hr & emergncy planning preparing local governments for times of crisis

8/15/2019 HR & Emergncy Planning Preparing Local Governments for Times of Crisis

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HUMAN RESOURCES AND EMERGENCY PLANNING:PREPARING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR TIMES OF

CRISIS

STACEY MANN

Jacksonville State University

This paper was presented at SECoPA 2011, where it won theMorris W.H. Collins Award as the best doctoral student paper

ABSTRACT

Following Hurricane Katrina, Goodman and Mann (2008) found thatmany locales along the Mississippi Gulf Coast did not have plans thataddressed human resources (HR) issues in the aftermath of a disaster,and many vital employees were not included in the emergency planning

process. The authors concluded that if involved in planning, HRmanagers could address typical HR issues such as compensation,retention, recruitment, and task re-orientation that become moredifficult following a disaster.The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of citiesthat include HR personnel in planning. A nationwide study of HR

professionals revealed that while most local governments include HRdepartments in planning, the extent of their participation varies. This

paper will highlight some of the characteristics of cities that haveaddressed various human resource issues in their emergency plans, andoffer a basic foundation of understanding the role of human resourcemanagement in emergency planning.

From 1980 through 2008, the United States faced 90weather-related disasters whose damage exceeded $1 billion,with the total cost of all events over $700 billion (NCDC and

NOAA 2009). In 2008 alone, droughts, hurricanes, floods, andtornadoes caused over $56 billion in damages. However, asAmericans witnessed after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, not alldamages are a direct result of weather-related events. A disasteris defined as an event that affects a city, county, or region, andrelies on local or regional resources with possible assistance


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from the federal government (McEntire 2010). However, somedisasters become catastrophes, or events that result in“extraordinary levels of mass casualities, damage, or disruptionseverely affecting the population, infrastructure, environment,economy, national morale and/or government functions”, whenhumans fail to plan for as well as appropriately respond to acrisis (McEntire 2010).

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Goodman andMann (2008) found that many locales along the Mississippi GulfCoast did not include a formal plan for managing personnel inthe aftermath of a disaster. In addition, many vital employeeswere not included in the emergency planning stages. As

Mississippi locales recovered from Katrina, one lesson many cityand county administrators said they learned was the importanceof creating a plan for human resources issues in the aftermath ofdisaster. Goodman and Mann (2008) suggested that by includinghuman resource (HR) managers in the planning process, localescould make better use of employees’ skills in preparing,responding, and recovering from disasters.

The purpose of this study is to investigate thecharacteristics of local governments that include HR

professionals in the emergency planning process. Although themajority of human resource professionals that were surveyed inFebruary 2011 reported some involvement with local

government emergency planning, the issues that are addressed intheir local government emergency plans vary. In addition, manyrespondents of the survey expressed concern about the activitiesand policies that are not addressed. While the goal of localgovernment is to protect and assist its citizens, the role of humanresources is to protect and assist employees. Thus, the inclusionof the HR department in emergency planning is not onlynecessary in expediting the restoration of local governmentservices, but also in addressing issues that affect employees, whoare vital in the restoration process. By understanding current

practices, local governments nationwide can better address gapsin their own emergency plans.

The paper will begin with a brief discussion of thehistory of public human resource departments in government,which will be followed by a discussion of some HR roles in


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emergency planning. A thorough discussion of the methods usedfor the study will precede the section that details the results ofhypotheses testing and its importance to local government publicadministration. Finally, a brief conclusion will provide anoverview of the contributions offered by the study to humanresource management, emergency management, and publicadministration.

THE TRANSFORMATION OF HUMAN RESOURCES

MANAGEMENT IN GOVERNMENT

The role of the human resource department has changed

considerably since America’s early beginnings . As Mosher(1982) described, selection for public service at the federal levelwas once based on fitness of character. However, the values forselection evolved from a politically-motivated spoils system to asystem based on merit that focused on standardization and

professionalism in selection.The adoption of a professionalized workforce for

positions throughout government as well as in the personneldepartment brought a new perspective to public service, one

based not only on competence and political neutrality, but alsoon flexibility and decentralization. As administrators, personnelmanagers would perform traditional functions such as recruiting,

testing, and classifying while confined in an environment ofstrict procedures and regulations. For some time, departmentheads characterized the personnel department as “naysayers”who did not give managers flexibility to act as they needed, andmany felt the personnel staff had no interest in assisting them tomeet the needs of their departments. Conversely, members of the

personnel office believed they were “charged with preservingmerit in the merit system” (Ban and Gossett 2010, 8). However,when reform movements appeared that gave line managers moreflexibility in personnel decisions, HR professionals improvedtheir relationships with department administrators by focusing oncustomer service approaches that offered administrators the

opportunity to explain their personnel needs. The new approachthen encouraged HR professionals to move away from the role ofstrict compliant officers to that of knowledgeable consultants


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who could use their expertise and skills to build a strongerworkforce (Ban and Gossett 2010; Woodard 2005).

The transformation of the human resources departmentin the public sector did not occur only at the state and federallevels. Beginning in the 1970s, HR departments in localgovernment also were impacted by reforms, with major changesoccurring as part of the National Performance Review in 1993.Hays (2004) found that as part of the “reinvention” movement,

both local and state governments sought to give more flexibilityto public managers in hiring decisions, abolish many of the

procedures that came with mobilization of employees already inthe system, support motivational and reward systems for civil

servants, improve performance assessments, and reduce therestrictions on terminating underperforming employees (259).However, the extent of these reforms varied, as did their success.Unlike their state and federal counterparts, local governmentsand their HR offices have some influences that partially impactreforms. For example, size of the locale, number of employees,and structure of the system are issues that may or may not befaced in state and federal government. In fact, Choudhury (2007)stated, “Small local governments are distinctive in terms of theirsize, political status, administrative capacity, and culture. Theyoften lack the fiscal, technical, and professional capacities toadopt administrative innovations” (265). However, like their

state and federal counterparts, local governments have sought to“professionalize personnel practices” by protecting employeesfrom “the abuse of partisan politics and promoting the merit

principle” (Choudhury 2007, 266), and in doing so, reformed HR practices that assist local government managers with making better, more appropriate decisions (Hays 2004).

THE ROLE OF HR IN EMERGENCY PLANNING

The terrorist attacks of September 11 and the devastationcaused by Hurricane Katrina revealed a nation that wasunprepared for the impact of a major catastrophe. Since these

events, attention to emergency preparedness has increased. TheGAO (2006) reported that part of preparedness is identifying


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measurable goals and current capabilities, and then bridging thedivide between the two.

