In times of distress, rebuild your people, and your people will rebuild your business

Leave it to a good old crisis to go and change things forever. Whether we're talking about a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, or an infectious disease outbreak, the result is always the same: A crisis changes everything.

For 23 years I've travelled the world meeting with community and organizational leaders hit by devastating events. As a consultant to hospital administrative teams during the 2003 SARS epidemic in Toronto, I recall feeling personally overwhelmed. It was clear that a shift was taking place; no longer would things remain the same. But on one particular day, I had an epiphany-something that does not happen to me often. The one thing that remains constant before, during, and after every crisis is what I saw behind the surgical masks: the people.

Today, pandemic planning is on the "to do" list of every human resources manager, no matter the type of business or size of operation. If it hasn't yet made its appearance, it will soon. This is a good thing, because it should no longer be an option. Most of us realize that pandemic planning and business-continuity planning are familiar friends. But what escapes many planning teams is that the people within their own organization should be the most significant contributors to the plan.

I realize that in one simple sweeping click of the keyboard, I've probably offended the operations managers, IT directors, facilities supervisors, and entire finance departments of most companies. They're asking, "How can we possibly rejuvenate our business if our system is not in place first?" 

Let me answer, as many good Maritimers do, with a story. After 9/11 I worked with more than a dozen Manhattan businesses that had at least two things in common: their operations were at a standstill, and their employees were devastated. Those organizations that made the immediate needs of their staff and families their first, and at times only, priority were successful in rebuilding their businesses. Those who focused on anything but their people were slow to recover, if they did at all.

On a Friday afternoon, take the time to look around your organization. See the faces, listen to the voices, and hear the buzz in the office. You will realize that if none of those people was able to, or simply chose not to, return to the office on Monday morning, your operations would cease.

This makes perfect sense, but how does it apply to pandemic planning? If SARS has taught us anything, it has made the "staff-fallout projections" more believable. It's estimated that about 35% of the population will not be able to attend work as a direct result of the illness. Of the remaining 65%, a significant number will remain at home to care for a family member, or will face extraordinary pressure from the family to remain home. Of staff members who do show up at the office, their ability to focus will be limited because they will be worried about their families or themselves. And you are expected to stabilize your operation. Good luck!

But not all is lost. If we realize that an employee's priorities are not going to be 100% on work, our plan should reflect that. If staff worries are anticipated and planned for, the chances of success are greater.

To illustrate the practice behind the theory, allow me to tell another story about the leaders of North York General Hospital in Toronto, one of the epicentres of the SARS epidemic. It has certain expectations of its employees, but those employees are still first and foremost human beings. It became apparent very quickly that many of those working long hours had concerns about their pets at home. Who would walk them? Would they get fed? The administration came up with a way to alleviate employees' fears by hiring a pet-care service to meet their needs. The result: staff was free to focus on the work at hand. This same practical, solution-oriented approach was also used to resolve concerns about grocery shopping, lawn mowing, and transporting kids to and from school.

A pandemic plan must be a practical document that will guide an organization through real concerns it will face, and it must prioritize employees' anticipated needs. The benefits in establishing a people-focused plan are: a lower rate of absenteeism; a quicker return to work for those who are off; an ability for those at work to be able to focus; a greater sense of loyalty from employees and family to an employer who met their needs; and a more rapid and consistent business-rejuvenation rate.

It may require a greater investment of time and thought to humanize your organization's pandemic plan, but it's an investment that will save your business.

Atlantic Canada native Bill Tibbo is president and CEO of Bill Tibbo & Associates, an international corporate consulting and training firm based in Toronto.

This article first appeared in Progress, Vol.15 No.06.