2009 Flu Fears Controlled

Flu Season is around the corner
As a Human Resources Manager, or Business Leader you are a valuable educator to your employees in the prevention and preparedness against the impacts of all threats and all hazards, including public health threats.
As we face the possibility of a wider H1N1influenza (formerly known as Swine Flu) outbreak, it is difficult to predict how the virus may or may not change. The severity of illness that H1N1 influenza flu could cause (including hospitalizations and deaths) or the amount of illness that may occur cannot be predicted. The impact that an outbreak could have on your workforce and company is significant. Therefore, it is recommended that you plan accordingly so that your company will be able to respond in a flexible way to varying levels of severity and be prepared to take additional steps if a potentially more serious outbreak of influenza evolves this fall and winter.
The symptoms of seasonal and 2009 H1N1 flu virus in people include fever or chills AND cough or sore throat. In addition, symptoms of flu can include runny nose, body aches, headache, tiredness, diarrhea, or vomiting. Like seasonal flu, 2009 H1N1 flu may cause a worsening of underlying chronic medical conditions.
You do not want to be caught unprepared when the flu season hits. Regardless of the size or type of your business, we believe a bit of planning now can help protect your business and your employees.
We recommend the following Business Planning Initiatives:
1. Provide resources and a work environment that promotes personal hygiene. For example, provide tissues, no-touch trash cans, hand soap, hand sanitizer, disinfectants and disposable towels for workers to clean their work surfaces (especially phones, keyboard, copy machines or any frequently shared items). Limit equipment sharing if possible.
2. Provide education and training materials in an easy to understand format and in the appropriate language and literacy level for all employees. Provide workers with up-to-date information on influenza risk factors, protective behaviors, and instruction on proper behaviors (for example, cough etiquette; avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth; and hand hygiene). see attached poster for your bulletin board
3. Develop flexible policies to allow workers to telecommute (if feasible). Encourage ill workers to stay at home without fear of any reprisals. Create policies to allow workers to stay home to care for sick family members or care for children if schools close.
4. Encourage workers to obtain a seasonal influenza vaccine. We strongly recommend offering the vaccine free/reduced price and granting employees paid time off from work when obtaining vaccine to encourage participation.
5. Encourage employees to get the 2009 H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available if they are in a priority group according to CDC recommendations. For information on groups recommended for seasonal and H1N1 vaccines, please see www.flu.gov.
6. Plan to implement practices to minimize face-to-face contact between workers if advised by the local health department. Consider ideas such as reducing meetings to teleconferences, email communication and encouraging flexible work arrangements to reduce the number of workers who must be at the work site at the same time or in one specific location.
7. If an employee does become sick while at work, place the employee in a separate room or area until they can go home, away from other workers. Ask the employee to go home as soon as possible.
8. Create a Preparedness Plan with important details such as determining key business functions, supply chain demands and emergency communication protocol.
Agency 8 Consulting Services offers:

§ Full service Recruiting Solutions
§ Resume sourcing
§ Interview Coordination
§ Management training on interviewing
§ Creation of customized interview forms
§ Customized recruiting methodology
§ Human Resource Consulting
§ Review, Analysis of existing Recruitment Process
§ On boarding procedures
§ Positive Company culture initiatives
§ Employment Handbooks, Policies and procedures
§ Problem Resolution


Agency 8 partners with Business Leaders and HR Professionals to co-create processes and solutions to human capital challenges that will best support your strategic business goals. Please let us know how we can impact your success.