Today, local and state governments are expected tomanage emergencies, and coordination of preparedness efforts ishandled in various departments. As part of their focus onemergency planning, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security(2008) created the National Response Framework (NRF), whichidentifies several emergency support function (ESF) annexes.The structure of the emergency support functions directly reflectmany of the departments found in local government . However, amajor component missing from the structure is planning forhuman capital, or human resources.

In addition, many cities have emergency planning teamsin place that bring together elected officials, departments heads,and staff members to address risks, concerns, and responseefforts for times of crisis.

Human resource professionals play a major role in theoverall effectiveness of government. Although many HR tasksare strictly administrative, much of their work involves planningand strategy for the organization as a whole. Yet, at no time isorganizational success more important than during times ofcrisis, and, although most local governments have an emergency

plan in place, many do not address important HR issues that arevital in most emergencies. While an actual disaster often creates

problems, the social response can either complicate or simplifymatters (McEntire 2001). The obligation of local governments isto protect the communities they serve, and identifying ways todecrease the impact of disasters ranks as a top priority. AsFrench, Goodman, and Stanley (2008) argue, “No localgovernment is immune from the effects of an unforeseen naturaldisaster such as a tornado, hurricane, earthquake, or flood, [and]the ultimate goal for city officials when such an event occurs isto minimize interruptions of local government operations” (68).

Responding to a disaster requires local governmentemployees, making it all the more important for HR

professionals to be involved in the planning process. Including

individuals who understand the KSAs that are available as wellas human resource issues that are important during times of crisisallows for a more comprehensive approach not only to


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preparedness, but also response and recovery. For example, inthe aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many local governments onthe Mississippi Gulf Coast said that the workforce was limiteddue to evacuations and limited housing, and that the workforcethat was available turned to the private sector because jobsoffered higher rates of pay (Goodman and Mann 2008). Citiesfaced difficulties with recruitment and retention, andcompensation, normally routine tasks, became obstacles. For theemployees that were available, HR staff, if included inemergency planning, could have assisted with task re-orientation. In times of disaster, local governments need all oftheir employees to move from a quick response to a quick

recovery. Just as a planner for the New Orleans energy company,Entergy, said about his business, local government “is a job thatrequires 24/7 service to our customers…We need all the peoplewe have” (Marquez 2005, 2).

As part of the planning process, local governmentsshould conduct vulnerability analyses (Nilsson 2010), and

because each department brings a different perspective, alldepartments should be included. Collaboration in emergency

planning allows for better assessments of the environment, moreaccurate identification of risks, and more thorough evaluation oflikely obstacles (Schafer, Carroll, Haynes, Abrams 2008).Collaboration and creation of organizational culture also offers

members an opportunity to better understand the importantaspects of each individual unit. For instance, in the survey forthis study, one Texas city’s risk manager stated that he “worksclosely with the Emergency Management Coordinator and boththe HR Director and Risk Manager are EOC members.” As aresult, the manager commented that he is “very involved” withemergency planning, which has allowed for “clear lines ofcommunication between the HR department and otherdepartments to promote assistance in staffing during all phasesof emergency preparedness” (Interview with risk manager,February 2011). Thus, because collaboration of departments inlocal government tends to positively affect emergency plans, the

first hypothesis for this study was derived, which states: Local governments that include HR professionals in their emergency


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planning meetings will be more likely to include more HRdisaster policies in their emergency plans.

In terms of effective local government leadership and itsimpact on planning, the impact of form of government and itseffect on policy has been an ongoing debate. Research on theadvantages and disadvantages of council-manager versus mayor-council forms of government, for example, has been conflicting,and very little research on forms of government and their effecton emergency preparedness is available. However, the researchon the differences between the two forms may be somewhattelling of their behavior in emergency planning.

Because mayors are elected for specific terms, decision-

making and policy creation tend to focus on more immediateconcerns and improvements. “Mayor-council government can provide incentives for emergence of narrow issues andconstituencies, place constraints on the role of professionalexpertise in informing public decisions, and lead local officialsto be more attuned to political credit-claiming opportunities”(Feiock, Jeong, and Kim 2003, 617). Because mayor-councilgovernments tend to serve more “culturally complex, sociallydiverse, stable, or declining older industrial cities” and “centralcities with large ethnic and blue-collar concentrations”(Simmons and Simmons 2004, 376), mayors focus on publicservice improvements that are immediate and positively impact

voter choices (French 2001, 6; Abney and Lauth 1986). Long-term planning projects that do not have immediate results areusually not priorities in types of governments that rely onelections (Abney and Lauth 1986), which may include someemergency preparedness programs that require extensiveresources. Because elected officials must focus on allocatingfunds to projects that have immediate effects, many suffer fromthe “shortsightedness effect”, or the tendency “to enact policieswith short-term benefits and larger long-term costs because ofimminent reelection pressures” (Healy and Malhotra 2009, 389).

Conversely, council-manager forms of government tendto be present in cities that are characterized as affluent, “where

professionals and high-status groups” are more likely to reside(Simmons and Simmons 2004, 376). In addition, because citymanagers are not elected and because citizens in council-


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manager cities tend to be more affluent, spending often differssignificantly than in mayor-council cities. For example, citymanagers spend more per capita than mayors (French 2001), andcouncil-manager forms of government, specifically in cities with

populations greater than 50,000, also spend more on city planning projects (Cole 1971). In local governments where citymanagers perceive the threat of disaster to be high risk,emergency preparedness is more likely to be part of the long-term strategic plan and is more likely to be a priority to thecouncil as a whole (Rahm and Reddick 2011). Also, because citymanagers tend to be influenced by their education andexperience rather than political responsiveness, they are likely to

focus on long-term planning and on collaboration with otherdepartments regarding emergencies. Thus, based on previousresearch of government structure, the second hypothesis for thisstudy was derived, which states: Council-manager forms of

government are more likely to include more HR disaster policiesin their emergency plans.

While government structure may have some effect, somay population. According to Gerber and Robinson (2009),cities with greater populations often have greater resources andmore capabilities in administrative functions. In addition, theauthors found that administrators in larger cities believe they aremore likely to understand the federal requirements of the

National Response Plan compared to administrators in smallercities (Gerber and Robinson 2009). In their research on financialconditions and administrative capacity in preparedness efforts incities with populations of 30,000 and larger, Gerber, Cohen, andStewart (2007) concluded, “There is clearly something uniqueabout larger populations in terms of having a positive effect on

preparedness. It is possible that as city population increases, theirgovernments are required to handle a wider variety of complexadministrative tasks” (180).

