Discuss 4. How do you think your staff will react based on the executives' non-engagement.
A recent report on executive awareness of and involvement in corporate pandemic preparedness by Michael Evangelides, principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP, most top executives and boards of directors are not engaged in the influenza pandemic planning process and won't give it equal billing to other potential disruptions until at least one of the following occurs:
- Media attention to pandemic influenza increases.
- Legislation or regulation emerges, requiring a high level of preparedness.
- Shareholders and investors demand a high level of preparedness.
- The financial impact of a pandemic on the corporation becomes evident.
Obviously, planners can do little to nudge along the first three prerequisites. But, fortunately, the fourth is in their sphere of influence. And it is worth pursuing, says Penny Turnbull, senior director of crisis management and business continuity planning at Washington, DC–based Marriott International, Inc. "It certainly helps focus the minds of our senior executives to know that this is something that's important for our chairman and CEO, because obviously that drives a lot of the momentum," she says. "If it's important for him, it means it's an important issue for our senior executives, which means it's important to our general manager, and it trickles down from there."
Discuss 4. How do you think your staff will react based on the executives' non-engagement.
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