Managing Workforce Issues During a Flu-Like Pandemic

With the possibility of a flu pandemic always present, companies face the temporary loss of large portions of their work force on any given year. While that’s a worrisome possibility for any organization, it’s especially daunting for public service companies such as healthcare, utilities, and telecommunication firms. What sort of attendance and pay policies should organizations have to handle a flu-like pandemic? This benchmarking exchange was designed to gain insights into what policies or procedures organizations in the U.S. have developed to manage their workforces during a flu-like pandemic. This study examines policies for union and nonunion employees who are not ill but who have been in contact with infected people.

Disaster planning and personnel executives from throughout the healthcare manufacturing industry can use this research to compare - or begin creating - their own attendance and pay policies to address a flu-like pandemic.

KEY TOPICS

· Attendance/Pay Policies for Union and Nonunion Workers
· Return-to-Work Requirements
· Travel Policies
· Child-Care Policies
· Planning Polices for Vendors/Contractors and Employee Questions

KEY METRICS

Respondents’ data is segmented in two views: the total benchmark class and the utility industry segment. For workforce policies, survey data is further segmented by union and nonunion segments.

Data includes the percent of companies with:
· Various Policies for Employees with Affected Household/Nonhousehold Members
· Various Policies for Flexible Worksite/Work Hours
· Various Policies for Sequestering Workers at Work Site to Maintain Operations
· Different Types of Compensation for Nonunion Workers Working Overtime during Pandemic
· Specific Return-to-Work Requirements for Employees & Family Members No Longer Infectious
· Different Levels of Restriction on Travel
· Child-care Provisions if Schools are Closed
· Requirements for Vendors to Develop Pandemic Preparedness Plans
· Policies for Contractors at Job Site
· Different Plans to Assist Employees with Pandemic Questions

SAMPLE KEY FINDINGS

· It is evident that a lot of companies have not thought through a pandemic scenario and have designed policies around non-pandemic type of conditions. For instance, half of the benchmark class require a physician release as a back-to-work requirement although doctor offices will be overrun with patients during a pandemic.

Industries Profiled:
Utilities; Health Care; Technology; Service; Manufacturing; Consumer Products; Energy; Academic; Telecommunications; Financial Services; Pharmaceutical; Banking; Government; Entertainment; Consulting; Transportation; Biotech; Biopharmaceutical; Aerospace


Companies Profiled:
American Electric Power; Abington Memorial Hospital; Seagate Technology; ABM Security Services; Alticor Inc.; Advocate Health Care; Marvin Windows and Doors; Beaufort-Jasper Water & Sewer Authority; AEP; Cascade Regional Blood Services; Ashland Inc; Central Michigan University; Avaya; Clayco Inc.; Avista; Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.; Boehringer Ingelheim; Firestone Polymers; CenterPoint Energy; HCL Comnet Ltd.; Federal Reserve Board; Hershey Entertainment & Resorts; Florida Department of Revenue; Mercuri International Group; Hendrickson International; Nexen Inc.; Hyphen Technology; Oakland University; Norfolk Southern; Offset Paperback Manufacturers; Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Ontario Power Generation; Siemens Medical; Quad/Graphics; Strattec Security Corporation; San Diego Gas & Electric & Southern California Gas; Tennessee Valley Authority; SaskPower; Terasen Gas; Inc; Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.; Boeing; University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers; Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corp.; Verizon; Wells Fargo

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