What COVID-19 Tells about Corporate Pandemic Preparedness
By Gloria Xu，General Manager of Publice Government Affairs of Dow Chemical（China）Co.，Ltd.
The outbreak of COVID-19 starting December 2019 caught the business world by whirl winds.
Within less than a week，the government in all provinces of China elevated the response to Level 1 and imposed immediate and resolute measures to cut off the routes of infection by freezing the movement of people.
As a result，railroads and highways were totally shut down or partially denied access to passengers and vehicles not on relief duties；borders were closed and travels were restricted；quarantine requirements were announced applying to people，vehicles，airplanes and ships；the Chinese New Year holiday was extended；people were asked to stay at home for extra weeks and returning to work required permission.
Business owners and companies had to grapple with many challenges all at once within a very short window：tracking the whereabout of employees and their health conditions，sourcing protective gears（i.e. masks）for employees，disinfecting the work place，monitoring the policy announcements of government at different levels and different geographies relevant to daily operations while reacting to them，navigating the sudden outage of feedstock supplies，disruption of product shipment and shortage of warehouse，making decisions on relief donations，answering calls of employees，suppliers and customers，ensuring IT capacity can host large portion of employees working remotely，and maintaining the financial strength of the company.
And bigger portion of those actions needed to be taken during holiday when management might be in different locations and even different time zones. While SMEs felt the chill of business continuity，large enterprises，especially those with national or even global footprints，did not trudge through easily as well.
It was 17 years ago when the last epidemic claimed its tolls. Many companies were not even existing at the time，not to mention the economy of China and its interconnectedness with the global supply chain were not as sophisticated.
Many business owners and companies will be reflecting，hopefully，whether they could have done better and more before and during the crisis.
A crisis should never be wasted！It is time for company to think about keeping a Pandemic Plan if you have not got one.
1 Why to develop a corporate pandemic plan
Article 31 of the “The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Treatment of Diseases” stipulates that “any unit or individual should report to local Center for Disease Control or medical institutions when they identify an infection or suspected infection case”.
Article 42 of the same law says that “in the event of an outbreak or a prevalence of an infectious disease，the local government shall immediately get people organized to control them and cut off the route of transmission；when necessary，it may take the following emergency measures，subject to reporting to and decision by the local government at the next higher level：
（1）restricting or suspending fairs，assemblies，cinema shows，theatrical performances and other types of mass congregation；
（2）suspension of work，business and school classes；
（3）…
（4）…
（5）close down premises which may spread the infection
Clearly，there are both legal obligations and business continuity risks if a company does not do the right thing when an outbreak happens.
Companies may experience
·Manpower shortage-Employees may not come to work because they are restricted to return to work locations in time，sick，must care for sick family members or for children if schools are closed，are just afraid.
·Change in patterns of commerce-During a pandemic，consumer demand for items related to infection control is likely to increase dramatically，while consumer interest in other goods may decline. Consumers will prefer home delivery services to going shopping in person.
·Supply Chain disruption-The interconnectedness of global supply chain easily makes the pain of others felt by all players. A car factory in South Korea had to suspend production because a component supplier’s factory is Wuhan. Apple did not have enough to sell because Foxconn did not have enough people on the production lines. Shipment of raw materials and products may be restricted.
·Asset shut-down-Offices and factories may be forced to be closed because people are infected，not to mention the closure of numerous restaurants，cinemas，gyms，retail stores and parks for months.
COVID-19 may be a rare incidence，but influenza and avian flu，which can also cause severe illness to fatality，happen almost every year in different parts of the world. At least 10000 people died from influenza since second half in the US in 2019 while 19 million people were infected，according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States. Millions of people in China contract flu every year，which result in loss of productivity and spike of healthcare bills in the minimum. Being better in pandemic preparedness not only can help companies deal with the uncertainties，protect employees，minimize costs and keep businesses going in an outbreak but also enable them to come out faster than competition and be stronger moving forward.
The exercise is also an excellent thinking process useful at times of natural disasters and major operational accidents.
Case Sharing I
The Health Services team of Dow Inc. has responsibilities to monitor seasonal and contagious disease information around the world. Upon CCTV report that a new type of pneumonia was able to transmit from people to people on Jan 20th，the team alerted Asia Pacific Crisis Management Team immediately.
On Jan 21st，the Asia Pacific and Greater China Crisis Management teams met to discuss situation.
On Jan 22nd，all employees were asked to report to their supervisors and medical focal point if they had recently travelled to Wuhan or if they were having fever. A global travel ban to Wuhan was announced，which was expanded to Hubei in the following day. All available information about the virus and scientific advice was published on intranet. All offices and plants in China were asked to review their respective pandemic plans and check preparedness. Medical hotline was open to answer questions of employees.
On Jan 26th，AP CMT and Greater China CMT started to have daily conference calls as the scale of response in China needed many resources to support.
Thanks to the immediate and effective response of the whole organization，all the over 3200 Dow China employees and their family members are safe from the virus，including 34 people and their families who were in Hubei Province during the outbreak.
Dow’s 7 factories in China returned to work on Feb 8th and 9th with many of them praised by local governments as example in maintaining productivity while keeping employees safe.
