The coronavirus epidemic, which some experts are already predicting will turn into a pandemic, has had serious global impact with loss of life and widespread fear.
The effect of the coronavirus spread on business, however, remains to be seen, as companies around the world scramble to establish or implement business continuity plans.
Although Canada has remained relatively unscathed, retailers and other business are looking towards contingency plans and the challenges with implementing them. “Business continuity is not regulated, so unless a national emergency was declared, some of these regulatory measures would be difficult,” Ali Asgary, associate director of Advanced Disaster, Emergency and Rapid Response Simulation at York University, told The Financial Post.
Global firm Mayer Brown offers advice for Hong Kong based businesses on developing these plans. “The more detailed the plan the better prepared an employer will be to cope with any Novel Coronavirus outbreak,” writes authors Duncan A. W. Abate, Hong Tran, and Jennifer C. W. Tam. “A plan should deal with preparations to prevent an outbreak, what happens during the outbreak, and the steps to be taken after the outbreak. Both workplace health and safety issues, and business continuity issues should be covered.” Singapore’s government and enterprise representatives have also started putting together similar plans and advisories.
In the United States, Jeff Levin-Scherz, senior consultant co-leader of North American Health Management Practice at Willis Towers Watson, offers tips for companies to put together plans for travel contingencies, employee information and organizational preparedness. He also offers advice for business continuity processes for future crisis, including full scale exercises, where “personnel, equipment and resources are deployed to specific locations for a real-time simulation of a scenario. This can last six to eight hours. This requires the most investment of resources, but immersive learning is most effective,” writes Levin-Scherz.
Sources:
https://www.humanresourcesonline.net/legal-update-novel-coronavirus-and-employer-obligations/ (tips on how to establish the plan)
https://www.humanresourcesonline.net/singapore-employers-urged-to-develop-business-continuity-plans-amidst-virus-outbreak/ (A broad look at Singapore’s plans)
