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10 Questions for an HR Pandemic Plan

Source | Jack Wiles | Gartner

Business disruptions like coronavirus mean turmoil for employees and work. Answer these 10 questions in your HR outbreak management and pandemic plan.

The new coronavirus puts disaster plans top of mind for all business leaders, none more so than HR. Large-scale outbreaks of such dangerous diseases threaten employees directly — as individuals and cumulatively as a workforce.

The top priority for HR: Put people first. As in the SARS, MERS and H1N1 outbreaks, the latest coronavirus generates uncertainty, fear and anxiety — especially if employees think they could be exposed at work.

 HR leaders can’t wait for a crisis to develop to start responding. You need answers now to questions you’ll face

 

“When SARS spread to four continents in 2003, executives at several companies told us that managing employees’ concerns and questions was one of the most time-consuming associated activities,” says Brian Kropp, Distinguished Vice President, Gartner. 

Employees worry about more than their physical safety; they worry about the potential disruptions to their own work, and wonder how the organization plans to manage its operations. 

Read more: With Coronavirus in Mind, Is Your Organization Ready for Remote Work?

Lead Your Organization Through Pandemic Disruption

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Let local HR managers make decisions

The outbreak of this coronavirus (named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization) may never become a pandemic, it remains a major disruption that can affect your global operations for months. Still, outbreaks affect some regions more rapidly and severely than others, so give local HR managers leeway to react independently.

It’s up to global HR to provide timely and accurate information to local teams, but let local HR teams evaluate triggers for actions and make their own time-sensitive critical decisions, such as office closures. 

Also pay special attention to the role of HR’s global mobility and expatriate services teams. When crises occur, these teams may be called upon to repatriate employees, either temporarily or permanently. Set expectations for communication and response times, and define clear roles for each member of these teams during a crisis. Many organizations periodically run crisis scenarios to evaluate their readiness before a real event occurs.

Click here to Read More the full article @ GARTNER

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