Outbreaks of infectious diseases have increased with the advent of globalization. As organizations have expanded across borders, oceans, continents, the landscape of the pandemic has changed considerably. Outbreaks such as SARS and H1N1 gave us a glimpse of the possible havoc, while the most recent West Africa Ebola outbreak has demonstrated that no industry remains untouched by the potential implications of an outbreak.

While the level of pandemic preparedness among Canadian business has traditionally been relatively low, organizations are beginning to invest in their value chains and employees in order to reduce the potential impacts of pandemics or high absenteeism.

An effective Pandemic Preparedness and Response Program can help organizations achieve economic returns before, during, and after an outbreak by enabling an enhanced level of employee protection while maintaining critical operations with disciplined and effective management. Organizational preparedness to respond to, and minimize, the impact of a pandemic is critical to the sustainability of any business.

Organizations should consider the multiple variables that will impact their ability to maintain uninterrupted operations, including staffing shortages, challenges in maintaining critical operations, and impact on financial bottom line.

In doing so, organizations should ensure that there are appropriate policies and procedures developed, and that the appropriate resources and contingency plans are in place.

How Marsh Risk Consulting Can Help

Each organization has unique needs and as such, pandemic planning should be appropriately tailored and never "one-sizefits- all". Pandemic plans should carefully take into account the industry, business operations, financial position, corporate values, and culture of the organization.

Through the integration of best practices and industry expertise, and a thorough understanding of the organization, MRC will work collaboratively to develop an effective pandemic response plan that will increase organizational resiliency when faced with a global health crisis or pandemic.

The most critical steps in developing a Pandemic Crisis Management Framework are the planning activities, outlined below in MRC's proven, systematic approach:

  • Confirmation of Critical Processes: This process consists of determining critical processes within the organization, with particular emphasis on whether the function could be performed from an offsite location during a pandemic. Analysis is also performed to determine impact of interruption of the critical processes and minimal staffing levels and skill sets required to sustain them.
  • Development/Verification of Pandemic Policies: Consists of reviewing existing policy documentation and comparing them to current best practices. Once a review is completed, challenges will be addressed through recommendations and policy changes for implementation.
  • Communication Strategy Development: Marsh will evaluate internal and external communication requirements and techniques, develop a communication timetable, and outline recommendations for specific pandemic communication elements. A communication strategy to implement during a pandemic will be developed, consistent with current organizational standards.
  • Pandemic Crisis Management Framework Development: Marsh will develop a pragmatic documentation plan, establish monitoring procedures, and associated trigger events to facilitate decision making. An update to the employee communication program will reflect the approved policies, while the expansion of existing documentation will include additional elements such as resource requirements in the event of high absenteeism.
  • Business Unit Pandemic Response Plans: Specific plans will be developed or existing Business Continuity Plans modified to include pandemic response protocols, such as strategies to maintain critical processes, key skill set succession strategies, and organized shut down due to quarantine action or loss of key personnel.
  • Exercise: Marsh will develop and facilitate a specific pandemic scenario table top exercise to validate the Pandemic Crisis Management Framework. Attention will be on the communication elements and interaction between groups, in addition to assumptions used in procedural documentation, and the structure/ usability of the documentation.

MRC's Business Continuity Management consultants are accredited business continuity practitioners with access to an extensive global network of professionals and years of experience in issues surrounding pandemic preparedness. MRC can provide a global solution to a global issue that is right for your organization.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.