Bird Flu Disruption Vs Other Disruptions
Why won't our current BCPs work for a Bird Flu pandemic? First of all, a Bird Flu pandemic will not be like a physical disaster. A pandemic has unique characteristics when compared with a more "typical" disaster. For example:
The impact of a pandemic would likely be widespread, not localised to a single area or region; therefore there may be little outside assistance. Many business continuity plans (BCPs) assume some part of an organisation is unaffected and can take up the required capacity.
This is an international issue, not an asia bird flu as many believe. Those with offices spanning the globe with be affected in every location. Do not expect an office in one country to take up the slack of an office in another country. Neither will be able to spare resources except perhaps in the first couple of weeks.
A pandemic is not a physical disaster. It has some unique characteristics that require implementation of activities to limit contact such as restriction of movement, quarantine, and closure of public gatherings.
A pandemic would not be a short, sharp event leading immediately to commencement of a recovery phase. Many BCPs assume the event is short/sharp and that recovery can start immediately.
BCPs plan for disruption without warning. It is quite likely that there will be some advance warning from the development of the pandemic, but it is always possible that any warning period may be very short. Should pandemic influenza spread within SE Asia it will probably be some weeks before the full impact on workforce will be felt, although there may be some early impacts resulting from closures of schools and similar containment measures.
Unlike natural disasters, where any disruption to business service provision is likely to be hardware-related, disruption to business operation in the event of a pandemic is anticipated to be mainly human-resource oriented. WHO advises that businesses should plan for up to 50% staff absences during the height of the pandemic, and varying degrees either side.
Planning for a pandemic allows for a number of very specific measures to be put into place. Bird Flu preparedness can be treated as a 'plug-in' to your existing BCP that can also work as a stand-alone plan if you do not currently have a business continuity plan.
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Nigel Thomas is a veteran business continuity professional. He is also the operator of
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