Workplace Violence

According to OSHA, murders in the workplace are the leading killer of female employees and the second-leading killer of males. But workplace violence isn't limited to murders. Our articles this week discuss the many faces of workplace violence and what steps you can take to prevent violence and how to recognize the potential for such violence. Is your team working on a workplace violence plan? This should be part of your business continuity efforts.

So many of us believe that we're immune to workplace violence, but this is primarily due to the fact that we just don't understand what workplace violence really is. (Item #1)   Workplace violence does not have to be horrific or "violent" but it can result in non-fatal acts of violence which are of an everyday workplace concern. (Item #2)   U.S. employers are obliged under the Occupational Safety and Health Act as well as its common-law duty to act reasonably in eliminating or reducing risk of injury to workers or patrons. (Item #3)

On top of the devastating physical and emotional costs, domestic violence affects the workplace in several other ways. (Item #4)   Here's what to do before, during and after an incident of workplace violence. (Item #5)   One critical strategy for preventing workplace violence is to review what is at the center of every workplace violence situation: employees. (Item #6)


Past issues of the NewsBriefs are available at http://www.attainium.net/newsbriefs/

Testing and Training

Most of us make a resolution every year to exercise more, buy a membership in a gym, then get too busy to follow through. But don't let this be your approach to exercising your business continuity plans, because the future of your organization – not to mention the safety of your employees - could rest on those exercises getting done regularly. When's the last time you tested your plan? It's been a while? Well, read on and start planning your next exercise.

The key is to incorporate exercising as part of the overall business continuity management process. (Item #1)   If we told you that you could write a business continuity exercise for every plan and every team in your organization in the next three minutes, would you believe us? (Item #2)   The why-bother-to-exercise attitude is based on three assumptions that, to quote the old song, "ain't necessarily so." (Item #3)

Practice makes perfect - so put your BC/DR plans to the test. (Item #4)   If you use any of these 19 tips for your BCP exercise, the benefits of the exercise could increase. (Item #5)   There are several key benefits that your crisis management team (CMT) and your organization will realize by investing the time to practice what to do in the event of a disaster. (Item #6)


Past issues of the NewsBriefs are available at http://www.attainium.net/newsbriefs/

Crisis Management and Business Continuity

Depending on which experts you consult, business continuity is part of an overall strategic crisis management plan, or crisis management is a component of a business continuity plan. Whichever you believe, the two are certainly intertwined and both are critical to an organization's resumption of operations after a disruption and to how well the organization makes that happen. This week's articles focus on crisis management and may provide you with some ideas on improving your crisis management plans.

The terms business continuity trends and crisis management are thrown around a lot, and many are under the mistaken impression that the two have the same meaning. (Item #1)   Preparing for the unseen calls for versatility; it is the very foundation of organizational crisis management. (Item #2)   Crisis management and business continuity plans must be expanded from isolated company-specific disasters to plans for massive regional damage. (Item #3)

Crisis management will get you through the initial impact of a disaster, but you need a comprehensive business continuity program to sustain you beyond 48 hours. (Item #4)   Major breaches will have a detrimental effect on a company. (Item #5)   Can military principles and processes really be applied to corporate crisis management? (Item #6)


Past issues of the NewsBriefs are available at http://www.attainium.net/newsbriefs/

Communication

There are many types of communication, and you most likely use most of them in your business endeavors – crisis or emergency communication, employee communication, social network communication, etc. You may even have plans for all of these. This week, we look at some of the important communication issues and we hope you’ll take a look at your plans and see how they might be improved.

How does a company actually communicate in 2015? Very, very carefully.  (Item #1)   Find out the proper steps business continuity planners need to take to develop and execute an emergency communications plan. (Item #2)   With all of the advancements in technology, it has become more difficult to justify poor communication. (Item #3)

Given its important role, crisis communication must be part of an effective business continuity plan, and not come as an improvised afterthought. (Item #4)   Remember that effective employee communication is a crucial component of any comprehensive crisis management strategy and indispensable to minimizing crisis-related damage. (Item #5)   Data security is not one size fits all, nor is a data security communication plan. (Item #6)


Past issues of the NewsBriefs are available at http://www.attainium.net/newsbriefs/