The Inter-pandemic phases of the WHO’s recommended pandemic planning framework require BC planners to have a knowledge of the impending threat, maintain continuous monitoring, make the necessary preparation and develop an adaptable response structure. A preventive program to reduce business risk in the event of when a pandemic occurs.
Organisations are expected to maintain this stage, even if the country escalates to the next phase. This phase will continue to function as it is the organisation’s basic defence against the Infectious Disease threat.
Organisations must dedicate resources to learn more about Infectious Disease, its effects, its modes of transmission and known mitigating measures.
Constant consultation with medical experts is critical, especially in light of evolving views held by the medical community, and also because views differ from country to country. As this approach may be costly, an alternative is for organisations to keep abreast with medical/scientific updates via reliable websites and sources.
Organisations must continue to monitor the WHO and governments’ websites to source up-to-date information on disease outbreaks. It is important to know when any of the business operations become at risk due to outbreaks within the office vicinity. In summary, the sources of information are:
As the sciences of the world continue to research the disease, the latest outcome of any research should be reviewed in as much depth as possible. The research will assist BC planners to understand better the implications for your organisation and how large of risk will Infectious Disease constitute. There is a need to understand the differences between Infectious Disease and the common cold.
It is necessary to understand the measures taken by global and country health authorities. Organisations must identify and monitor reliable sources of information:
Within an organisation, the maintaining of crucial mechanisms includes monitoring of Infectious Disease. Supporting structures such as personnel assigned to monitor and coordinate the dissemination of Infectious Disease issues centrally are critical.
Also, the ability to collate relevant information for specific locations/sub-business units must be considered. This structure must be designed as part of the routine communication process within an organisation which includes information to appropriate parties and escalation of warnings.
An example of a focal point to disseminate Infectious Disease-related information to all staff is the use of the intranet and through specifically designed staff awareness and training.
The past major disaster such as September 11, SARS and the Ebola outbreak in Africa had demonstrated the weakness of the management decision-making and response structure of most organisations during a crisis. The assignment of a dedicated decision-making structure or sometimes referred to as a crisis management team will enhance efficient reaction time and minimise confusion.
The frequent rehearsal of possible scenarios will strengthen the coordination and allow the fully integrated leadership and management chain to handle unplanned and complicated Infectious Disease issues.
A crisis management team can organise this with the incident management team and the emergency response team.
One of the major efforts in the planning process is to minimise the concentration of critical personnel resources at one location or country. The worst-case scenario is when multiple mission-critical staff members become infected at the same time. These are some of the possible splitting or sharing arrangements:
The focus of pandemic planning is on the operations of the businesses. Reviewing the availability of executive management during an outbreak is important.
A thorough examination of IT infrastructure is expected during an outbreak of Infectious Disease. Organisations must consider the following IT, and IT support challenges:
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Reference GuideGoh, M. H. (2016). A Manager’s Guide to Implement Your Infectious Disease Business Continuity Plan, 2nd Edition. GMH Pte Ltd. |