Capturing Lessons Learned from the Heart of Your Agency: Your Workforce

1. Begin the Discussion
Agency leaders should be harnessing the power of after-action
reviews while disruptions are still fresh in the minds of employees,
stakeholders, and volunteers.
Ways to start the review process include conducting an in-depth
study of their organization’s disaster readiness and identifying
lessons learned after reaching this side of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When an assessment team participates in these exercises, they
have to be open and honest discussions that uncover information
that speaks to the efficacy of the agency’s continuity plans.
Agencies should strive to make this process a regular practice
before undertaking revisions to their continuity strategies.

2. Topics to
address
include:
FOR AGENCIES WITH NO
FORMAL BCP:
What are the current operational risks?
What impact will this risk have on the
agency?
FOR AGENCIES WITH
EXISTING BCP:
Did we use our BCP?
What was the biggest surprise from
using our BCP?
What should our organization do
differently to better prepare for the next
crisis?

3. Though BCPs will vary between organizations, we’ve drawn together a
list of important and illuminating workforce-focused topics for your
agency to discuss as it prepares for the next crisis.
MARY
L
A
N
D
C
O
M
M
UNITY
ACTION
PARTNERSHIP

4. Workforce Safety is
Paramount
Protecting the health and safety of the workforce during a crisis should be
at the top of every agency’s priority list. In certain situations, such as a
pandemic, agencies will need to mobilize the staff and volunteers to protect
against the spread of the disease.
Return-to-work plans are an integral part of your agency’s response. Plans
that only narrowly address how to return remote staff to the office are a
missed opportunity.

5. Workforce Safety is
Paramount
Instead, strive to build a return-to-work plan that will communicate to
staff, volunteers, participants, and the community you serve how the
agency will return to normal operations.
Because protecting staff health and safety is paramount, consider
facility safety measures for employees who remain on-site in addition
to a return-to-work plan for the remaining workforce.

6. Continually
Update
Operational policies and employee handbooks
often fall into the trap of becoming static
documents.
Recent swift changes in national safety guidelines
amplified the need to update and socialize
operational policy changes at the agency level.

7. For example, during
the COVID-19
pandemic, many
operational policy
updates included
measures for safe
social distancing and
minimizing the spread
of the disease:
Increase the distance between
workstations to meet social distance
guidelines.
Increase cleaning and sanitation of
surfaces in shared spaces throughout the
office.
Impose travel restrictions and update travel
policies regularly to include regions the
government deems safe to travel. Employees
who travel for agency-related or personal
matters will need to follow public health
guidelines regarding isolation upon returning.

8. Knowledge
Check!
"Which answer is NOT a best
practice to ensure your
continuity plans and policies
will be relevant the next time
your organization encounters
a disruption?"
Question #2
MOVE TO NEXT ACTIVITY TO ANSWER