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Planning Considerations

Preparing your Department’s Business Continuity Plan: How To

Pandemic preparedness planning is not fundamentally different from that required for all hazard planning – it just stretches over a longer period of impact. Unlike many other catastrophic events, an influenza pandemic will not directly affect our physical infrastructure – power lines, buildings, and computer networks will not be damaged. Ultimately, however, all critical infrastructures will be threatened by removing essential personnel from the workplace for weeks or months.

Facts about Avian Influenza to Consider as You Plan

  • Pandemic preparedness planning is not fundamentally different from that required for all hazard planning – it just stretches over a longer period of impact. Unlike many other catastrophic events, an influenza pandemic will not directly affect our physical infrastructure – power lines, buildings, and computer networks will not be damaged. Ultimately, however, all critical infrastructures will be threatened by removing essential personnel from the workplace for weeks or months.

  • The Federal Government recommends that government entities and the private sector plan with the assumption that up to 40 percent of their staff may be absent for periods of about 2 weeks at the height of a pandemic wave with lower levels of staff absent for a few weeks on either side of the peak. Staff may be absent for many reasons, including conditions where they:

    • Care for the ill within their family.
    • Are under voluntary home quarantine due to an ill household member.
    • Care for children dismissed from school.
    • Are afraid to come to work and feel safer at home.
    • Are ill or incapacitated by the virus.

  • Non-symptomatic individuals may carry/spread the flu, and the estimated duration of impact to the U.S. is 6 months to 2 years with subsequent waves of influenza.

  • Whenever possible, the University’s essential day-to-day functions would continue based on the number of available faculty and staff.

  • Therefore, departments and units should focus on their essential functions and managing the day-to-day work that supports those essential functions. Priorities may need to be rearranged.

  • A pandemic may result in an increase or decrease in demand for a unit’s services (e.g., the effect of travel restrictions, implementation of a social distancing policy prohibiting mass gatherings, and an increased need for hygiene supplies will impact different departments differently).

  • To maintain essential functions during periods of severe staffing shortages, departments should consider cross training and preparing ancillary workforce members (e.g., contractors, employees in other job titles/descriptions)

  • It is important to recognize that a reliance on vendors for support may be limited in that they will likely suffer staffing shortages similar to what we face.

  • A final point – in the event of a pandemic scenario, domestic and international travel may be severely impacted through quarantines, border closures, or restrictions in the travel industry. If your functions rely on faculty, staff or students traveling to a specific location or bringing visitors in, you should remember to take this into account.

Identifying Critical/Essential Functions
Functions provided by faculty, staff and organizational units may be categorized as critical or essential in light of their importance to University operations or in light of their contribution to maintaining critical infrastructure systems. 

Each unit should consider the following organizational priorities as critical functions, essential resources, and contracts are identified in the department business continuity plans. Department plans should be prepared with the goal of enabling the University's essential functions to continue regardless of whether or not systems are operational, facilities and infrastructure services are available, or other organizations are viable. Institutional priorities include:

  • Health and safety of students, faculty, staff, and visitors. 
  • Delivery of teaching/learning and other student-related services.
  • Continuation of research and maintenance of research infrastructure. 
  • Security and preservation of University facilities and equipment. 
  • Maintenance of support for partnerships with the community. 

Planning Scenario for The University of Memphis

Develop your plan around the following “facts:”

  • There have been widespread human outbreaks of H5N1 influenza in multiple locations overseas. Human cases have been verified in the U.S., some of those cases in Georgia.
  • The CDC is advising that this is the first of several waves, with each wave lasting 6 to 8 weeks. Impact will continue for 18 months to 2 years.
  • There are worldwide travel restrictions and screening.
  • Most social activities (events, conferences, etc.) and tourism have been cancelled or postponed.
  • The University’s crisis management team is engaged, and the campus community continues to receive regular updates on the status of influenza in the region and the world.
  • Following a one week closure, the University is resuming operations necessary to support institutional goals, including restoring instruction and research activities to the extent practicable. On-site classes and other gatherings remain suspended. Only faculty and staff with a critical need to be on campus are asked to be on-site, all others should telecommute.
  • The University’s information technology infrastructure is functioning normally.
  • 90% of the University’s instructional space is shut down to conserve scarce human resources.

Absenteeism rates – both faculty and staff – are at 40%, and those that remain are becoming overworked and fatigued. Telecommuting is mandated whenever possible.