Copyright Institute of Management & Administration Apr 2005In the wake of Sept. 11, employers have increased planning for an emergency or a disaster. Steps to take:
* Examine how preparedness activities affect employees. Emergency drills, awareness training, and related activities should inform and be reassuring.
* Encourage employees to be prepared to take responsibility during a crisis. The first responders in a crisis are usually "ordinary people" rather than the police or fire departments. The National Hazards Research and Applications Information Center's (www.colorado.edu) review of past crises suggests that organizations should shift their emphasis from what the firm will do for its staff to what people will do for themselves.
* Plan to address the ongoing mental-health needs of employees in the event of a biological attack or event.
Unlike a bombing or natural disaster, biological attacks may unfold slowly, which increases the role that fear will play in the event.
* Ensure business continuity. The National Fire Protection Association released its latest edition of NFPA 1600, Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs. The standard (available at www.nfpa.org/PDF/nfpa 1600.pdf?src=nfpa) provides criteria to assess current emergency management and business continuity programs or to develop, implement, and maintain an emergency preparedness program.
* Realize that emergency evacuations may take longer than non-emergency evacuations suggest. A study from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (www.nist.gov) about the attack on the World Trade Center found that the average survivor spent 48 seconds per floor descending the stairwell-about half as fast as previously reported non-emergency evacuations had suggested. The agency also estimates that each stairwell door exited about 37 people per minute, comparable to the slowest rate for non-emergency evacuations.
* Don't assume that employees and managers at facilities with disaster experience will be aggressive in preparing for new disasters. A Canadian study found that individuals and regions previously affected by major crises recognize an increased possibility of future disasters and seek disaster information more readily than do individuals in areas with no disaster experience. Yet populations with disaster experience were less likely to make investments to prepare for future disasters.
* Emphasize the risk of fire in your employee emergency awareness training. Fires are much more common and deadly than tornadoes-yet individuals tend to fear tornadoes more and underestimate the risk of fire and the severity of its consequences, according to a NFPA study.
* Stress that "drop, cover, and hold on" remains the best advice in an earthquake, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has illustrations on the proper procedure at its Web site (www.fema.gov/ hazards/earthquakes/nehrp'hold.shtm).
* Realize that the amount of direct loss from a disaster doesn't determine business failure-other factors do. What does affect business survival rates, according to research by the University of Wisconsin ( Green Bay; www.uwgb.edu): the existence of more than one location, business flexibility in meeting changes to consumer demands, and the effects of the disaster on customers.
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