Because larger cities are often the sites of majorcatastrophes, the risks of disasters are often perceived as greater,especially in homeland security areas such terrorism, which may

result in more attention to emergency preparedness activities(Rahm and Reddick 2011; Gerber and Robinson 2009; Gerber,


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Cohen, and Stewart, 2007). As stated by Rahm and Reddick(2011):

Larger-sized cities tend to have a greater level of preparedness being in a large urban centre. Mostnotable disasters and terrorist attacks have occurred incity centers, such as the terrorist attacks of 11September 2001 on New York City and HurricaneKatrina in New Orleans . . . . Large cities deal withmore complex planning problems than smaller-sizedcities and they generally devote more resources toemergency management. Larger sized cities commonlyhave greater administrative capacity to deal with these

complex issues. (3)

Examining the impact of population on localgovernment issues is a common occurrence in publicadministration and local government literature (Wolf andAmirkhanyan 2010; French 2001; Folz and Abdelrazek 2009;Caruson and MacManus 2008; Berman and Korosec 2005) andinvestigating cities with populations greater than 100,000 is acommon category (Reddick 2007; Silverman 2008; Santerre2009; Watson and Hassett 2004; Svara 1985). Cities with

populations of 100,000 and greater often are classified as large(Svara 2008) and as Reddick (2007) states, planning, especially

homeland security, is critical to cities in this category. Thus, thethird hypothesis for this study states: Local governments with populations of 100,000 or greater are more likely to have more HR disaster policies in their emergency plans.

Along with these factors, the number of disasters faced by local governments may also impact planning efforts. After public officials witnessed communication breakdowns, decision-making barriers, and basic problems in efficiency andeffectiveness in the aftermath of the September 11 terroristattacks, significant improvements were made. Attention toemergency planning for homeland security measures became atop priority, and led to the creation of stronger response systems,

more frequent meetings, updated communication technologies,increased coordination among departments, and a focus on


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decentralizing administration (Cohen, Eimicke, and Horan2002).

In a review of three Louisiana hurricanes, Mann (2009)found that following Hurricane Betsy in 1965, the emergency

planning improvements regarding task re-orientation, decisionmaking, and authority structure that were suggested by the civildefense department for local governments were not followed.However, as Hurricane Gustav approached New Orleans in2008, many of the suggested improvements in the same areasfollowing Hurricane Katrina in 2005 were addressed, whichrevealed lessons were learned (Mann 2009).

Yet, the numerous breakdowns in communication and

decision-making led to extensive criticism of government as awhole. Rather than dividing emergency management andhomeland security, the federal government began focusing on anall-hazards approach for all emergencies (Birkland andWaterman 2008). This new focus following Hurricane Katrina in2005 led to policy changes and additional mandates for localgovernments that has, in some cases, resulted in greater responseefforts. As stated by Homeland Security and GovernmentalAffairs Committee Ranking Member Susan Collins, “In the fiveyears since Katrina, we have seen steady progress and increased

preparedness when it comes to responding to emergencies,including floods in Tennessee and wildfires in California”

(“Lieberman, Collins” 2010, ¶9).Although most local governments understand theimportance of preparedness, research has shown “pastexperience to be the greatest predictors of preparedness” whengreater levels of preparedness through mandates and policiesappear in the aftermath (Chen 2009, 35; Gerber and Robinson2009; Somers and Svara 2009; Mann 2009). In addition, in theirstudy of human resource management and terrorism, Liou andLin (2008) concluded that identifying HR challenges that arise intimes of disaster can be best understood by examining previousdisasters. Thus, because experience and mandates have shown tohave an impact on disaster planning, the fourth hypothesis,

which relies on those arguments, states: There is a positiverelationship between the number of disasters a local government


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has faced in the last five years and the number of HR disaster policies in the emergency plan.

METHODS

To investigate the characteristics of local governmentsthat include HR professionals in the emergency planning

process, human resource managers, directors, and administratorsfrom cities across the United States with populations of 50,000to 249,999 were surveyed. While it is important to study localeswith populations less than 50,000 as well as those with

populations of 250,000 or greater, medium-sized cities often

have employees with a wide range of experience. For example,Watson and Hassett (2004) state that in most cases, moreexperienced managers can be found in larger city governments,

but only after having worked in smaller governments previously.In addition, many city managers also “take recent graduatesunder their wings who desire to pursue city management as acareer [and] after an appropriate time . . . . the younger person isready to begin his or her first assignment as a city manager in asmaller city” (Watson and Hassett 2004, 193). However, not allmanagers seek employment in larger cities, but becausecompensation tends to increase with city size and population,many remain in medium-sized cities rather than smaller cities

where compensation is typically less (Watson and Hassett 2004).Thus, studying medium-sized cities offers the perspectives ofindividuals with a wide range of experience, and may provideinformation that would offer some understanding of those citieswith populations under 50,000 as well as those with populationsof 250,000 or greater. Also, because this study is the first toinvestigate the involvement of public human resource

professionals in emergency planning, very little information oncharacteristics of cities and involvement of the HR department inthe emergency planning process is available. Thus, this studycould provide valuable information to both academics and

practitioners that would assist in developing more thorough

emergency plans for local governments nationwide.To explore the characteristics of local governments thatinclude HR professionals in emergency planning, a nationwide


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study of human resource professionals in cities with populations between 50,000 and 249,999 was conducted. Of the 605respondents contacted, 252 surveys were started and 212 werecompleted, resulting in an initial response rate of 35 percent,which is comparable to other studies that have surveyed HRdirectors (Hays and Kearney 2001). However, after 48 surveyswere deleted for incomplete information, 204 were available foranalysis, resulting in a response rate of 34 percent.

The respondents were composed of human resourcedirectors, managers, or administrators, and representatives. Thecharacteristic that separated the two groups was that directors,managers, or administrators were ultimately responsible for

decision-making for their departments while the second group,representatives, works in or with the department. Surveyfindings revealed that the majority of the HR professionals whoresponded to the survey were female, over the age of 45, andhighly educated (See Table 1), which is consistent with thefindings of a 2011 study of local government HR departmentsconducted by French and Goodman. In 2001, Hays and Kearneyfound similar results regarding age and education in a survey ofmembers of the International Personnel ManagementAssociation (IPMA) and the American Society of PublicAdministration’s (ASPA) Section on Personnel Administrationand Labor Relations (SPALR). However, the majority of their

survey respondents reported being male, which they stated was“somewhat surprising considering that the doors to the humanresource management profession had long been open to women”(p. 589). The findings of the current survey as well as theFrench and Goodman (2011) survey may reveal that the femalesare more likely to work in a local government setting, but whenconsidering HR professionals across all public sectors, the malemajority may be more prevalent. However, the possibility alsoexists that HR has become more female-dominate over the lastdecade, as the Hays and Kearney study was based onmembership directories dating back to 1997.


