National Preparedness Month

September is National Preparedness Month. Are you truly Ready. Go beyond fire alarms, smoke detectors, dead-bolts & extra food. Check out the National Preparedness Month at http://ping.fm/U2MH3

H1N1 and the upcoming Flu Season

In June, the World Health Organization officially declared a pandemic of H1N1 (swine flu). With Fall just a few weeks away, concern is growing about the pandemic and government, businesses and schools are preparing for a possible outbreak. We hope the articles below will provide you with some updated information on the swine flu and what you can do to maintain the continuity of your operations should the flu become widespread.

The CDC issued new guidance for businesses and employers on August 19; check it out. (Item #1) This document, also from the CDC, provides communication information and resources for employers. (Item #2) OSHA offers guidance on preparing your workplace for a flu pandemic. (Item #3)

What's the government doing to counter the delay in swine flu shots? (Item #4) Whether the flu strikes or not, many of us have anxiety about it; here are some ways to manage that anxiety. (Item #5) Will the military be called in to assist local authorities in case of a pandemic? (Item #6)

http://www.attainium.net/newsbriefs

Employee Issues

Hiring, managing and firing employees all can be fraught with potential problems that can endanger your business or organization. Poor hiring practices result in about 30 percent of business failures, while, on average, about 50 percent of all new hires fail. Failure to handle employee conflict is another trouble area, and mishandling employee fires has resulted in everything from cyber attacks to shootings. This week's articles may help you avoid some of these problems.

Do you know the best way to fire someone? (Item #1) Don't let workplace conflict erupt into potential business disruptions. (Item #2) For your organization's sake, you cannot afford to ignore or mishandle employee problems. (Item #3)

Your telecommuting employees present special challenges. (Item #4) Whistleblowers can be important to your organization. (Item #5) The importance of employee background checks should not be underestimated. (Item #6)

http://www.attainium.net/newsbriefs

Success Stories

In this week's Business Continuity NewsBriefs we present our annual success story issue, featuring articles that show how business continuity plans helped – or could have helped – businesses facing actual disruption scenarios. We often find value in seeing how someone else handled a situation we could face; we hope you will find some tips to apply to your own plans.

Here’s a two-part story that shows why intellectual property theft can be a genuine business continuity threat and offers some crisis management lessons from a real-life IP theft situation. (Item #1) What can other companies learn from the Mattel crisis? (Item #2) When pornographic spam threatened his company's reputation, a CSO got a lesson in calling for outside help. (Item #3)

AT&T has its business continuity planning down cold. (Item #4) This San Francisco firm’s considerable input to its business continuity plan saved the day. (Item #5) Effective business continuity planning has allowed clothes retailer Primark to restart its supply chain 48 hours after fire destroyed its principal stock warehouse last Tuesday. (Item #6)

Check this and previous issues at http://www.attainium.net/newsbriefs

Plan Testing and Exercising

Plan testing & exercising is the topic of this week's NewsBriefs - http://www.attainium.net/newsbriefs

A recent Forrester/Disaster Recovery Journal survey showed that most companies conduct business continuity tests only once a year and that does not include more extensive tests, which are run less often. When it comes to actually doing a simulation--actually carrying out all the appropriate response and recovery processes—only about one-third of organizations do that yearly. Thorough testing often finds shortcomings and parts of the plan that are missing.

If you are ready for a test, let me know. Attainium has tabletop exercise products starting at $595.