Business and Supply Chain Continuity During a Pandemic

As organizations across the world respond to city, state and national guidance and declarations around COVID-19 and social distancing, many are wondering what’s next for their business operations and supplier relationships.

While there are still some uncertainties, you can take steps as an organization to ensure both business and supply chain continuity.

Business Continuity
Refer to our previous blog post, How to Respond to a Pandemic, for information on the basics and importance of having a business continuity plan.

Crisis Management without a Business Continuity Plan
If your company doesn’t have an established business continuity plan, consider these recommendations to manage through the pandemic:

• Depending on the size of your organization and its operations, consider establishing a Business Continuity Team
• Have the team review the business’ finances and update revenue and expense forecasts for the anticipated time periods of disruption and recovery
• Review HR policies and practices for any needed temporary adjustments, such as PTO or leave policies
• Determine which processes are mission critical and which can be deferred – focus efforts on the most important business operations
• Implement cross-training procedures within your company so all departments can be kept running
• Have the Business Continuity Team meet regularly to evaluate changes in the severity and duration of disruption and to formulate appropriate responses.

Managing through the Pandemic with a Business Continuity Plan
If your organization currently has a business continuity plan in place, be sure to revisit this plan and your organization’s response in order to:

• Ensure all management members have recently reviewed and re-committed to following these policies and any applicable responsibilities each may hold. On an ongoing basis, review the plan  regularly with each department within your company to ensure the plan and your response remain current
• Ensure management support to make necessary adjustments and revisions to this plan as needed given changing circumstances
• Actively listen to your employees’ suggestions, concerns and feedback as it relates to the plan and address with transparency and empathy.

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) also recommends revisiting your plan to see if it explicitly accounts for an infectious disease outbreak or pandemic, such as COVID-19, and if so, how the steps in that part of the plan differ from other business interruptions.

Other regional resources for business continuity plans include:

• OSHA – Emergency Preparedness and Response
• Government of Canada Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Emergency Preparedness – A guide to Business Continuity Planning
• Safe Work Australia – Emergency Plans and Procedures
• HSE UK – Risk: Controlling risks in the workplace

Employee Communication and Engagement
Employees may be concerned, facing uncertainty and anxiety related to the pandemic and the viability of the business and their jobs. Assuring timely and accurate communication will be important throughout the duration of the pandemic. Identify a central team of people to serve as a communication source to distribute accurate and timely information for employees and ensure that you have a short- and long-term communication plan.

If you can, OSHA recommends assisting employees in managing additional stressors related to the pandemic. These could include distress related to personal or family illness, life disruption, grief related to loss of family, friends or coworkers, loss of routine support systems, and similar challenges. Employee Assistance Programs can offer training and provide resources and other guidance on mental health and resiliency during the pandemic.

It’s a good practice to maintain periodic “touch base” conferences (in addition to regular work conferences) with groups of employees working from home to listen to their concerns, etc.

Consider working closely with human resources or training teams to use the time to find ways to strengthen employee skills. Encourage continued education through online coursework and team building activities or exercises.

Supply Chain Continuity
Companies must continue to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic across their supply chain. Ensuring business-critical materials remain available throughout the pandemic is vital. Communicate with your supply chain and ensure vendors have a plan in place.

Shortages of materials or services from vendors coming from or routed through logistical hubs in impacted areas can quickly affect the ability to meet your business responsibilities. Consider alternatives to normal agreements or conditions, while still maintaining the business relationship. Think about the vendors you normally work with and how you can help them remain in business and functioning. For example, to help with increased demands, H-E-B coordinated with a food distributor for schools and restaurants that had lost business to deliver rotisserie chickens, deli lunch meats, and a variety of products for them.

ISN continues to see Hiring Client subscribers use ISNetworld search functionality to source from more than 75,000 active contractor and supplier companies around the world in order to ensure continuity of their businesses. For example, many Hiring Clients have been using ISNetworld to search for cleaning companies in their respective areas.

Returning to Normalcy
Looking down the road, it is helpful to think about returning your daily business operations and supply chain relationships back to normal.

• Remain diligent and monitor circumstances as your people return to work and monitor employee-related considerations, such as absences and leaves, benefits and compensation
• Consider employees impacted by childcare needs and how your company will address this situation
• Keep your workplace clean and healthy by encouraging further prevention of spreading illness such as washing hands and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces. Many organizations are disinfecting offices with professional cleaning services prior to employees returning to workplaces.

Let ISN Help
Are you an ISN Hiring Client subscriber interested in learning more about how ISNetworld can help with your business and supply chain continuity plans? Contact your account representative to learn about tools in ISNetworld that can support your efforts.

If you’re interested in learning how ISN can help you streamline your contractor management programs and support your business continuity effort, request a demo of our contractor management platform, ISNetworld.