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Table 1

Demographic Characteristics of RespondentsVariable Characteristic N Percent * Gender Female 126 61.8

Male 78 38.2

Age 18-24 1 .525-34 7 3.435-44 39 19.145-54 81 39.755-64 69 33.865 or older 7 3.4

Education Less than high school 1 .5High school 6 2.92-year degree 9 4.44-year degree 66 32.4Master’s degree 101 49.5Law degree 11 5.4Doctorate 8 3.9

Race Asian 1 .5Hispanic 11 5.4African American 17 8.3Caucasian 175 85.8

Population 50,000-99,999 136 66.7100,000 – 250,000 68 33.3

Role in Current HR Supervisors 171 83.8Position Other 33 16.2

Years in Less than 1 year 14 6.9Current 1-3 years 45 22.1Position 4-10 years 76 37.3

11-15 years 44 21.616-20 years 10 4.9More than 20 years 15 7.4

* Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.* Total number of respondents is equal to 204.

The purpose of this study is to answer the question:

What are some basic characteristics of the cities in which humanresource professionals are included in the emergency planning process? This question is important to public administration


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because very little research has focused on HR practices in localgovernment emergency management. Therefore, best practices,trends, characteristics, and other foundational information is notreadily available for HR professionals or local governmentofficials to learn from and build upon.

To answer the research question, the four hypothesesdescribed were tested using One-Way ANOVA, which is astatistical method that is used when an independent variable iscategorical, or has two or more categories, and the dependentinterval variable is normally distributed (UCLA 2011a, Section11). Using One-Way ANOVA allows for an examination of“differences in the means of the dependent variable broken down

by the levels of the independent variable” (UCLA 2011a, Section11). The level of significance for this study was established atthe p


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regularly participate in emergency planning meetings?” andchoices included either don’t know, no, or yes. Of the 204respondents, the majority reported that they regularly participatein emergency planning meetings in their locales (Table 2). Theseresults are similar to those of Fegley and Victor (2005), whofound that over 75% of HR professionals in both the private and

public sectors participated in emergency planning with theirorganization. However, it is important to note that the term

participation may be defined differently by each of the individualrespondents. That is, some may view answering a few questionsabout HR issues for emergency planning as participation, whileothers may view actually attending meetings as participation.

This is a point that should be considered in future studies.The independent variable, Council-Manager, was createdfrom the form of government question in the survey in whichrespondents were asked, “What is the form of government inyour city?”. Respondents could choose among council-manager,mayor-council, commission, town meeting, and other. Of the 204respondents, over 60% described their local government as acouncil-manager form of government (Table 2), which isconsistent with the findings of the International City/CouncilManagement Association (ICMA) report in 2000 that found thatcouncil-manager had become more dominant in comparison tomayor-council. In fact, over 60% of cities with populations of

25,000 or greater reported having a council-manager form ofgovernment (Fayhim 2005). In addition, for the independentvariable population, the majority of respondents also reportedworking in cities with populations of 50,000 through 99,999 (SeeTable 2).


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Table 2 Descriptive Statistics of Independent Variables

Variable Characteristics N PercentHR Participate 134 65.7Participation Do not participate 68 33.3

Don’t know 2 1.0

Form of Council-Manager 127 62.3Government Mayor-Council 69 33.8

Commission 4 2.0Town Meeting 0 0Other 4 2.0

Population 50,000-99,999 136 66.7100,000 – 250,000 68 33.3

Previous 0 61 29.9Disasters 1 70 34.3(in last 2 40 19.65 years) 3 19 9.3

4 or more 14 6.9

Level of Very involved 54 26.5Involvement Somewhat involved 75 36.8

Not involved 73 35.8Don’t know 2 1.0

Years Working Less than 1 year 3 1.5

in HRM 1-3 years 6 2.94-10 years 24 11.811-15 years 42 20.616-20 years 32 15.7More than 20 years 96 47.1Do not work in HRM 1 .5

To determine whether local governments hadexperienced one or more disasters in the previous five years,respondents were asked, “In the last five years, how manydisasters has your city faced?” and could choose from 0, 1, 2, 3,and 4 or more. As stated previously, following HurricaneKatrina, many planning efforts began focusing on an all-hazards

approach, which was largely due to efforts by the federalgovernment (National Response Framework 2008; Post-KatrinaEmergency Management Reform Act 2006). Thus, in early 2011


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when the survey for this study was distributed, changes in planning efforts at all levels of government had been in processfor at least 5 years. As indicated in the table, answers rangedfrom 0 to 4 or more disasters in the last five years, and thenumber of incidents varied with some experiencing no disastersto a few experiencing four or more.

Dependent variableTable 3

Survey Questions for HR Disaster Variable Description of Policy

HiringPractices

My local government has policies that address hiring practicesduring states of emergency.

TempWorkers

My local government allows for the immediate hiring oftemporary workers.

Shortage Pay My local government adjusts pay to account for labor shortagesduring times of disaster.

PayDifferential

My local government has a pay differential for employees whowork during times of declared disasters.

Furloughs My local government has policies that address employee furloughsduring states of emergency.

Comp Pay My local government has separate policies that addressovertime/comp pay during states of emergency.

Retention My local government has policies that address employee retentionduring states of emergency.

Discipline My local government has streamlined policies for disciplining andterminating employees during states of emergency.

Counseling My local government mandates counseling for employees during

states of emergency.Cross-train My local government cross-trains employees in preparation foremergencies.

Aid My local government has mutual aid agreements with other cities,counties, states.

Transportation My local government has identified transportation needs andresources.


