Schools across the nation have started closing their doors in hopes of minimizing the spread of swine flu.  Roberta Witty, research VP for Gartner, said that it is reasonable for managers to expect absenteeism rates of 40 percent or higher in their own companies or among suppliers and partners, resulting in severe operational disruptions. Not only can business revenue be negatively impacted significant absenteeism, but the cost of such can often have implications beyond the financials.

Although having a plan for threat scenarios regarding data centers and other physical corporate facilities is important, swine flu has helped emphasize the necessity to plan for scenarios that threaten people as well.  In a recent joint Forrester and Disaster Recovery Journal survey, 285 Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery decision makers were asked if their company had strategies for workforce recovery in their Business Continuity Plans and 68% said yes.

Swine flu is putting a spotlight on disaster planning.  Ms. Witty suggested that all businesses across all sectors should finish reviewing disaster recovery and business continuity management pandemic response plans and ensure missing elements are filled before the end of the week.  IT managers should plan, test, and add capacity to ensure the sustainability of what is likely to be a predominantly work-at-home environment.

Investors want to make certain that a company’s operations can be up and running if an unpredictable event (such as a pandemic) were to occur.  This can be seen as an opportunity to ensure that an organization’s business operations can continue running smoothly even if the employees are unable to be in the office.

VP of the State Chamber of Oklahoma, Danna Fowble said, “If businesses prepare for economic slowdowns, it makes sense to prepare for pandemics, especially the swine flu.”