HR Executive Answers: Crisis Preparation and Management Essentials

 When disaster strikes, HR must be ready to respond. But how can you plan for the unexpected? The answer: HR Executive Answers: Crisis Preparation and Management Essentials.

Think it can't happen to your organization? Think again. According to OSHA and the U.S. Department of Justice, between 1,700,000 to 2,000,000 incidents of violence occur in U.S. workplaces every year. And the number of H1N1 "swine flu" cases are exploding, with the number of infections climbing every day. And it's only a matter of time until the next Hurricane Katrina hits -- one of the worst storms in our nation's history. It displaced between 500,000 and 1 million people throughout the Gulf Coast states. Areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama still remain uninhabitable or under repair.

Don't wait for disaster to strike. Learn how to plan for the worst and ensure your organization's survival with this all-new training system.

With more than 7 hours of instruction from crisis management experts, you can use each of these modules to learn how to craft an emergency response plan to ensure your organization's business continuity -- even in the wake of disaster. Use each module on your own schedule, at your own pace!

*Use these 5 modules to keep your operations up and running during an emergency situation.

Module 1 - Workplace Shootings, Domestic Violence, and Bullying: New Challenges and Legal Threats for Employers 
What would you do if an ex-employee stormed into your office with a gun? Does your organization have a policy in place to deal with workplace violence? What about workplace bullies? How are you protecting your company from the physical and legal threats of escalating workplace conflict? 

Learn how to address the triple threat of office bullies, workplace violence, and even domestic violence with this easy-to-follow module:

• Examples of "bully bosses" and the legal liabilities they bring to any organization
• How to draft legally sound policies for addressing all forms of violence
• Recent and pending legislation allowing employees to keep guns on employers' property
• Steps you can take NOW to protect your workforce and limit your organization's legal liability
• The nature of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and how domestic violence can impact your workplace
• Legal risks faced by every employer regarding guns in the workplace, including OSHA and negligence issues
• Liability issues from federal statutes regarding domestic violence and why no employer can afford to dismiss Intimate Partner Violence as a "private family matter"
• When it's time for the employer to issue a restraining order. What are the pros and cons of taking such action?
• The serious issues involved in giving truthful references about former employees terminated for violence
• And more

Module 2 - Swine Flu: Proactive Preparations and Legal Guidelines for Employers
The Centers for Disease Control recently announced there are so many cases of the HN1N1 Swine Flu virus that the agency has ceased counting the vast number of those infected. Instead, the CDC is focusing its efforts on getting vaccines out to the cites/states with the most Flu cases. Is your organization prepared to deal with the Swine Flu?Learn practical and legal measures to take before, during, and after a flu outbreak:

• Characteristics of Swine Flu and how it differs from other communicable disease threats
• How any flu outbreak can adversely affect your business operations
• Basic steps for preventing the spread of the flu within your organization
• How the Swine Flu could morph into employer liability under various regulations and federal statutes, such as ADA, FMLA, FLSA, OSHA, HIPAA, and Sarbanes-Oxley
• Understanding the potential liabilities that exist under the NLRA and WARN Act
• How to examine, review, and draft employment policies to ensure your organization is prepared for any flu outbreak or pandemic
• And more

Module 3 - Before Disaster Strikes: Crafting Your HR Crisis Plan 
Tornadoes, floods, fire, pandemics, job-related accidents, and workplace violence ... has your HR department done everything it can to prepare for the worst? Now you can prepare for the unthinkable with this easy-to-follow module.

Crisis containment specialist Michael G. McCourt will help you design and develop threat management protocols, procedures, and consequence management strategies, as well as:

• Your role in managing and protecting your organization’s most important resource — your employees — during a crisis
• Hands-on prevention planning: The steps you should take now before the crisis hits, including assessing your organization’s vulnerabilities
• How to create an effective crisis management plan that informs employees of their duties and responsibilities in a crisis
• Why good communication is critical to pulling employees through an emergency situation
• How to quickly analyze the nature of an incident, so your organization take swift and appropriate action
• The art of recovering from a crisis: How to craft your consequence management plan
• What you can do to help senior management during a crisis
• And more

Module 4 - After the Disaster: Get Up and Running with a Business Continuity Plan 
You planned appropriately and successfully managed the crisis event...now it’s time to get back to the business of doing business! But once the smoke clears, do you and your senior management team know how? 

Developing a comprehensive recovery plan takes old-fashioned hard work, but the return-on-investment can spell the difference between business failure and success. Find out how it’s done: 

• Clearly define HR’s roles and responsibilities in the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) process
• Identify secondary assembly areas from which to operate
• Conduct a Business Impact Analysis, and what that includes
• Select just the right people for your BCP Team
• Test your BCP plan before disaster strikes
• And more

Module 5 - HR's Hurricane Planner: What HR Can Do Now
As a new hurricane season begins, do you and your senior management team have a plan that helps your employees and your core business operations withstand the fury of Mother Nature? If not, then don't miss this critical presentation, where you'll learn HR's vital role in creating a hurricane preparedness plan from Michael McCourt, a leading crisis management expert. 

This module will show you how HR can help your organization prepare for, survive and recover from hurricanes:

• Why all HR professionals need to have a corporate disaster plan for a hurricane and why it's important to your organization's survival
• Why it's important to conduct an "electronic survey" of your organization's hurricane preparedness
• What to include in your personal and corporate emergency kits, including at least three items you may not have considered
• What employers can do now to stay compliant with OSHA regulations for providing a safe workplace in the aftermath of a hurricane
• How to stay in contact with employees after a hurricane using online and offline communications
• Short-term operations: What HR can do to help senior managers keep business closures from occurring
• Whether to rely upon telecommuting or workforce transfers to keep business operations up and running
• How to help employees deal with the unique emotional trauma that comes with a hurricane
• Long-term business considerations: Critical planning that you and your management team should do after the storm has passed
• Bonus: A brief overview of the latest national disaster preparedness standard for private businesses, developed by the National Standards Institute and endorsed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security