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Table 4 HR Disaster Polic iesHR Categories Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly Meanand Functions** Disagree agree nor Agree

disagreeWorkforce ManagementHiring Practices 7.4% 31.9% 24.0% 26.0% 10.8% 3.01Temp Workers 1.5% 8.8% 11.8% 56.9% 21.1% 3.87Shortage Pay 8.3% 39.7% 32.8% 11.8% 7.4% 2.70Pay Differential 8.3% 42.6% 23.0% 19.6% 6.4% 2.73Furloughs 7.8% 45.1% 23.5% 16.7% 6.9% 2.70Comp Pay 5.9% 32.4% 19.6% 26.5% 15.7% 3.14Retention 6.4% 47.5% 28.9% 12.3% 4.9% 2.62Discipline 10.3% 52.9% 21.6% 11.3% 3.9% 2.46Cross-train 2.0% 18.6% 19.6% 47.5% 12.3% 3.50Pre- and Post-Disaster Plans

Counseling 8.8% 51.5% 26.0% 9.8% 3.9% 2.49Aid 1.0% 3.4% 10.3% 48.0% 37.3% 4.17Transportation 2.5% 10.8% 26.5% 43.6% 16.7% 3.61

N = 204* Rows may not equal 100% due to rounding.

The dependent variable, HR Disaster Policies, refers tocommon HR activities included in local government emergency

plans. The variable was created from HR Disaster Policiesquestion in the survey, which consisted of 12 Likert-scale items.(See Table 3). Specifically, the question stated, “Below are itemsused to determine the degree of implementation by your city forvarious policies regarding common HR practices during times ofdisaster” with 1 representing highly disagree, and 5 representinghighly agree. The sum of the 12 scale items from eachrespondent produced a total score between 12-60, which was thenumerical value representing the variable HR Disaster Policies,whose mean was 36.99 and standard deviation was 7.51.Reliability Analysis using Cronbach’s Alpha was conducted inSPSS, and the alpha coefficient for this variable was .855, whichsuggests that the variables “have relatively high internalconsistency” (UCLA 2011b, “Reliability”). For most socialscience research, “a reliability coefficient of .70 or higher isconsidered acceptable” (UCLA 2011b, “Reliability”).

The 12 sub-questions in the survey were divided intotwo areas, which were Workforce Management and Pre- andPost-Disaster Plans. Workforce management focuses on HRactivities that are important for emergency planning, and include

policies regarding compensation, discipline, and retention. (See


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Table 4). The second area addresses HR issues that are importantto pre- and post-disaster planning. The results of the 12 sub-questions are available in Table 4, but a brief discussion of theactivities will clarify their purposes in being included.

Workforce ManagementWithout a workforce, local governments could not

respond nor recover from a disaster. Therefore, planning mustinclude HR issues that may arise during times of crisis. Task-re-orientation, or cross-training, allows local governmentemployees the ability to take on new responsibilities. Forexample, because of their pro-active response during Hurricane

Katrina, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries was appointedthe lead department for search and rescue efforts for HurricaneGustav, which is far beyond the scope of their normal duties(“Right approach” 2008). In addition, water and sewer workersin the New Orleans area were trained and re-tasked as pumpoperators, which is a pertinent position in an area that is belowsea-level. Thus, local governments must ensure that employeesunderstand their responsibilities in times of crisis.

Further, because disasters can cause excessive damage toan area, temporary workers are often hired to help localgovernments return to normalcy. Although local governmentsare required to post positions in times of normalcy, disasters

require immediate attention, which often means that time is notavailable for advertising (Rubin, Winston, Korman, Sawyer, andBergeron 2005). Hiring practices become pertinent toimmediately filling positions needed for response and recovery.In fact, one of the leading complaints of local governmentsfollowing Hurricane Katrina was that some federal governmentrequirements in the immediate aftermath of the storm were not

possible. For example, in a 2006 interview conducted by theauthor, an emergency management director for a small town onthe Mississippi Gulf Coast explained that when fires were

burning along one road that was inaccessible due to debris, heimmediately hired a resident who had a bulldozer on his property

so firefighters could reach the fire and extinguish the flames. The primary concern was that the fire would spread quickly to thedebris that resulted from Katrina’s storm surge and high winds.


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Several months later, FEMA stated that the director did notfollow the correct procedure of advertising and accepting bidsfor the work.

Hiring practices also are important because localgovernment employees who are also disaster victims are oftenunable to return to work for personal reasons such as housingissues. In these situations, including employee absence policiesin emergency plans would allow the employee to understand theconsequences of absenteeism as well as give local governmentsguidelines. As an HR Specialist from Amarillo, Texas, said in aninterview conducted by the author, “Procedures for accountingfor absence due to the disaster [are important]. In other words, if

a full-time employee cannot come to work due to the event, musttheir unworked time be charged to Annual Leave? Sick leave?Unpaid leave?” Thus, it is important to include these types of

policies in emergency plans.To investigate if these types of issues are addressed in

emergency plans, respondents were asked whether their localgovernment has policies that address employee furloughs duringstates of emergency.

The human resources director for Chula Vista,California, recommended, “Have policies in place that addressreporting, pay, retention, and return to work.” These types ofissues are important to emergency plans because employees are

important to local governments.Beyond the safety of families is compensation, which, accordingto Table 4, was an important issue. Paying employees can be adifficult and complicated issue following a crisis, especiallywhen computers with appropriate software are offline and banksare closed. The human resources manager for Cathedral City,California, suggested, “Make sure to be able to run a ‘standard’

payroll, and deal with overtime, etc. later.”

Preparedness, Response, and RecoveryAs issues that HR departments may assist with, aid

agreements and transportation needs also are often included in

emergency plans. Transportation was a controversial issuefollowing Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, but over 60% ofrespondents agreed or highly agreed that their local government


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identified transportation needs and resources. However, it is possible that since transportation was highlighted as one of the problems following Hurricane Katrina, more attention has beengiven to this issue. For example, the city of New Orleans madesignificant improvements to transportation problems, especiallyfor evacuees, following Hurricane Katrina and before HurricaneGustav, although some problems still persisted (Mann 2009). Inaddition, as Hurricane Isaac approached in August 2012,transportation was one of the issues mentioned by GovernorBobby Jindal. On Monday, August 27, approximately 24 hours

before the storm approached Louisiana, the New Orleans Gambitreported that the state “deployed 4,100 national guard troops,

who are now driving evacuation buses and assisting at parishemergency operation centers” (Maldonado 2012, paragraph 5).Regarding aid, 48% of respondents agreed that their

local government has mutual aid agreements with other cities,counties, and states. George Bass, fire chief for the City of LongBeach, Mississippi, during Hurricane Katrina, echoed the needfor mutual aid agreements. He stated that when a locale inFlorida contacted him in the immediate aftermath to offer theirassistance, he accepted immediately. At that time, a mutual aidagreement was not included in the city’s emergency plan, butBass stated that it should be a priority for every localgovernment (Goodman and Mann 2008).

