This site uses cookies to collect information about your browsing activities in order to provide you with more relevant content and promotional materials, and help us understand your interests and enhance the site. By continuing to browse this site you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our cookie policy to learn more.

Pandemic Workshops

Pandemic Preparedness for Organisations workshop

Before most people had even heard of COVID-19, forward-thinking organisations prepared for a pandemic, along with other threats, as part of their business continuity management planning.

Pandemics have long been a recognised risk: before COVID-19 businesses faced the threat of HIV, Ebola, MERS and avian influenza, to name just a few. With increasing global mobility, population growth and urbanisation, it is all but inevitable that once COVID-19 has been vanquished, there will be other pandemics and epidemics with the potential to cause disruption on a massive scale.

Will your organisation be ready for the next pandemic?

Duration: 1 day of instruction (8:30 am - 5:00 pm) - Certificate of Completion provided

Outline

Pandemic Preparedness for Organisations provides an in-depth review and analysis of a specialist methodology that prepares businesses for the potential outbreak of a pandemic. Wide-ranging topics include the differences in a pandemic-specific plan to exercising and maintaining such a plan.

Objectives

At the end of this course, you will be:
  • Familiar with definitions surrounding, and potential consequences of a pandemic.
  • Able to outline the starting point(s) for your organisation.
  • Assess organisational risks associated with pandemics.
  • Properly identify critical organisational functions that may be affected.
  • Verify related current procedures and responsibilities within your organisation.
  • Build pandemic-specific plan elements and strategies.
  • Exercise and maintain pandemic-specific plans.

Structure

Lesson 1: Get organised

  • Ensure you have leadership support.
  • Determine the tools you will use to track the project and communicate progress.
  • Identify the appropriate functions and individuals for representation on the project team that will drive this planning process through to completion.
  • Ensure that you establish a pandemic-specific organisation to support the pandemic plan.
  • Establish a preliminary framework regarding how the plan will be approached and how the finished product will be organised.

Lesson 2: Assess the risk and confirm critical functions

  • Evaluate organisation-wide risk.
  • Review your organisation's risk assessment for additional considerations from the perspective of a pandemic.
  • Identify the critical activities that comprise key components of your organisation before any significant planning can begin.
  • Review your organisation's business impact analysis (BIA) to ensure that it captures in-depth requirements regarding key staff and associated resources.
  • Identify and analyse the similarities and differences between your existing business continuity plan.
  • Explore the potential strengths of the existing plan when adapting it for a pandemic scenario.
  • Use current plans, practices, and procedures within your organisation when adapting your business continuity plan to fit a pandemic scenario.
  • Examine the state of your organisation's departmental procedures to test for appropriateness and criticality.

Lesson 3: Develop pandemic-specific plan elements

  • Develop organisation-wide initiatives specific to a pandemic preparedness plan.
  • Revise existing business continuity plan-related documentation to reflect pandemic-related requirements.

Lesson 4: Develop pandemic-related plan strategies

  • Review strategic options and consider which might be viable for your organisation.
  • Assign responsibilities to appropriate areas for further research and investigation.
  • Recommend the most viable options to leadership. Obtain approval and funding.

Lesson 5: Put it all together

  • Information regarding pandemic considerations.
  • Corporate direction to include policies, procedures and guidelines.
  • Specific actions to be implemented to ensure that critical business functions are maintained.
  • Resources to support critical functions.
  • Contact information.

Lesson 6: Exercise/test and maintain plan

  • Review options for pandemic scenario-based exercises/tests.
  • Understand the elements required to conduct an exercise/test.
  • Review requirements for a maintenance programme to ensure all elements of the pandemic preparedness plan are updated as appropriate.

Testimonials

"This was a great course. Timely, accurate and relevant information. I am directly dealing with communicating and training staff on COVID-19-related changes to operations and I feel like this course helped me have a greater understanding of the depth, breadth and importance of information that is out there."
- CBCP, USA

"Great experience, this is a course that all Business Continuity professionals should add to their portfolios. I already recommended the course to various colleagues."
- CBCP, USA

"This was a great way to network and gain some confidence in navigating through the current organisational challenges posed by COVID-19."
- CBCP, USA

Contact us to discuss how we could help your organisation.