaners are suffering from flu. Investigation reveals that the contract cleaning company does have a number of staff who are being tested for swine flu. The contract cleaners being tested do not work at your location but will have mixed with personnel that do.

We will update our Pandemic Planning advice as events develop but in the meantime we have provided links to what we think are the best websites

The Health Protection Agency
NHS Choices
World Health Organisation
BBC News

We have also compiled a Six Point Sense Check for your existing plans

Six Point Sense Check - Things to check within your existing plans

1.      People, People, People

• Update Company Business Travel Policy with geographical countries affected. (eg essential travel only to X,Y,Z affected areas, authorized by.. etc)
• Advice to employees returning from affected areas from either business or social travel about what to do if displaying clinical symptoms
• Update staff contact details
• Familarise staff with plans and their roles within plans
• Be aware of staff who may be clinically vulnerable to flu
• Be alert to any information about affected or potentially affected employee(s)
• Nominate a person (BC Manager, HR manager or Occupational Health) to keep a watching brief on influenza for the company and alert internally as required
• Remind people of Government guidelines over personal hygiene precautions and remind of the wartime mantra “coughs and sneezes spread diseases”
• Talk to cleaning contractors to increase frequency of surface cleaning and provide alcohol sterilising hand cleanser readily available
• Consider other issues like implications to car sharing schemes

2.      News Media – Hype vs. fact

• Keep a perspective on what is being reported. Early in a crisis, speculation can get in the way of hard fact. A diverse range of sometimes inaccurate stories can fill the information vacuum.
• Revisit the sources of information upon which you will base decision making – consider sharing those sources with staff to maintain transparency.
• Know who in your organization will speak to the news media
• Know what your key message to the media will be, devise the messages and stick to them.
• Rehearse

3.      Technology testing

• Review and test working from home arrangements
• Review telecoms capabilities to reduce where feasible meetings face to face
• Check call cascade arrangements
• Consider timing for a moratorium on technology upgrades if delivery would be affected by loss of staff for critical activities and areas of risk or impact

4.      Critical Activities

• Check critical activities for exposure and staffing
• Review detailed plans for reducing capacity when staff are unavailable.
• What critical suppliers are within the affected areas? Who could be more vulnerable?
• Review implications of offshored activities; e.g. how will business be managed if the Indian call centre is down?
• Consider the impacts on any current or planned future critical projects.
• Ask questions such as whether there are any conferences or events planned. What are the interrelationships with affected geographical areas?   

5.      Executive Briefings

• Provide a company update with key messages endorsed by senior management and disseminate using normal internal communications mechanisms
• Commit to update regularly

6.      Don’t forget to plan for the return to a new normality

• Your plans should include a return to operations after the emergency phase. Consider that a ‘new normality’ will exist and plans will be required to manage the transition.
• How will backlogs be managed?

For further advice, suggestions or to continue the conversation contact us on info@linkassociates.com