Just as Hurricane Katrina, some disasters arewidespread, resulting in public service workers having to faceissues not only at work, but also at home. The priority for mostemployees will be their families. The HR manager for Novato,California, said:

We are disaster service workers by virtue of our publicemployment, so in the event of a disaster, our energieswill be devoted to response and recovery. It's importantto remember, however, that employees will have theirown concerns, chiefly, the welfare of their families, so

provisions need to be made to assist employees instaying in touch with them.

In Encinitas, California, the local government has such a policy, which helps ensure the safety of employees’ families in


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the aftermath of a disaster and also report to work. The HRdirector for the city explained, “Employees will put their familiesfirst in a disaster. We have made emergency shelter and food

provisions for employees' families so that the employees can beavailable for disaster response.” Many local governments alsohave plans that help employees deal with the stress that comeswith disasters by offering counseling, but few local governmentsin this study require employees to meet with counselors. In fact,over 60% of respondents disagreed or highly disagreed thatcounseling is mandated.

Although HR departments are not always included inemergency planning, local governments often address some

important HR policies in their emergency plans. Thus,examining several of these policies may offer some insight intolocal government preparedness. By offering basic explanationsof each of the activities, future research can analyze specificactivities to determine needed improvements.

FINDINGS

Hypothesis 1: Local governments that include HR professionalsin their emergency planning meetings will be more likely toinclude more HR disaster policies in their emergency plans.

Table 5 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Participation and HR Disaster Policies Participation N Mean FDo Not Participate 70 35.01 7.58; p=.006Participate 134 38.02Total 204 36.99

The first hypothesis examines the relationship betweenlocal governments that include HR professionals in emergency

planning meetings and the number of HR disaster policies inlocal government emergency plans. For this hypothesis, thevariable Participation is a 0-1 variable and the range on the HR

Disaster Policies variable is 14 through 46 with a mean of 36.99.The mean for those that do not participate was 35.01 and themean for those who participate was 38.02. One-Way ANOVA


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indicated a significant relationship between those localgovernments that include HR representatives in emergency

planning meetings and the number of HR Disaster Policiesincluded in the emergency plan (F=7.58, df=1/203, p


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necessity when emergencies occur, and local governments thatrely on their HR professionals as consultants are able to addressneeds quickly.

Also, including those who are most knowledgeableabout an organization’s human capital is important to theorganization as a whole. By acknowledging that HR

professionals bring numerous benefits to emergency planningalso acknowledges that local governments are strategic in everyfacet of long-range planning. Thus, recognition of the strategiccapabilities of HR professionals by elected officials andadministrators, and the reliance on their expertise can directlytranslate into a more responsive and resilient local government.

Although many of the policies may be fully addressed by other departments, HR professionals would be valuableadvisers who could draw attention to policies that may be easilyoverlooked. However, one cannot assume that the localgovernment is not receptive to the inclusion of HR professionalson planning committees nor can one assume that theseindividuals do not have an interest in emergency planning. Asdiscussed throughout this study, local government departmentsface many obstacles, including limited time, staff, andresources. Especially during eras of economic downturn, HRdepartments, like others in local government, often face budgetcuts that result in loss of positions. In fact, during each of this

study’s three phases of electronic contact, HR professionalsnationwide contacted the researcher to explain the delay inresponse was due to greater workloads as a result of hiringfreezes or lay-offs. For example, the HR director from a smallerlocale in Florida wrote, “I am unable to participate due to anextensive work load and the loss of 2 staff members, who I amunable to replace due to budget constraints.” In addition, an HRdirector for a California city with a population just over 100,000also explained, “Unfortunately, we are extremely short staffed atthe moment and the only remaining Analyst is unable to assist atthis time.”

Again, while some HR departments do not participate in

local government emergency planning, it is important toremember that lack of participation does not translate into lackof interest. However, as the results of this hypothesis have


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demonstrated, those local governments that include HR in theemergency planning process have addressed more HR disaster

policies in their emergency plans, which could ultimately prevent small crises during major disasters. As the HR Directorfor Elk Grove, California, said:

I reside in Butte County, California, and two years agowe had catastrophic fires that burned over 100 homesto the ground. Our County EOC was activated for 32straight days. I had all the normal ICS trainings, but allof those trainings do very little to prepare HR

professionals to effectively support the emergencyresponse operation. In other words, we made it up on

the fly.

Although many HR professionals have the knowledge andexperience to address problems when they emerge, thatknowledge and experience can be put to better use byaddressing some problems before they develop. By includingHR departments in emergency planning, when a major crisisoccurs, local governments will have more individuals who canfocus on the task at hand rather than attending to issues thatcould have been addressed pre-disaster. After all, participationin preparedness is often the key to a successful response.

Hypothesis 2: Council-manager forms of government aremore likely to include more HR disaster policies in theiremergency plans.

Table 6 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Council-Manager and HR Disaster PoliciesForm of Government N Mean FCouncil-Manager 127 36.98 .000; p=.998Other Form of Government 77 36.99Total 204 36.99

The second hypothesis examines the relationship between local governments that have council-manager forms ofgovernment and the number of HR disaster policies in the local


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government emergency plan. For this hypothesis, the variableCouncil-Manager is coded as a 0-1 variable. One-Way ANOVAdid not indicate a significant difference in local governments thathave a council-manager and the number of HR Disaster Policiesincluded in the emergency plan compared to that of localgovernments that do not have a council-manager (F=.000,df=1/203, p>.05) (Table 6). In fact, the means are nearly equal,at 36.98 for cities with council-managers, and 36.99 for allothers. This result indicates that Hypothesis 2 is rejected.

This also is an important finding for local government public administration, particularly for the debate regardingcouncil-manager versus mayor-council forms of government.

First, the role of each position in local governmentadministration is characterized differently, with mayorsdominating “in the formulation of the mission of municipalgovernance” and managers having “nearly exclusive control overthe management of organizational affairs” (Morgan and Watson1992, 439). Although other factors along with form ofgovernment may impact the inclusion of HR disaster policies inemergency plans, the results of this test show that form ofgovernment alone does not have a significant impact oninclusion. While the allocation of funds for emergency

preparedness may significantly differ between the two forms ofgovernment, agreement on basic activities that are important to

the long-term functioning of local government, such as detailedemergency plans, is more easily obtained. The result of thishypothesis, then, also leads to a second observation that is

beneficial to public administration and local government.Because city managers are often characterized as using a

decentralized management style (Svara 2008), they often rely onmanagers’ expertise regarding important policies and proceduresin their individual departments. On the other hand, mayors areoften described as using a top-down management style (Svara2008), and input from department managers may or may not beconsidered when making final decisions. However, based on thefindings of this hypothesis, the management style used in local

government does not seem to affect the inclusion of HR policiesin emergency plans. Although the actual process that occurs toresult in these types of policies and procedures being included in


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an emergency plan may differ, the result is the same – localgovernments are addressing some HR policies that, if overlookedor excluded, could be problematic in times of crisis.

