THE DISASTER "HUMAN FACTOR" CONTINUUM

By Steven Crimando and Jakob Steinberg

Business continuity is about people. People, not machines, recover businesses!

As the industry has opened its doors to experts on the human side of disaster recovery, the initial thrust of professional assistance has come in the form of trauma counseling or "debriefing" services to stabilize the emotional reactions of employees in the aftermath of a disaster. While this is a critical link in the recovery process, it represents only one component of total disaster recovery. This concept is known as Human Resource Recovery and encompasses not only the immediate emotional needs following exposure to traumatic events, but it addresses all aspects of getting people back "on-line" after an event.

It is important to understand that Human Resource Recovery is not solely a function of the Human Resource or Personnel Department. It is an integrated part of the Disaster Recovery Plan, as the recovery of any other important resource would be. Disaster Recovery or Crisis Management Teams must be multidisciplinary to succeed. In addressing the human factors, the involvement of representatives from legal, public affairs/information, public relations, security, and human resources, as well as executive management, is vital.

The backbone of any disaster recovery plan is preparedness! Preparedness in this instance is broad reaching, as disasters impact employees'personal lives, as well as their work. Assisting employees in developing Personal Disaster Recovery Plans consistent with the company's recovery plan can make a critical difference in how quickly employees are able to return to work. The quality and quantity of their productivity will be directly affected as well. Critical decision making will be dramatically impaired. The following are strategies in developing a complete Human Factors component for your organization's Disaster Recovery Plan.

Stage 1: Policy Development

Executive management support is the most important component of the comprehensive disaster recovery plan. The company's commitment and involvement in the recovery process is paramount, especially in regard to the human factors. Some of the important human resource recovery issues often overlooked by management during planning include questions such as: Do we continue to pay staff during a prolonged disruption? Should we provide emergency child care so employees are free to come into work? What other assistance (temporary shelter, financial aid, etc.) should we provide to help employees recover from personal losses caused by the disaster?

All policies and protocols regarding recovery and resumption must be addressed in this stage. This was discovered by hundreds of businesses following the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Employees do not return to work until their own homes and families are secured.

Stage 2: Awareness

Once detailed policies and procedures are generated, they must be shared. With this idea of total disaster recovery in mind, it is helpful to inform employees not only about how the company will respond to a disaster, but how their communities will as well.

Educating personnel through a Disaster Recovery Awareness Day is a creative way to distribute printed materials, show videos and in general share information about how individuals can better prepare their homes and families for disasters. This provides an opportunity to share information about the company's crisis communication system, transportation pools and other measures the company has taken to facilitate a safe and speedy return to work.

Other methods of raising awareness of the recovery plan, and especially the human factors, may also be achieved through web-sites, group E-mail or Intranet systems, where employees can go to learn more about any specific feature, or even print information to bring home. Employees may even be able to access such a site from home to check out important information in the event that they are unable to get to work due to weather, damaged roadways or damaged vehicles.

Stage 3: Supervisor & Management Training

Ultimately, it will be the role of middle managers to implement many aspects of the Human Resource Recovery Plan. Middle managers not only need to be fully educated in the details of recovery plans, but must "buy in" to the concept of assisting employees through both the practical and emotional aspects of recovery. Critical Business Units function only because of critical people. If the manager can not get people in to work, or help them re-establish a sense of safety, returning to pre-event levels of operation may be seriously delayed. Line staff typically have a closer working relationship with their direct supervisors, therefore their sense of trust and willingness to cooperate within the context of that relationship may accelerate emotional stabilization and the resumption of business operations. Middle management must be so well trained in these matters that they become a resource for line staff during an actual event.

Stage 4: Exercising The Plan

As with the overall DR plan, all facets of the Human Resource Recovery plan must be tested as well. Whether through table top, functional or live exercises, the various people responsible for all of the human concerns should go through the testing process. Careful post-exercise evaluation may disclose that some of the people issues which seemed easily addressed on paper are in fact difficult or impossible to carry out. If your company represents being "people oriented", your opportunity to truly demonstrate this is during a crisis. You do not want to drop the ball here.

Stage 5: Evaluation & Plan Maintenance

The Human Resource Recovery component should be evaluated after testing and following any real-time events.

• Did the plan function as an integrated part of the overall DR plan?
• Did it conflict with or become obstructed by any other parts of the plan? Were there any deficiencies?

These and many more questions must be asked in the evaluation stage. The ultimate question, of course is: Were the people needs met, or met closely enough so that employees were physically and emotionally able to return to work and focus on the tasks at hand?

Plan maintenance is also critical. Personnel, labor laws, safety regulations and other internal and external variables affecting employees are constantly changing. Some of these changes may influence how you manage the human side of your disaster plan, so quarterly or yearly reviews and updates of the plan are necessary.

Stage 6: Celebrate Your Success

While this seems like a cliche from the Quality movement, it is an important psychological component of the overall HR Recovery Plan. It is often cited that the Chinese character for "crisis" is comprised of two symbols; one signifying "danger", the other "opportunity". Properly managed, the company may move through the recovery process, from being a victim of a disaster, to being a survivor, to ultimately becoming a thriver.

About the authors:
Steve Crimando, MA, CTS, BCETS and Jakob Steinberg, PhD, ABMP are principals of Crisis Management Consultants, Inc. For more information call (973) 586-8770 or E-mail crisismgmt@nac.net