Employee Issues

Employee Issues

The hiring, firing and retention of employees often can be a minefield of potential problems and liability issues, and it can be difficult to get through these processes without a few explosions. Your best protection against these issues is knowledge of the potential problems and how to avoid them. This issue focuses on several areas of risk and offer insight and expertise on how to avoid them.

There are steps employers can take to help mitigate the risk, or at least help create a defense, if a former or current employee should bring an EPL lawsuit. (Item #1) Potential legal risks are lurking right around the corner when employers make a hiring decision based on information on a social networking website. (Item #2) Employees play an important role in network security; here are five ways you can educate your employees about it. (Item #3)

Is workplace bullying the next big employer liability issue? (Item #4) What is the impact of workplace bullying on your business or department? (Item #5) Based on their experience and observations, experts have observed, over and over, the 10 security gaps identified here and provide advice for addressing them. (Item #6)

Testing, Training & Evaluation of Your Business Continuity Plan

You will never know if your BC plan is really complete and can get the job done, you have to exercise it. Completing the writing/development of the plan is not the finish line; it is really just the start of the process of ensuring the plan will work. This issues focus is on conducting tests and exercises to help ensure you can count on the plan when needed.

Just because it seems to work on paper, who knows if it will work in practice? (Item #1) How do you know how much testing is enough? (Item #2) We will say it again – you do not want to find out the flaws in the plan on the day of the disaster. (Item #3)

The best plan will not work if staff is not aware of their roles and have practiced them. (Item #4) You can increase the value and decrease the cost of effective exercises. (Item #5) Have you considered an audit of your BC plan? (Item #6)

Social Media and Business Continuity

More organizations today are recognizing the benefits of using social media as part of their business continuity strategy. Have you considered using this tool? If so, have you determined what your internal & external communications needs are and a strategy for using the many social networking tools out there? That is the focus of this issue... they shed light of social media and may answer questions you have been wanting to ask.

There are areas of business continuity planning that would certainly be enhanced by applying social media. (Item #1) Social media guidelines are a means to mitigate threats and embrace the opportunities presented by social media. (Item #2) Social media is not going away... we might as well put it to good use. (Item #3)

Social media are most valuable during times of crisis, giving BC planners the opportunity to help educate and lead the deployment of tools such as Twitter in the enterprise. (Item #4) Expert offers tips on assessing your use of social media and creating a strategy. (Item #5) Social media can be an important HR tool. (Item #6) 

Communicating in a Crisis

Communicating in a Crisis


Crises are tricky situations and your crisis communication plan is the best way to navigate a crisis. We have all seen good and bad examples of crisis communication in recent years and can learn from them. We also can learn from these articles covering everything from making the plan to training employees to dealing with the media.

When crisis strikes, remember these seven rules. (Item #1) A well-trained employee will know not to answer any questions posed by the press regarding a crisis unless they have been titled as a spokesperson for that crisis. (Item #2) Releasing important information before it has fully been assessed can come back to bite you. (Item #3)

FEMA provides direction for developing a crisis communications plan. (Item #4) This article goes through all the particulars of how crisis communications plans work. (Item #5) Here are the 12 major principles of crisis communications. (Item #6)

Facility Management

Facilities managers, who usually are responsible for the everyday operations, maintenance and security of the buildings and staff of the company, are tasked with monumental responsibility. Often, this responsibility is added to the other responsibilities of the manager. Whether you have a full or part-time facility manager, this issue can provide him or her with some good ideas and tips.

By involving facility management in the BC planning process, BC professionals can strengthen their programs. (Item #1) Here is the inside scoop on how property professionals have prepared—and learned from—some of the biggest events. (Item#2) Facilities can be the department that identifies and prepares organizations for potential disasters. (Item #3)

Do you know the potential hazards in your facility? (Item #4) The ECT system can help you implement a risk management system. (Item #5) This preparedness planning guide is directed to facility managers and administrators. (Item #6)