Pandemic Planning Could Give Your Business An Edge

According to a new study from the Schulich School of Business at York University, preparing your business for a pandemic is a potential big win for your business. Many of your competitors are not likely prepared and that represents an opportunity for your business.

"Firms cannot afford to ignore such risks for competitive as well as legal and fiduciary reasons. That's even more the case if their competitors are preparing themselves. Well-prepared firms will have a unique window of opportunity during a pandemic to potentially increase market share at the expense of firms that have not prepared themselves"

Needless to say, the opposite is also true. If you do not prepare your business, the consequences could be dire and costly. While it is difficult to know where to begin when drafting a pandemic plan, staying informed is paramount.

Dan Dorman at Continuity Central has put together a good list of 10 Guiding Principles for Pandemic Planning (Do’s and Don’ts):

1. A pandemic will affect everyone: suppliers, customers, partners, governments, emergency services, medical services, utilities, etc.

2. Predicting effects and outcomes based on past pandemics will likely lead to erroneous conclusions.

3. Knowledge is your weapon against fear and confusion.

4. Consider pandemic effects on the normal legal and contractual processes.

5. If a given wave of pandemic turns out to have a high mortality rate, fear will govern people’s decisions and actions in business and in their personal lives. Civic order and security could become constraining issues. Your arsenal against fear is information, communication, and responsible action.

6. Know that separate waves of a pandemic may have very different characteristics in terms of severity and mortality. The first wave of the 1918 pandemic was quite mild, while the second wave proved deadly and devastating. There is no way to predict any patterns. Many people and companies could ‘let their guard down’ should the first wave prove weak. Conversely, if the first wave is severe, it may be difficult to prepare for the second wave between waves – supplies, drugs and services may be disrupted or scarce.

7. Medical facilities the world over have little to no surge capacity. Effective vaccines might not be available for many months – perhaps not until the second wave is subsiding. Antivirals, limited in quantity, will have unknown efficacy and may quickly prove ineffective as the virus adapts and builds resistance.

8. Your plans should reflect a series of escalating responses in concert with escalating pandemic conditions.

9. Consider strategic planning for a pandemic period.

10. Remember that a pandemic does have a limited time. It will pass.

via [Continuity Central]
via [CNW]

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