By Mary Carrido

It was February 28, 2001.  I was meeting with Rosie Zorko, the Business Continuity Manager for Frank Russell Company to discuss earthquake preparedness for the home and office.   As if on cue the rumbling started, the floors started rolling and the building started swaying.  We were in the midst of a 6.8 earthquake!

In June of 2000, Frank Russell Company decided to capitalize on their Y2K planning efforts.  MLC and Associates, Inc. was engaged to perform a Business Continuity Audit and subsequently to facilitate the development of their Global Business Continuity Program.  Since January of 2001, we have worked with the Russell BCP team members to conduct a Business Impact Analysis.  As part of the corporate effort, we launched a program for employee awareness with a front-page article in their employee online newsletter, "Soundings".  An article was published in January to explain Russell's efforts to create a Business Continuity Program.  We decided to present a series on home and office preparedness, with the first article in March to be focused on Flooding.  We had just decided to highlight Earthquake Preparedness for the April issue when the earthquake hit.

Some of the employees were confused about what they should do, others were quick to leave the building to check on their loved ones and homes.  The evacuation process was confusing and the communication avenues were not robust enough to meet their needs.  Fortunately, a bullhorn was available and the President was able to calm employee anxiety.

Immediately following the earthquake, Russell offered psychological counseling for any employee needing help in coping with the disaster.  The next day, Rosie held a formal debriefing with the Executive Crisis Management team.  The agenda included what went well, what didn't go as planned, and where improvements could be made.  The following general priorities emerged: the need for more effective emergency communications equipment, additional training for floor wardens, placement of emergency response teams in each building, better coordination of facilities staff and emergency response teams, and an emphasis on home preparedness for employees.

Why should a company invest the time and money on ensuring that their employees are prepared at home?  Russell understands why.  The first inclination of the employee is to rush home to check to see if their home is secure and their loved ones are safe.  If employees learn how to prepare for disasters and implement a sound preparedness program in their own homes, it will reduce the anxiety they suffer if the disaster occurs while they are at work.  Russell is in the process of designing a series of free workshops for its employees both online and in a classroom setting to emphasize home and office preparedness and cover the following issues:

• Check to see that your children's school has an emergency preparedness plan.
• Have a family emergency communications plan so that you know how to reach family members during a disaster.
• Teach employees how to respond to different disaster scenarios both at home and the office.  This can be accomplished through role-playing games and by giving people preparedness information from such sources as the Red Cross, FEMA, IBHS and articles in industry publications such as the Disaster Resource Guide.
• Make sure employees know the evacuation routes in every building in the organization.
• Create an emergency pack for the home that contains food, water, medical supplies, blankets, and extra clothing.  Checklists for the home are available from the Red Cross or FEMA web site or local offices.
• Stress the importance of family preparedness.  Families should practice for disasters, too.  Make sure that every family member knows what to do during a disaster, how to communicate with loved ones if the phone lines are unavailable, and where to go immediately (to be safe) and as soon as possible (to meet up with other family members).

Frank Russell Company is committed to reducing the risk that the homes and families of their employees may suffer in a disaster.  With their Employee Awareness Program and the workshops that they plan to hold in the coming months, they are proving that they consider their employees to be their number one asset.  Russell's President and CEO, Mike Phillips, showed his concern to his employees by issuing a statement the next day describing how fortunate they were to not have suffered any serious damage and that Russell's primary focus is to ensure the protection of its employees.

About the Author
Mary L. Carrido, President & CEO of MLC & Associates, Inc., has over 20 years of experience encompassing a wide range of activities and industries.  She is considered an industry expert in the field of Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity and is a popular international speaker.  Ms. Carrido served two terms on the National ACP Board as the Chairman and CEO in 1996 and 1997 and for two years on the Board of Directors for the Business and Industry Council for Emergency Planning and Preparedness (BICEPP). Contact information: (949) 222-1202, email, mcarri@mlc2resq.com or at the web site www.mlc2resq.com