While many executives believe that emergency and disaster planning is only the responsibility of risk management and safety specialists, human resource management plays a critical role in disaster and emergency planning. While community leaders may be involved in coping with large-scale calamities and disasters, they will be more concerned with public safety than with the assets of a company or its continued operations (Moşteanu et al., 2020). As a result, companies must be prepared by developing and devising strategies to ensure the organization’s long-term viability in the event of a crisis. Top organizational authorities should drive the strategy, with human resource leaders playing a vital role in the plan’s personnel interface parts.
To the extent that the organization has engaged in workforce planning to anticipate the number of people with the necessary skill sets and competencies, it should also consider how crises may affect those plans. When workgroups do not have enough personnel due to illness, death, or travel constraints, part of the planning process should include information on how employees can be deployed to other workforce parts (Moşteanu et al., 2020). In addition, the workforce planning component should identify training needs so that employees are appropriately equipped to take on extra responsibilities in the event of an emergency.
Eventualities for both operating and closed worksite contingencies should be included in plans. Workplaces that stay open during an emergency must consider various factors, including shelter for displaced employees and staff, food and water, and transportation (Moşteanu et al., 2020). Organizations should build strategies for identifying viable alternate workplace arrangements and personnel choices and the technical structures necessary to support company operations if worksites are unavailable to ensure continued operation.
A safety and security program must include business continuity and recovery and emergency response components. Key staff should be identified to make choices about safe working conditions, and emergency evacuation procedures should be devised and rehearsed (Moşteanu et al., 2020). Communication with employees, customers, and other stakeholders is crucial during an emergency. Customers may remain loyal due to excellent communication, and staff will be aware of what is required of them and what resources they may turn to for assistance during a crisis.
Reference
Moşteanu, N. R., Faccia, A., & Cavaliere, L. P. L. (2020). Disaster management, digitalization and financial resources. Proceedings of the 2020 4th International Conference on Cloud and Big Data Computing, 118–122. Web.
