Businesses get serious about pandemic threat

BY HEIDI ULRICHSEN

There's less chance the city's economy will grind to a halt during an influenza pandemic if business owners and managers develop pandemic plans, says Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce president John Bonin.

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce has developed a tool kit for small- and medium-sized businesses to help them develop a plan to continue to operate if a large part of their workforces are at home sick.

The plan is available from the chamber of commerce, which is located at the Rainbow Centre downtown. It is also available at the chamber's website: www.sudburychamber.ca.

“I think businesses will be much better prepared and will be able to weather it rather than having to close their doors and go bankrupt,” he says.

“There will be a significant impact. If you look at the SARS outbreak or the power outage, it was very significant in the Toronto area. Many businesses went bankrupt because of it. Even if we can prevent one (from failing), it's better than have that one business fail.”

The idea is to get businesses to think about their operations and go through the checklist provided in the tool kit, says Bonin, although he's hoping they never have to use it.

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, up to 35 percent of the population in Ontario could be infected with influenza in the case of a pandemic. Of the people infected, up to four million will be clinically ill and 12,000 will die.

That means up to 50 percent of workers could be confined to their homes because of personal illness, having to care for ill family members, feeling safer at home or having to stay at home to look after school-aged children.

The tool kit says the highest levels of absences will last about two weeks at the height of a severe pandemic, and lower levels of staff absence for a few weeks on either side of the peak. Overall, a pandemic may last about eight weeks.

Businesses are encouraged to look at when portions of the business will be shut down, if people can work from home, and if succession planning and backup planning is in place.

“Even if 30 percent of your staff were off (sick), think about the other 70 percent who have family...,” he says.

“We're saying you should be prepared in the event that it (a pandemic) happens and hope that you never have to use it.”

Business owners and managers should encourage employees to have good hygiene and workplace cleaning habits, the tool kit says. For example, alcohol-based hand sanitizers could be stationed throughout the business.

Copies of essential corporate records such as accounts payable and receivable, bank and audit records should be identified and safeguarded.

Company managers are also advised to have a communications plan in place so people can get essential information in the case of a pandemic.

To prepare for staff absences, business owners should identify which employees have the skills, knowledge and experience required to perform key functions, and provide cross training for key positions.