What's all the fuss about...

/ 01 June 2009

Swine flu
Preparing your company for a pandemic

Since reports of the first cases in Mexico, swine flu has been hogging the headlines, creating panic, closing schools and curtailing travel plans. At the time of writing, there are only 71 confirmed cases of swine flu (officially called Novel influenza A or H1N1) within the UK. But a study by Imperial College London suggests that the autumn and winter months will see this figure rise significantly. The lead researcher on the report, Professor Neil Ferguson, who sits on the World Health Organisation’s emergency committee, says that H1N1 is ‘likely to spread around the world in the next six months and could affect one third of the population’.

While there’s no need to panic about staff being struck down with the disease straight away, managers should be thinking ahead, says Mandy Rutter, clinical manager at AXA ICAS and a leading expert in trauma management. She advises businesses to look at their current continuity plans and update them in light of the pandemic. ‘Many plans talk about loss of the infrastructure, for example the loss of the building or IT. The potential of swine flu is about the loss of huge numbers of people in work. Firms need to look at every aspect of their plan and think about it in terms of depleted staff numbers.’

Identifying your core business functions and the essential workers that back them up will give employers an idea of just how big a problem they’ll have if swine flu hits their workforce hard. Rutter suggests that organisations invest in upskilling other workers within core teams, so they can take on the roles of essential staff members should they be off sick.

Rutter also points out that the human element of potential mass sick leave should not be overlooked. ‘If large numbers of people are off work, it creates certain feelings in those still working. Some get very resentful, while others feel everyone else has got to pull harder,’ she says. Managers need to work hard now to build relationships, morale and plans with their staff – and it needs to come from director level downwards. ‘If senior level managers are demonstrating compassion and commitment, that will filter down to ground level,’ says Rutter.

Lastly, don’t forget that some staff may be more vulnerable than others. Firms need to have provisions in place to cater for employees whose existing health or family issues make them more likely to be affected by a swine flu pandemic. Ensure staff are aware you’ve considered all the options to take care of those with special circumstances.