Words & actions that create the human aspects of Business Continuity

Presented by

Mandy RutterClinical Manager FIRSTcall/CRISIScall

IBM

Wednesday 7th February 2007

About ICASEmployee Support and well-being company

ICAS works with organisations throughout the worldto enhance employee well-being, improve performance

and reduce the costs associated with human behaviour.

Employee assistance and well-being programmes, critical incident services, expatriate support and

training.

CRISIScall EXPERIENCEUNITED KINGDOM

• Rail Crashes Ladbrook GroveHatfieldSelby Potters Bar Tebay

• Detention Centre fire

• Oil refinery explosion

• Terrorism London nail bombsOmaghManchesterLondon Transport Bombings

INTERNATIONAL

• Air disasters GreeceBahrainZurichLisbonSpain

• Terrorism & Sept 11th

Unrest NigeriaMadrid

• Natural Asian Tsunamidisasters Turkey Earthquake

On a daily basis we provide organisations with psychological support following:

• Armed raid

• Death of employee after long-term illness

• Sudden death of employee

• Suicide of employee

• Death of close relative of employee

• Assault on staff

• Death of a customer on premises

• Organisational change

Human capital risks associated with crisis situations.

Human Capital RisksCompassionManagement

Ability

to at

tend w

ork

Ability to deliver critical

internal services

Ability to maintain

Business operations

Health & Safety Concerns

Transportation

Trauma

Employee

trackingSuccession

& training

Communications

Payroll

Core Values

Compassio

nate

Managem

ent

Compassionate

Communication

Resilience

Work/life balance

“When we get the final number it will be more that we can bear”

“Sept 11th 2001, statement by mayor of New York, Rudi Giuliani, indicating the number of fatalities in

the bombing of the World Trade Centre.”

“She was the People’s Princess and that’s how she will stay: how she

will remain in our hearts and in our memories for ever”

“31st August 1997, statement by the Prime Minister Tony Blair following the death of

Diana, Princess of Wales”

COMPASSIONATE COMMUNICATION

‘Sustained and practical determination to do whatever

possible and necessary to help alleviate distress and suffering

and promote well-being and recovery’

(Rinpoche 1992)

“By openly demonstrating their own humanity, executives can unleash a

compassionate response throughout the whole company,

increasing bonds among employees and attachments to the

organisation”

WHY ARE HUMAN FACTORS IMPORTANT

• Because it’s the people who answer the phone, use the computer and talk to the customer

• Because it’s the opinion, attitudes and behaviour of people that determine the success of business recovery in the short and long term

• Because managers who demonstrate compassionate management after a crisis are more likely to positively affect staff morale and productively

• Because your share-holder value depends on it.

IMPACT OF CATASTROPHE ON SHAREHOLDER VALUE

Knight and Pretty, (1996)

• Recovers

• Non-recovers

SHAREHOLDER VALUE REACTION TO DISASTERS

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

-10

-20

-300 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260

Event Trading DaysRecoverers Non-recoverers

Valu

eRea

ctio

n (%

)

“ In crises, the key determinant of whether a company’s reputation and share value will recover depends on the ability of the:

“ Those companies which prepare and react appropriately at the right time have a higher chance of recovery than those which do not ”

“ Companies that use an outside disaster management service provider performed 40% better than those that did not ”

(Knight, 2005)

• CEO to respond with sensitivity and compassion to victims families

• senior management to demonstrate strong leadership and communicate with honesty and transparency ”

France and Germany are united in their grief for the families involved in

this tragedy

Jean-Cyril Spinetta

Air France Chairman

July 2000

WHY ARE HUMAN FACTORS IMPORTANT

Report from HMSO: Lessons from the London bombings (26/09/06)

“More could have been done to spread best practices among employers about how to treat staff after a disaster, particularly to

those suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.”

They recommend that further improvements could be done by: “Examining how we might build volunteers into the official emergency planning/training process, given that the most

immediate response to any disaster often comes from those people and businesses that happen to be in the immediate area.”

WHY ARE HUMAN FACTORS IMPORTANT

Report from Institute of Work Psychology (2006)

“When employees have a supportive educational input from their managers post-trauma, their symptoms are

lower at three months and their absence is lower at twelve months, compared with employees who did not

have such an intervention”

COMPASSIONATE MANAGEMENT

Compassion takes place through 3 sub-processes

• NOTICING: other peoples distress

• EXPERIENCING: your own reaction to distress

• ACTING: in response to the distress

WHAT IS TRAUMA

• An event that has a psychological impact sufficient to overwhelm the usually effective coping skills of an individual, team or whole organisation.