Hypothesis 3: Local governments with populations of 100,000or greater are more likely to have more HR disaster policiesin their emergency plans.

Table 7 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Population and HR Disaster PoliciesPopulation N Mean F

50,000-99,999 136 36.80 .244; p=.622100,00-249,999 68 37.35Total 204 36.99

The third hypothesis examines the relationship between population and the number of HR disaster policies in localgovernment emergency plans. For this hypothesis, the variable

population is coded as a 0-1 variable. One-Way ANOVAindicated a small difference for cities with populations of100,000 or greater and the number of HR disaster policies intheir local government emergency plans (F=.244, df=1/203,

p>.05) (Table 7). In this case, for those cities with populations of100,000 or greater, we find higher scores on the HR DisasterPolicies variable, whose mean is 37.35 compared to 36.80 forcities with populations 50,000 – 99,999. However, therelationship is not significant at the .05 level. This resultindicates that Hypothesis 3 is rejected.

The result of this hypothesis presents an interestingcontradiction for some arguments regarding population andemergency planning. First, some authors have argued thatspending on planning projects, including emergency planning, isoften higher in cities with greater populations (Cole 1971;Gerber, Cohen, and Stewart 2007). These cities also are oftenthought to have greater administrative capacities along withgreater resources such as money and personnel (Gerber andRobinson 2009). While the resources may be greater, it may bethat only some types of emergency planning are the focus of


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larger cities. Homeland security, for instance, is just one area ofemergency planning, and because the risk of terrorism increaseswith city size (Rahm and Reddick 2011), a focus on that specifictype of emergency planning does not necessarily mean that

planning for earthquakes and pandemics is of more importanceor more likely to occur in cities with greater populations. Forinstance, French (2011) investigated the level of preparednessregarding pandemic planning in 28 of the largest cities in theUnited States, and found that only 56 percent had initial plans,with the most prepared city, New York City, scoring only 81

percent based on the Department of Health and Human Servicesrecommended guidelines. In addition, Cantrell (2011) found that

although Memphis, Tennessee could be devastated if anearthquake occurred in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, the cityhas spent very little time and money preparing for its effects.Thus, based on this hypothesis, population is not an accurateindicator of levels of emergency planning in HR.

However, population may be influential if other factorsare considered along with the variable, such as type of disasterand form of government. For instance, Rahm and Reddick(2011) found that emergency preparedness expenditures tend to

be greater in those cities where the city manager tends to seegreater risk. Thus, population along with form of governmentmay also be affected if considering perception of risk. In cities

with council-manager forms of government, spending may beaffected by the city manager’s perception of risk, however, thatmight not be the case in cities with mayors. Although a city’s

population may be large, if that city also has a mayor that does perceive the city to be at great risk of disasters, then money maynot be allocated to planning projects. However, because themayor-council form of government exists in a politicalenvironment, an increased perception of risk by the mayor doesnot necessarily mean that the council will agree enough to spendmoney on emergency preparedness activities. In addition, themanagement style of city managers and mayors also may beinfluential. For example, if the city manager or mayor tends to

rely on other managers for important issues that affect theirdepartments, the city’s emergency management director maylead the charge for better preparedness plans. If the lead


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executive creates an environment in which managers’ opinionsmatter, it seems likely that collaboration between departmentswould also be supported.

However, based on the data from this survey, although population alone may not impact the number of HR disaster policies in emergency plans, the variable may be influentialwhen considered with other variables. Other factors that should

be explored in the future include the allocation of federal grantsfor specific disaster types, reliance of cities on the county foremergency preparedness activities, and the FEMA region inwhich the city is assigned.

H4: There is a positive relationship between the number ofdisasters a local government has faced in the last five yearsand the number of HR disaster policies in the emergencyplan.

Table 8 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Previous Disastersand HR Disaster Policies

#Disastersin

PreviousFive

Years

N Mean F

0 61 36.08 .888; p=.4721 70 36.992 40 36.783 19 39.684 14 37.86

Total 204 36.99


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Table 9 Results of Post Hoc Test using Scheffe’s Test

Number of Disastersin Previous Five Years

MeanDifference

p

0 v. 1234

-.91-.69-3.6

-1.78

.976

.995

.506

.9591 v. 2

34

.21-2.7-.87

1.00.749.997

2 v. 34

-2.91-1.08

.749

.995

3 v. 4 1.83 .976

The fourth hypothesis examines the relationship betweenthe number of HR disaster policies in local governmentemergency plans and the number of disasters a city has faced inthe last five years. For this hypothesis, the variable PreviousDisasters was coded into five categories, ranging from 0 for 0disasters to 4 for 4 or more disasters. One-Way ANOVA did notindicate a positive relationship between the number of disasters acity has experienced in the last five years and the number of HRdisaster policies in local government emergency plans (F=.888,df=4/203, p>.05). (See Table 8). In addition, the relationship is

not significant at the .05 level. A Scheffe’s Post Hoc Test, whichallows for a comparison of the means of all pairs from the largerANOVA group, further revealed that the relationship isinsignificant, which indicates that Hypothesis 4 is rejected. (SeeTable 9).

Although ANOVA did not indicate a relationship exists between previous disasters and the number of HR disaster policies, the results are still interesting. Simply based on themeans, it seems that the largest increase in emergency planningregarding HR occurred when cities experienced only one disasterin the last five years. As was the case in Louisiana, althoughlocal governments learned of areas of improvements in the

aftermath of Hurricane Betsy, many problems still existedfollowing Hurricane Katrina. However, many of those issues


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were addressed before Hurricane Gustav arrived in 2008 (Mann2009).

Again, a significant relationship between these twovariables alone may not exist, but other factors may beinfluential and should be explored. For example, many cities relyon the county government for coordination and management ofemergency planning and response. For example, over 50 percentof the respondents for this study stated that their localgovernment follows the county emergency operations plancompletely, while approximately 26 percent said their localgovernment somewhat follows the county emergency operations

plans. Further exploring those cities that have some or full

reliance on the county for emergency planning may also furtherreveal involvement of departments in planning. For example, ifthe county emergency operations plan does not highlight orinclude HR policies, then the city, for its plan, also may notinclude these policies.

