CWS 3.0: November 5, 2014

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Disaster preparedness and your contingent workforce

Statistics indicate that more than 200 million people are affected by disasters each year. These range from man-made events to natural disasters, including fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, material spills, explosions etc. Most companies have some sort of disaster preparedness plan in place when it comes to their employees. However, often there is not much thought given to contingent workers. But there are things that one can do to include them. Here are a few tips: 

The list of potential events is long and usually unpredictable, but you can work with your managed service provider and staffing providers to make sure they are in the loop and knowledgeable about your company’s disaster preparedness plan as it relates to contingents. 

Then, make sure your disaster preparedness plan includes your contingent workers and that you are not just relying on them to follow the status quo when disaster strikes. Inform your managed service provider and staffing firm partners and include them in the details of specific closure and evacuation plans that will impact their employees on site at your company.

If contingent workers are part of any plan to continue business remotely, ensure they are set up for success before a real disaster happens. Have a communications and orientation plan that includes your staffing firm and MSP partners and gives every contingent worker the instructions and tools they need to be prepared in the event of an on-site disaster.

Also, know who is on the ground when it comes to your contingent workers. Most VMS systems do this for you at the basic level, but your internal security may have better visibility to actual physical location on any given day. Make sure data regarding contingent workers is updated in real time, so you know where the workers are and how to inform their staffing firm employers and them quickly when it is time to react to a sudden disaster.

Another way to think about disaster preparedness is actually deploying contingent workers in the event of a disaster. Considered how you might utilize a flexible workforce to address resource demand for your firm, backing up your internal employees for key functions. The key is to do it in advance, when you are setting your disaster response plan up, not as a reaction to current events.

Carefully consider where and when your disaster preparedness plan includes contingent workers. Be sure to include safety information in the on- and offboarding process in addition to established protocols and ongoing gap analysis. Like the scouts say, be prepared and keep your partners informed and contingent workers safe.