• Such an event is generally experienced as unexpected, powerful, and extreme.

• People often feel their life is under threat in traumatic events, and it is the perception of the event that causes a range of distressing emotional reactions.

FIGHT OR FLIGHT RESPONSE

Brain goes into overdrive - absorbs detailed information (vivid visual impressions)

Increased flow of blood to brain, quickens speed of brain activity (incident in slow motion)

Breathing becomes shallow and fast (hyperventilation)

Muscles of jaw, mouth and forehead tense (headaches)

Shut down of feelings (auto pilot/emotional numbness)

Unusual blood flow patterns (hot or cold)

Colon starved of blood (constipation) or Bowels suddenly emptied to lighten body (defecation)

Only parts of brain needed for survival active (think and behave logically and rationally)

Parts of brain active/inactive (event feels disjointed some parts clear others lost)

Pupils dilate allowing extra peripheral vision (means of escape)

Increased heart rate (palpitations /heart attack)

Digestion stops (dry mouth)

Excessive amounts of adrenaline unless able to burn off through intense activity (shaking)

Muscles tense - shoulders, arms, back and legs (muscular pain)

Freeze/immobile body appears limp/motionless (not feel pain /analgesia)

THE RESEARCHSurvey of high risk occupational groups (Orner et al 2003):

• 80% of employees wanted to talk to someone about the

incident

• 71% prefer to talk to colleague

• 72% prefer to talk to someone close to them

• 9% prefer to talk to independent professional

• 85% prefer to talk in free and flexible manner

PSYCHOLOGICAL FIRST AID

A ttend to

B asic needs, with

C ompassion

Psychological First Aid – use of pragmatic-orientated interventions delivered during the immediate – impact phase of

a trauma to people who are at risk of being unable to regain sufficient functional equilibrium by themselves

PRACTICAL HELP

• Protect from further threat and distress (go to a quiet room, privacy)

• Provide whatever care is needed for immediate physical needs (get drinks)

• Provide support for ‘real world’ tasks (make phone calls, cancel meetings)

• Facilitate reunion with relatives and / or work colleagues and friends

• Provide, but don’t over burden with, further information if available

PSYCHOLOGICAL HELP

• Comfort, reassure and control distress (remain with person throughout)

• Educate on normal responses to traumatic events (fight or flight)

• Recognise the range of trauma reactions (withdrawn, panic, tearful)

• Respect and validate normal post trauma reactions (reassure, understand)

RESILIENCE

Resilience is a concept concerned with maintaining healthy, adaptive functioning in spite of experienced

risk and stress. It refers to the capacity of individuals, groups or organisations to withstand considerable

hardship and to bounce back in the face of adversity. Resilient people are robust, having the “capacity to be bent without breaking and the capacity, once bent, to

spring back”

(Vaillant, 1993, p. 248).

Characteristics of resilient people

• Seek help• Build large support networks• Positively reframe experiences• Believe they can affect change• Believe they can recover from stress & trauma• Committed to meaningful goals• Do not commonly use denial, disengagement

to solve problems(Kobasa, Maddi and Khan 1982)

Approx 50% of public health workers report that they are unlikely to turn out for work during a pandemic…………..

Why? The perception of the importance of their role

Survey of 308 workers in Maryland.

March 2005

Human reaction of fear and panic in the community which are deeply embedded in a society are very

rarely correlated to the severity of the disease in terms of actual rates

of infection and death.

• Small probability of death - PANIC

• Enable staff to take control: hygiene, health

• Short, easily digestible material in variety of media

• Educational on how individual behaviour affects others

• Social responsibility – family, work, government

• Managers need to understand their responsibility

• Be prepared for death and bereavement

• Be prepared for recovery

PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT OF A PANDEMIC

How to integrate the human aspects into crisis management:-

- Raise awareness with crisis management teams

- Train Human Resources staff in Psychological First Aid

- Run briefing workshops for senior managers and managers about their role

- Recruit a team of First Responders

ICAS CRISIScall SERVICE

mrutter@icasgroup.com

01908 285285