The results of this hypothesis also bring attention to acouple of weaknesses of this study. First, the word ‘disaster’ isopen to interpretation, and although defined earlier in this study,a ‘disaster’ in one local government may not be considered a‘disaster’ in another. In essence, the word disaster is oftendependent upon an individual’s perspective, which could haveaffected this particular hypothesis. In addition, one incident can

result in several disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, which notonly resulted in storm surge and flooding, but also prolonged power outages and government conflicts. The hurricane itselfwas actually the catalyst of several other types of disasters. Thus,one respondent may have responded that four disasters resultedfrom one incident.

Finally, this particular hypothesis examined only HRdisaster policies in emergency plans and the number of disastersin the previous five years. Some disasters may rely completelyon first responders, such as emergency services workers or

police and fire departments, but does not require involvementfrom other local government departments, which, in turn, would

improvements to response of those departments would not be afactor. Further, the types of disasters that affected the local


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governments in which HR professionals reported multipleincidents also may provide further insight.

CONCLUSION

Local governments must remember that all disasters arelocal, and it is the citizens of a community and their publicofficials who are ultimately responsible for response andrecovery. Thus, to better manage damage from disasters,

preparedness is a necessity, one that often is expensive and time-consuming. When money and personnel are scarce, localgovernments must rely on the resources that are available, which

requires using all of the knowledge, skills, and abilities theiremployees possess.The purpose of this study has been to examine the

characteristics of local governments that include HR professionals in local government emergency planning.Although extensive research has focused on public humanresource management, this appears to be the first study toexamine this specific topic. Also, while 66 percent of therespondents in this study report some involvement in emergency

planning, the level of involvement varies. Understanding someof the basic characteristics of HR professionals, theirdepartments, and their local governments in this research has

created a foundation on which future research can be built.Because local government is ultimately responsible fordisasters that occur in their communities, it is important to revealthese current practices so that future efforts can focus onimprovements, especially in response and recovery. Emergency

preparedness, as shown by recent disasters, is an ongoing process in which learning is continuous, and often impactsresponse and recovery positively. A future study may examine ifincluding HR issues in emergency planning assists in producingdesirable response and recovery outcomes.

The current literature on emergency planning hasrevealed some characteristics of local government emergency

planning. First, the role of an elected official can both positivelyand negatively affect emergency planning at the local level. Mostelected officials and their administrators understand that


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preparedness programs are necessities, and that by participatingin emergency planning, their constituents will benefit if a disasteroccurs. However, the “if” can have significant impacts.Politicians often are not remembered for their work in

preparedness, but rather for addressing the daily problems faced by their constituents and their work in the aftermath of a disaster.Fortunately, many locales are not regularly affected by disastersso constituents become complacent and expect elected officialsto spend money on more pressing problems.

Secondly, emergency planning requires the involvementof all departments within local government, as do emergencyresponse and recovery. The knowledge, skills, and abilities of

local government employees are vast, which allows them tomove beyond their daily position responsibilities to contribute toresponse and recovery efforts in times of crisis. Although everylocal government is different, of the 34 percent that stated theydid not have involvement with emergency planning, the majoritysaid that some other department was responsible for the city’semergency management programs. Many of those with thisresponse may not have realized the wealth of knowledge theycould bring to planning. Handing over human resource activitiesduring times of crisis to a department that does not have theknowledge and experience of those who handle the activities ona daily basis may lead to additional stress in an already-chaotic

aftermath. When emergencies occur, employees are relied uponto help respond and recover. Thus, including the department thatemployees depend upon for compensation, benefitsadministration, and other issues could enhance emergency

planning.Contrary to the findings of the Goodman and Mann

(2008) study, it seems that many cities nationwide includeimportant HR issues in their emergency plans. However, as onerespondent confirmed, it is an ongoing process that must be a

priority of every department in local government, not just humanresources. As shown by the results, the 75 cities that are notinvolved in emergency planning appear to have addressed less

HR activities than those who are very involved or somewhatinvolved, which could present problems in the aftermath of adisaster. As another survey respondent stated, research such as


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this gives local government HR departments a foundation to build upon.

However, the individuals, particularly managers andadministrators that compose public human resource departments

bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to public service.The data from this study indicates that 83 percent of therespondents have worked in HR for more than 10 years and over50 percent of the 204 respondents have advanced degrees. Thus,the knowledge and strategic capabilities these individuals

possess could not only enhance the emergency plans of localgovernments, but emergency plans at all levels. As evidenced bythe number of HR functions that have been addressed by local

governments in this study, work in this area has been importantfor some time. Based on the fact that every state has been thesubject of a presidential disaster declaration in the last 20 years,it seems that many of the respondents are likely to have hadeither direct or indirect experience with the effects of a disaster.By sharing the experiences and lessons learned throughresponding and recovering from disasters, HR professionals canassist one another with identifying important policies that can beaddressed pre-disaster. While Goodman and Mann (2008) foundthat during Hurricane Katrina, the involvement of the HRdepartment in planning positively impacted disaster response,future studies could focus on the experiences of other cities that

have included HR in the planning process, which may revealadditional activities that could benefit cities nationwide.Finally, additional research that may provide important

insight would be to obtain the perspective of emergencymanagement professionals in local governments in the samecities. In bridging the gap between HR and EM, having the

perspectives from both sides would allow for better planning. AsThe American Society for Public Administration PresidentMeredith Newman (2010) explained, “As the ‘face’ ofgovernment, first-responders and emergency services personnelcarry a unique responsibility. They are the government, up closeand personal, on the worst day of a citizen’s life.” And, just as

“first responders and emergency services personnel carry aunique responsibility” during times of crisis, so do those thatserve in the local government human resource department. In


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times of crisis, the HR professional becomes the person that the“face of government” turns to when the “worst day” impacts notonly the citizens they serve, but also their own families. Whilelocal government employees devote their lives to bettering acommunity, HR managers pledge to protect the protectors, intimes of normalcy and especially in times of crisis.


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C o p y r i g h t o f P u b l i c A d m i n i s t r a t i o n Q u a r t e r l y i s t h e p r o p eA d m i n i s t r a t i o n E d u c a t i o n F o u n d a t i o n a n d i t s c o n t e n t m a ym u l t i p l e s i t e s o r p o s t e d t o a l i s t s e r v w i t h o u t t h e c o p y r i g h t H o w e v e r , u s e r s m a y p r i n t , d o w n l o a d , o r e m a i l a r t i c l e s f o r

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