Foreword

As professionals, we often have to deal with challenging events, people, and scenarios. For the most part, we try to make the best of these situations and do what’s right for our organizations, our people, and ourselves. And over the years, many of us have learned valuable lessons: Planning is less painful than procrastination, prevention generally requires less time and resource outlay than intervention, and action is more effective and less costly than reaction.

The extraordinary number of catastrophic events during the first half of this decade has created a more intense focus on disaster planning/preparation and crisis management. We’ve discovered—some of us the hard way—that getting involved in disaster preparedness is one of the most important contributions we can make to our organizations. And while we hope that disaster never strikes, we’ve learned to be prepared for the worst at all times. “Chicken Little” notwithstanding, sometimes the sky really does fall.

Many members of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) are actively participating in the development and implementation of organizational disaster plans. More than 75% of respondents to the SHRM 2005 Disaster Preparedness Survey claimed to have played some role in their organizations’ disaster preparedness plans. However, the survey also revealed that only slightly more than half of the organizations created or revised disaster preparedness plans after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and 45% did neither. Although the events of September 11 may have begun to fade from recent memory, the rash of natural disasters during the fall of 2005 should remind HR professionals and other business leaders of the critical importance of disaster planning and should motivate them to implement effective crisis management programs.

As HR professionals, however, we need to do more. We need to take to heart the key message in this important book: Disasterpreparedness plans must address the human component. We must recognize that we depend on people to carry out essential duties when disaster strikes, particularly if we’re to continue running our businesses. All too often, disaster preparedness plans focus more on organizational infrastructure, records, and critical tasks than on ensuring that employees, first, survive unharmed and, second, are physically and emotionally able to work.

This book describes how to plan, prepare for, and deal with the human side of workplace crises. In a crisis, employees express fear, shock, sadness, anger, and sometimes paralysis, often in erratic patterns. Once the initial shock has worn off and employees know that they and their families and friends are safe, they generally express a resiliency and resolve to return to work, but sometimes in an unpredictable manner. We must deal with these issues head on if we’re to reassure our employees and restore stability to our organizations.

When employees’ lives are at stake, our first priority is to protect them. Once we’ve ensured their safety, we have to make sure they feel safe. We also have to recognize that the reality of safety doesn’t always match the perception for some people. In these traumatic situations, we face many challenges in helping employees establish a comfort zone and return to work. We’re often dealing with the unknown. We also need to face and overcome our own fears. We should remember that, while it’s demanding and challenging work, it can also be extremely rewarding.

I hope that reading this book will inspire you to take action. Starting now, you need to think about what you and your organization should do to incorporate the human component in your disaster preparedness plans. While protecting an organization’s physical and intellectual property and maintaining business continuity are critical, HR’s duty to safeguard people outweighs all other considerations when disaster strikes.

Susan R. Meisinger, SPHR
President and Chief Executive Officer
Society for Human Resource Management