Ahhh, fall. It’s the time of year for football, fall colors and cooler weather. Oh, and the flu pandemic.
In spring 2009, an estimated 1 million people in the United States became ill with H1N1 flu between April and June, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
That was just a warm-up.
The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology said H1N1 could infect half the U.S. population this fall and winter, potentially hospitalizing up to 1.8 million people and causing as many as 90,000 deaths (more than double the number that occur in an average flu season).
Are you ready for half your work force not to report to work? If you’re like most businesses, the answer is “no.” But there’s still time to take action to prevent H1N1 from spreading or minimizing its impact if your employees do get sick.
- Inform yourself. The CDC maintains a variety of information related to H1N1 and has also published a preparedness guide for small business.
- Dust off your crisis communications and business continuity plans. What are your company’s essential functions, inputs and positions? Are there backup plans in place for these? Who is your “go-to” person in the event of a crisis? Do you have media talking points in place if you are contacted?
- Communicate with your employees. Do they know you have a plan for dealing with high absenteeism? Do they know the details of your sick-leave policy? What about telecommuting?
- Step up personal hygiene in the workplace. Provide tissues, no-touch trash cans, hand soap, hand sanitizer, disinfectants and disposable towels for employees to clean their work surfaces.
- Encourage employees to get the seasonal flu vaccine and the H1N1 vaccine when it’s available.
- Monitor news and information about H1N1, but be picky about your source(s). The CDC is on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, and it provides podcasts and RSS feeds.
Clear communication to your workforce, customers and business partners is essential all the time, but particularly in times of crisis. Make sure your crisis plans are up to date now before that next crisis hits, whether it is H1N1 or something else. Don’t wait for something bad to happen. Be ready now.
