Canadian companies concerned about – but not prepared for – pandemic

Canadian organizations may be concerned about a future pandemic outbreak, but they aren’t prepared for one, according to the findings of a Conference Board of Canada survey.

The survey was released to coincide with the launch of a new Pandemic Preparedness Working Group.

Almost 80% of the 75 organizations responding to the survey are concerned about the impact of a pandemic on their organization, but only 4% have completed a preparedness plan.

More than 40% of the survey respondents have not considered how they will communicate with employees during a pandemic outbreak.

“A majority of the organizations surveyed are worried about the threat of a pandemic, but very few are ready to cope with one right now,” Prem Benimadhu, vice president of organizational performance at the conference board, said. “Only a handful of respondents have carefully considered how a pandemic might affect day-to-day operations.”

Respondent organizations anticipate that, on average, just over one-third of their workforce could be absent during a pandemic outbreak. However, most respondents have not yet worked out key details, such as dealing with quarantined employees, compensating individuals covering for absent colleagues, and responding to employee refusals to work in a potentially-unsafe environment.

The briefing, A State of Unpre- paredness: Canadian Organizations’ Readiness for a Pandemic, is available at www.e-library.ca.