Business Recovery Begins at Home

By Melvyn Musson, CDRP, CISSP, FBCI

More and more companies are developing plans to respond to emergency/disaster situations. Such plans can involve special arrangements for alternative premises, detailed procedures and action plans. All of these strategies are dependent upon the actions of company employees. However, what happens if the area of the disaster includes the employee's homes. If your employees have no disaster preparedness plan for their family and property, this can have the potential negative impact on the viability of your company's recovery plans. Such situations can occur with major storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc. However, it is not just in major situations that employees can benefit from such education and training. A prepared employee and/or family member can respond better and reduce the potential impact of any home disaster.

IMPACT OF DISASTER SITUATIONS

In a disaster situation, particularly if it is of a regional nature, the employee's first natural reaction will be to try to look after their home and family. However, if they are untrained, this can result in more injury and damage. In addition, the company will lose the services of those employees who are critical players in their recovery plan, to respond to the situation at the company's location.

A Company can handle this problem by incorporating two additional functions in their business continuation plan. The first is the provision of preparedness and response training for all employees to use at home and in the community. The second is the inclusion of special arrangements for the families of employees with critical roles.

Employee preparedness and response programs can range from basic to sophisticated levels and can involve both individual family plans and community plans.

FAMILY DISASTER PLANS

Both the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the American Red Cross have developed suggested family disaster plans. These include the development of a disaster supplies kit, designation of meeting places and emergency contacts and telephone numbers, ability to shut off utilities, knowledge of home and area hazards, first aid and CPR.

COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAMS

In addition, FEMA and State Emergency Management Agencies are actively promoting Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT). This involves designated areas (e.g. subdivisions, neighborhood watch groups, church groups) developing plans and undergoing training to initially help themselves and then provide information to the emergency services. The reason for this is that in a regional type disaster, the emergency services cannot be everywhere immediately. Therefore, people need to be capable of assessing the situation, providing assistance where they can and then providing a situation report to the emergency services.

CERT was originally developed in Las Angeles to respond to the potential earthquake situation that can occur in that region. A basic program for responding to all types of disasters has been developed by FEMA and can be used in its entirety by individual jurisdictions or can be customized to meet their specific needs. The length of the program can vary, but basic content includes:

* The overview of the CERT organization and its role in disaster response.

* The identification of hazards and their potential impact. This includes hazardous materials and those natural hazards to which the area may be subject.

* Fire suppression techniques including the use of fire extinguishers and the control of utilities (e.g. gas shut off).

* The disaster medical operations procedures including the principles of TRIAGE, treatment strategies for life threatening conditions and the establishment of treatment areas. Patient evaluation and the treatment of non-life threatening injuries are also covered.

* Light search and rescue covering search techniques, evacuation and rescue methods with major emphasis on recognizing rescue limitations and safety.

* The psychology of disasters and the emotional environment that will be met.

* A simplified incident command system emphasizing teamwork, organization and logistical planning.

* A simulated disaster exercise to apply the principles learned and emphasize the multi-functional approach and teamwork needed.

Periodic, usually quarterly, continuing education is also necessary and team members are responsible for their own equipment.

KEY EMPLOYEE SUPPORT NETWORKS

As previously, mentioned, major problems can arise with those employees who have key/critical roles in a Company's Business Continuation Plan, should the disaster situation impact both the company's facility and the employees home. Their natural reaction will be to return home or stay at home to look after their family. They will also want to remain at home until the situation has stabilized. However, this can conflict with the needs of the Company's Business Continuation Plan. Such plans will normally need them to report, stay at work or move to an alternate site.

Such potential conflict can be overcome by the use of a Key Employee Support Network (KESN), sometimes otherwise known as the "family SWAT team." The KESN can also be useful when the disaster situation involves only the company's facility. As essential employees will be happier if there is a support network, those can respond/help with the family's day to day needs.

The intent of the KESN is to provide a designated group of employees who can respond to the key employee's homes, asses what assistance is needed, provide that assistance, monitor the situation and provide any additional assistance.

In addition, key employee's families are encouraged to develop and participate in CERT or NERT (Neighborhood Emergency Response Teams) for their area to provide immediate assistance until the KESN team is able to respond and work with the CERT/NERT.

Activities of the KESN may include temporary repairs, assistance with children and pets, medical supplies, food supplies, transportation, etc. There will also be a need for good, regular communication between the employee and their family.

The KESN function may also be charged with providing financial assistance, hotel accommodations or other temporary relocation.

The specific KESN requirements incorporated in the companys plan will vary depending upon the companys needs, the impact of such needs on key employees and the types of hazard that could affect the area.

BENEFITS TO BUSINESSES AND THE COMMUNITY

Major benefits of Family Preparedness, CERT and KESN are:

* First, the more prepared employees are at home, the easier and quicker it is for them to respond to the company's needs.

* Second, KESN provides peace of mind for key employees who have critical function in the Company's Business Continuation Plan.

* Finally, there is a benefit to the community from such programs. Prepared employees can help themselves and put fewer demands on the community's emergency services, particularly in the initial stages of the disaster response.

In addition, the quicker the company recovers; the less impact there is on the economic health of the community.

About the Author:
Melvyn is President of the Musson Consulting Group and a Principal of the Recovery Facilitation Network, Tel: (314) 461-0536, Fax: (314) 461-0051.