Avalution Consulting is not only a pandemic preparedness thought leader - we provide hands-on assistance to dozens of organizations with the difficult task of developing balanced, pragmatic pandemic preparedness strategies that align to the organization’s strategic mission. Yes, we help organizations with plan documentation, but more strategically, Avalution’s professionals facilitate the creation of viable risk mitigation and recovery strategies, the identification of alternate work methods and the creation of organizational awareness regarding this unique, confusing threat. We also offer advice and feedback regarding current-state human resources policies and the implications presented by an event like a pandemic.

What We Learned
Recent events demonstrated the value of proactively planning for a public health event. The 2009 H1N1 virus clearly illustrated the need to have strategies in place to continue the most important organizational activities during periods of high absenteeism. Of equal importance, this event provided executive managers a “hint” as to how fear can influence government and employee decision-making. 

So what did organizations learn from this? And more importantly, how can they apply these lessons learned to mitigate the risk of mass absenteeism and supply chain interruption during a pandemic? Four key issues stand out.

1.       Prepare governance mechanisms and processes for implementation, as opposed to struggling with the development and modification of policies as the event takes shape.

2.       Discuss methods of controlling employee fear in the workplace through proactive, recurring communications and awareness techniques, and as warranted, the dissemination of resources to slow the spread of the disease. Avoid making decisions that your organization would never implement by:

·         engaging executive managers in strategy discussions

·         acquiring the resources necessary to implement approved strategies

·         testing risk mitigation and recovery strategies (including remote access)

3.       Continuously analyze personnel single points of failure and vulnerability; identify and assess methods of performing knowledge transfer and training amongst work groups.

4.       Develop assumptions regarding product and service demand, and based on conclusions, develop operational plans to ensure personnel and resources are available to meet stakeholder expectations. 

Conclusions
Like “general” business continuity planning, pandemic preparedness isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, nor is just about documenting a plan. Contact us today to schedule a no-obligation discussion regarding your pandemic preparedness effort and how to integrate effective, pragmatic planning into your broader business continuity strategy. We look forward to sharing our approach to pandemic preparedness and some of the operational and tactical strategy options to align to your organizations strategic objectives.