You MUST take time to review the “CDC Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to the 2009-2010 Influenza Season.” Here is an excerpt:
Businesses should have an understanding of their normal seasonal absenteeism rates and know how to monitor their personnel for any unusual increases in absenteeism through the fall and winter. Business continuity planners should assess their essential business functions now to determine at what threshold of absenteeism those functions would be threatened if absenteeism escalates. Planners can then prepare to take more aggressive measures to protect continuity as absenteeism escalates towards those thresholds.
I think these are some of the key recommendations from the CDC report:
- Take this potential threat to your business seriously and plan NOW.
- Allow sick workers to stay home without fear of losing their jobs. Sick employees at work should be asked to go home
- Allow employees to stay home if have to care for ill family members, or must watch their children if schools or childcare facilities close
- Encourage employees to get vaccinated
- Be even more diligent about employees who are at higher risk of complications: pregnant women and those with chronic lung disease, heart disease, diabetes, and diseases that suppress the immune system. Consider how these employees might be reassigned to duties that have minimal contact with other employees, clients, or customers.
- Consider cancelling non-essential business travel
I would add the following five recommendations for leaders:
1. Involve your employees in the planning process. If the flu hits as bad as some are predicting, the fear level in your workforce is going to escalate. Involving your employees in the planning process will assure them that you are taking this seriously and that you care about their well-being.
2. Lead by example. If you get sick, go home and stay home. If one of your family members gets sick, take care of them.
3. Stick to the plan: Make sure leaders at every level of your organization understand that they too must lead by example. Your plan will be worthless if anyone is allowed to ignore it. Sit down with every one of your direct reports, look them in the eye, and make sure they understand the severity of the situation and the importance of following the plan. Ask them to do the same with all of their direct reports, and so-on all the way through the organization. Follow-up and hold people accountable.
4. Enable and empower your workforce: Adapt your policies and re-design your processes so that even more people have the ability to make decisions and take action. No empty rhetoric – give them the tools they need to get things done. Train, cross-train, improve communication, and share information.
5. Practice Prevention: Chronic stress and burnout can suppress the body’s immune system. Overload your people with work this fall and you could increase the risk of losing them to the flu. Role ambiguity and abusive supervision are two other big sources of stress. Make sure your people know what is expected of them and give them more control over how to accomplish their goals. Implement Bob Sutton’s No Asshole Rule and reign in the abusive jerks in your workplace.
In the same way that you should plan for the threat an outbreak of the flu might pose to your business, I think you should also plan for potential opportunities. If your competitors fail to plan and are adversely affected by heavy absenteeism, you and your business have an opportunity to shine in the eyes of potential customers and talent you are trying to recruit.
We have plenty of warning that the flu this fall might have a huge impact on our employees, customers, and suppliers. There is no excuse for failing to heed the warnings and developing your action plans NOW.
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