How Prepared is Your Organization?

Kim Brown
Client Liaison

When I was asked to submit an article for this newsletter, I tried to come up with something unique, a topic I have not written on or discussed before. However, the majority of my ideas led me right back to my typical message of being proactive, getting a head start and taking information handed to us and acting on it.

While you may be tired of hearing about the H1N1 virus, the topic ties directly back to a previous article I wrote regarding Disaster Recovery Plans. When one hears "disaster recovery", they automatically consider a disaster to be a hurricane, fire, earthquake, etc. However, a Pandemic is right up there on the list of disasters that can have a negative impact on a business.

• Has your organization identified a Workplace Coordinator, who will be responsible for flu related issues and their impact on the business? This person would be responsible for staying up to date on the latest information in your community and keeping employees educated on the topic.
• Do you have policies/procedures in place that address each employee's time off? For example, how much time are they allowed, will that time off be paid time off, and do these policies/procedures need to be adjusted during this flu season? Who do they contact if they need to be out?
• Are your employees cross trained so that they can cover each other in the event of absenteeism? At what levels of absenteeism can your organization still function as a business? Have you considered what impact an outbreak will have if it hits a vendor or one of your suppliers?
• Are your employees set up to work from home in the event they are the primary care taker of other family members, such as young children?

So again, how prepared is your organization and what can we do to help? While we are not trained healthcare professionals, we are trained technology professionals. We are ready to assist with things like disaster recover plans, remote office plans (setting up users to work from home or at another location) and remote management of your network. Check us out at etccomputerland.com or call us at 217-228-6180.

Below are a few links that you will hopefully find useful in keeping up to date on the latest H1N1 news and information. Encourage preventative measures, such as frequent hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes, getting enough rest and if your employees do come down with the flu, encourage them to stay home for the recommended time period in order to avoid infecting others.

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/business/guidance/
http://www.cdc.gov/germstopper/work.htm
http://www.co.adams.il.us/