When the business day began on September 11, 2001 at the Cantor-Fitzgerald brokerage company in the World Trade Center in New York, no one could have anticipated that by the end of the day 70% of their New York employees would be dead including most of the executive team. No one foresaw a terrorist crashing a plane into the building with such devastation. While we may not have control over events like this, we can be much better prepared for the loss of a key executive or work team as the result of an unforeseen happening.
There are many disruptive events that affect life and adversely impact businesses in unpredictable ways. The recent SARS scare serves to remind us that we are all vulnerable. A few weeks ago a lone, deranged gunman bent on revenge killed five at a Mississippi workplace. Just recently we were on heightened alert to a threatened terrorist attack somewhere on our home soil, an ongoing dilemma. Worse, we may have to learn to live our lives in the future with dangers like this lurking in the background.
Many of us give passing thought to the possibility of earthquakes or fires that might affect our homes and families. Yet we are generally loathe to consider the "what ifs" and specifics of safety, security or continuity. It´s hard to give attention to such a gloomy subject and as a result we tend to give too little attention to preparation for disasters and catastrophes of all kinds.
Not unlike families, businesses have an obligation to focus on events that could spell disaster. Often it´s the HR department that has the responsibility to design and sell such a plan to management. As you know, numerous state and national laws force businesses to address protecting employees when there´s a threat to their safety. Preparations for natural and man-made disasters detailed in safety plans, often filter down from HR and Security to departments and individuals. Computer backup systems have become extremely complex because so much of business continuity is dependant on electronic data. This function typically gets a great deal of attention. But safety of employees and data is not by itself sufficient to ensure business survival and continuity. According to James DeWitt, former head of FEMA, disasters cost businesses billions and some never recover.
Episodes of previously unknown diseases, terrorist attacks and earthquakes can affect many but even the loss of one key employee, someone with a huge repository of information in their head, or an executive team member can create havoc in an organization in a number of ways. The typical disaster plan does not usually address the issue of losing people, the most valuable asset, due to death, serious illness, defection, promotion, accident or criminal acts.
When a key player is gone:
What if you are the HR director in a small business and your sales manager has a heart attack. Who else knows her systems, style, strategies and contacts? Who can jump in her shoes and make sense of her job, quickly? On the other hand, your company may be middle-sized with a few thousand employees. Suppose your in-house lawyer, who has been swamped with work, takes a job with a competitor and spends his last two weeks "wrapping up", which means cleaning off his desk and filing. Can someone step into his place immediately? Who knows how he organizes his time and files? Who knows with whom he interfaces to get things done? Does his support staff, if he has one, have knowledge of the idiosyncrasies of the job, his informal contacts who facilitate the necessary processes, or methods for getting things done? The repercussion of a critical team member´s loss can lead to corporate disorganization, low workplace morale, negative media attention, loss of customers, declining stock price and loss of market share. Directors and officers could even be exposed to liability if there isn´t a plan in place. Where does the HR department fit in this scenario? If your company has a plan and a continuity team, hopefully you are a key member. If your answer is no to either here are some ideas to get you started. Remember, this is a critical process and one in which you should have an important role.
What to do about it
A management continuity plan needs to include several components developed proactively since in the aftermath of disruption or disaster, planning is almost impossible. Acting on clear strategies, determined in advance, results in clear decisions and communication. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- First, form a continuity team which should include members of the executive team, HR, security, IT and others relevant to your operation.
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- Develop preventive and remedial (post-incident) services. Take stock of what would happen if any of your employees were suddenly gone. Assess how many of your key personnel are cross-trained. Determine if there are clear protocols to follow if key executives or managers are gone.
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- Learn more about succession planning to create smooth transitions. Does your company have a leadership training program to groom talented individuals to step into critical roles?
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- Build "professional wills" for critical functions. This kind of "will," like a personal will, makes explicit what otherwise might be assumed. In this case it refers to the specific roles, goals, strategies and logistics to continue the viability of business functions.
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- Identify strategies for anticipating and managing change: workplace stress management and resiliency training. Change can be threatening and it isn´t embraced by all, even here in Silicon Valley. Providing tools and support for employees to make smooth transitions will facilitate adjustment to unexpected dramatic shifts.
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- Conduct a risk assessment and begin to develop a plan to safeguard people, critical functions and work-products. The goal is not business as usual, it´s avoiding going out of business.
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Remember that planning for the future forces you to assess and organize the present. Taking time to assess is the second step. You have already accomplished the first - increased awareness. But you don´t have to start from scratch. Management Continuity Planning consultants are available. Since you are still reading you likely have a heightened awareness of the need for Management Continuity Planning, a subject that may have seemed irrelevant until now.
* In collaboration with Rick Allen, Ph.D., co-principal of Management Continuity Planning Associates
