Employees & Business Continuity

There's no doubt about it... employees are an important consideration, both in your business continuity planning and in estimating your risk. You must keep your workforce safe; therefore, it's important to know all you can on how to do so - before, during and after a disruption. It's also important, however, to be aware of the ways in which your employees can be the cause of some difficulties such as decreased productivity, alienated clients, etc.

Are you prepared to handle the human dimensions of a disaster? (Item #1)   The human issues in recovering from a disaster are just as critical as they are in preparing. (Item #2)   Workforce issues should be the first step in your planning. (Item #3)  

A lawyer writes about the employers' role in protecting employees. (Item #4)   Where does HR fit in getting your business up and running again? (Item #5)   How do employees' legal issues affect your bottom line? (Item #6)  

As always, we look forward to hearing your comments & insights regarding business continuity. If you have a topic you'd like us to cover, email me at [email protected].

Bob Mellinger, President
Attainium Corp

1. In the spotlight: The human side of business continuity planning

It's important to build resiliency into your business operations, but it's just as important to build resiliency into your human capital. One way to achieve human capital resiliency is to ensure that your organization has addressed the people-related components of business continuity planning. This paper outlines risks related to human capital resiliency that could arise in any crisis and provides a framework for addressing them.
http://www.talkingbusinesscontinuity.com/downloads/pdf/IBM%20-%20The%20Human%20Side%20of%20Business%20Continuity%20Planning.pdf

2. Organizing Human Resource Issues for Business Continuity

Part of the dilemma in planning for business continuity is the myriad of human issues to be dealt with - the human resource policies and procedures that impact employees involved in the response to disaster. In many instances the human resource function was a critical but often ignored function in the planning for recovery.
http://www.drj.com/drworld/content/w3_021.htm

3. Step 1: Identify Workforce Issues

Employers often go straight to developing workforce proposals, strategies, and programs. Instead, they should first clearly define the nature and scope of the issues they need to address. Three key issue drivers for strategic workforce planning are identified here.
http://www.hr.wa.gov/WorkforceDataAndPlanning/WorkforcePlanning
/Pages/IdentifyWorkforceIssues.aspx

4. After the Storm: Disaster Recovery and Employee Safety

When and where the next disaster will strike, whether created by man or by nature, is anyone's guess. For employers, who are obligated to keep their employees safe during working hours, disaster preparedness is critical. This article outlines employers' obligations to protect employees before, during, and after an emergency and offers recommendations to employers in the following areas: (1) preparing for an emergency; (2) taking action during an emergency; and (3) cleaning up and resuming business after an emergency.
http://rendermagazine.com/articles/2010-issues/2010-february/2010-02-labor-and-the-law/

5. HR's Role in Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity - Getting Back to Business

In this latest mini-series, I have been looking at the role that HR has to play in recovering from a disaster situation which might result from anything from a power outage or IT crash to a natural disaster or terrorist attack. Having considered what those in HR can do to plan and prepare for such eventualities and the crucial part that they have to play at the time of the event, today I want to look at where they fit into getting the business up and running again.
http://www.hrninjablog.com/?p=2680

6. How employees' legal issues impact productivity

"The Impact of Legal Matters on Today's Work Force," a study from Hyatt Legal Plans, a MetLife company, found that people grappling with ordinary personal legal matters-such as will preparation, traffic tickets, real estate matters, debt problems or family situations like adoption and divorce-bring these issues to the office with them each and every day. And business productivity is being negatively impacted because of it.
http://www.benefitspro.com/2011/07/06/how-employees-legal-issues-impact-productivity