10 tips for swine flu planning

As the swine flu outbreak spreads, CIOs and other IT executives are dusting off their pandemic plans. Here are some tips. By Carolyn Duffy Marsan
30 Apr 2009

FRAMINGHAM, 29 APRIL 2009 - As the swine flu outbreak spreads, CIOs and other IT executives are dusting off their pandemic plans and preparing for the possibility of high levels of employee absenteeism and extended telework scenarios.

The swine flu threat comes at a time when IT shops are already stretched thin as a result of layoffs and other cutbacks because of the ongoing recession. We talked to several experts in the business continuity and IT operations, and here's the advice they are offering CIOs:

1. Stay calm. Model the behavior you want to see from your employees. This includes continuing to be productive but also shoring up your supplies of hand sanitizer and bottled water. "What CIOs and other managers of a company have to do is say this is business as usual, but practice better personal hygiene," says Richard De Lotto, principal analyst in Gartner's Banking and Investment Industries Advisory Services Group. "Other people will pick up on the examples set by executives."

Read more at MIS Asia