HR Management

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Feature:

Workforce Management Exclusive Online Resource Series: Preparing for Disaster

Feature Contents

1. This Is Not A Drill: An Emergency Staffing Plan in Action
The Mayo Clinic’s emergency staffing plan proved its mettle when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in 2005.

2. When a Disaster Strikes, Will You Be Able to Staff It?
Created by the Mayo Clinic’s HR manager, this article outlines the steps for creating an emergency staffing plan. With proper preparation, you will be calm and ready for any major emergency event you might face.

3. Part 1: Leading People Through Disasters
After the First Interstate Tower in Los Angeles burned on May 4, 1988, HR leaders had to relocate all employees quickly to new work sites.

4. Part 2: Leading People Through Disasters
Because of concerns about caring for employees, a “responsibility structure” was devised so that all affected managers, HR leaders and individuals in other key functions were clear on who was responsible for what once employees were safe and the company was ready to start back to work.

5. Part 3: Leading People Through Disasters
When the rains, winds, fire or floods have ceased, it’s time to pay attention in equal part to people’s physical and emotional states in anticipation of going back to work.

6. Part 4: Leading People Through Disasters
Everyone, especially managers and those in HR, should be extra sensitive to the needs and problems of employees. Managers should be aware of unusual behavioral trends or problems developing in your department.

Workforce Management Exclusive Online Resource Series: Preparing for Disaster

When disaster strikes, guiding your workforce during the incident, and then getting your employees back on their feet and back to work, could be the key to your company’s survival. The odds of your business recovering quickly from a major disaster greatly improve if you are prepared and have practical plans in place for managing your workforce in the face of a major crises such as a fire, hurricane or earthquake.

o help you and your organization become better prepared for potential disasters, Workforce Management has assembled this package of practical disaster preparedness guides created by workforce management professionals for workforce management professionals.

In a Workforce Management exclusive online offering, Catherine F. Johnson, HR manager at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, offers an impressive firsthand account of how the clinic quickly staffed up an entire health care system to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.

In a separate companion article, Johnson also shows how the Mayo Clinic’s experience during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina can also apply to emergency staffing for many other types of businesses. Johnson provides a practical checklist for dealing with staffing in emergency situations.

In their book Leading People Through Disasters: An Action Guide Preparing for and Dealing With the Human Side of Crises, authors Kathryn D. McKee, SPHR, and Liz Gutheridge lay out a blueprint to help HR professionals deal with the effect of disasters on their workforces.

Workforce Management is pleased to provide you with four advance excerpts from McKee and Gutheridge’s book, which is published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers and available July 28, 2006.

We hope your business never has to put its disaster plans into action, but there is no substitute for being prepared. However, these pragmatic guides can help you and your company should trouble ever come calling.

This Is Not A Drill--An Emergency Staffing Plan in Action
Mayo Clinic’s emergency staffing plan proved its mettle when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in 2005.

When a Disaster Strikes, Will You Be Able to Staff It?
Created by Mayo Clinic’s HR manager, this article outlines the steps for creating an emergency staffing plan. With proper preparation, you will be calm and ready for any major emergency event you might face.

Book Excerpt
Part 1: Leading People Through Disasters
An Action Guide: Preparing for and Dealing With the Human Side of Crises
After the First Interstate Tower in Los Angeles burned on May 4, 1988, HR leaders had to relocate all employees quickly to new work sites.

Part 2: Leading People Through Disasters
An Action Guide: Preparing for and Dealing With the Human Side of Crises
Because of concerns about caring for employees, a "responsibility structure" was devised so that all affected managers, HR leaders and individuals in other key functions were clear on who was responsible for what once employees were safe and the company was ready to start back to work.

Part 3: Leading People Through Disasters
An Action Guide: Preparing for and Dealing With the Human Side of Crises
When the rains, winds, fire or floods have ceased, it’s time to pay attention in equal part to people’s physical and emotional states in anticipation of going back to work.

Part 4: Leading People Through Disasters
An Action Guide: Preparing for and Dealing With the Human Side of Crises
Everyone, especially managers and those in HR, should be extra sensitive to the needs and problems of employees. Managers should be aware of unusual behavioral trends or problems developing in your department.