2 What is corporate pandemic plan
“A pandemic is a global disease outbreak. A pandemic occurs when a new influenza virus emerges for which there is little or no immunity in the human population，begins to cause serious illness and then spreads easily person-to-person worldwide. A worldwide pandemic could have a major effect on the global economy，including travel，trade，tourism，food，consumption and eventually，investment and financial markets. Planning for pandemic by business and industry is essential to minimize a pandemic’s impact. Companies that provide critical infrastructure services，such as power and telecommunications，also have a special responsibility to plan for continued operation in a crisis and should plan accordingly. As with any catastrophe，having a contingency plan is essential.
In the event of a pandemic，employers will play a key role in protecting employees’ health and safety as well as in limiting the impact on the economy and society. Employers will likely experience employee absences，changes in patterns of commerce and interrupted supply and delivery schedules. Proper planning will allow employers in the public and private sectors to better protect their employees and lessen the impact of a pandemic on society and the economy. As stated in the President’s National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza，all stakeholders must plan and be prepared”.[1]
“A Corporate Pandemic Response Crisis Management（PRCM）Plan is developed to understand the risks and possible scenarios，adequately anticipate and mitigate potential risk，and if a pandemic occurs；to be prepared to react optimally.”[2]
While the format and the exact content might vary from company to company，here are a few things a PRCM needs to take care of：
·The plan usually is centered on preparedness，response and mitigation.
·The plan should include governance structure and decision tree
·A pandemic plan should lay out how a business will continue to provide essential services through a sustained period with significant employee absenteeism.
·The plan should specify measures how the business will minimize the risk of contagion among employees.
·The plan needs to look at the potential to impact the company’s assets including physical and financial assets and sources，customers，suppliers，stockholders and reputation.
·The plan should look at the sustainability of its value chain under extreme pressure
·As more and more business operations are now cloud or web-based，the plan should cover capacity of IT infrastructure and remote capability
·The plan should evaluate the stockpile of protective gears
·Regular drills should be arranged to familiarize management and employees with the plan
·The plan should be reviewed and updated regularly
·The plan should consider its impact on the community
3 How to develop a corporate pandemic plan
A Corporate Pandemic Plan should always start by collecting information on the plans of the local government and communities，particularly when a company’s business is part of critical infrastructure or key resources （government offices，power plants，municipal water and waste treatment，food and agriculture，pharmaceuticals，banks，telecommunications，transportation and logistics，delivery services），which provides an understanding of the minimum a company needs to do in the event of an outbreak and good reference measures a company needs to take at different levels of alert.
Conversations with local authorities on requirements and the community in a socially responsible manner are always helpful.
It is highly recommended that companies with international offices/branches to review the pandemic plans of countries and markets where they have big stakes and take those into account when developing an integrated corporate plan which meets different regulatory requirements.
Small and medium-sized enterprises with much less sophisticated operations and amount of employees than big corporations may not have the resources or need to have a complicated pan，though it is recommended for business owners to be mindful of the risks and periodically review the resilience of the business under difficult circumstances.
With the external information ready，the actual writing of the plan can be kicked off by decision-makers from relevant parts of the company，which typically should include human resources，legal，IT，SHE，logistics，sourcing，finance and communications.
Vivid memories of COVID-19 may serve as a hypothetical scenario to craft the plan.
The following is a playbook based on recommendations of government agencies and industry best practice.
·Phased approach
The Chinese emergency response system has 4 alert levels with 1 as the highest while the World Health Organization also has a 4-phase system，including interpandemic，alert，pandemic and transition，which are defined based on disease type and risks the world faces.
A Corporate Pandemic Plan does not have to exactly follow the level protocols in the Chinese regulation or WHO’s system. However，managers who will be using the plan need to have a clear picture how the company’s own structure fits into the government and WHO systems so as to ensure proper actions can be taken when situations change.
Figure Dow Corporate Pandemic Plan
·Using these strategic questions to identify the actions needed at each phase of the outbreak
○Management-related
What are the corporate core values to adhere during time of crisis？
Who should be members of the Crisis Management Team（CMT）？
Do we have expertise within the company to provide professional advice on human health？If not，where can we get the expertise？
When should the CMT be activated？
How frequently should the CMT meet and make decisions at this level？
Do we have the technology keep the CMT functioning under extreme circumstances？
How CMT is kept updated about newly released gov’t requirement？
○People-related
How much risk are employees exposed to at this level？Which are some of the work with higher risk of exposure and may need enhanced protection？
What trainings shall we provide to individuals？
Do we need to change travel policy at this level？
What are the measures the company can take to protect the work force in the workplace，taking into consideration all the routine activities every day？
What do we need to do if an employee is found infected at work？What about multiple employees？What is the minimum number of people we need to maintain basic services？What are the basic services？
Which are the key roles in the company？What is the alternative if a key person cannot perform the duty？Do we need to provide extra protection to the expats or key people？
Is the contact information of each employee up-to-dated？How do we keep each employee connected during an outbreak？
What adjustments might we need to make to the Human Resources policy at this level，particularly pay and leave？Do we need incentives to encourage people to take the risk of coming to work？
What extra support can we provide to employees？
○Facility and PPE（Personal Protective Equipment）supply-related
What are the requirements of government？
Do we need to re-arrange functions of office/plant at this stage？
What facility operations shall we consider or restrict？
What is our policy about external visitors at this level？
Do we need to stockpile PPEs，equipment，materials，food or water？
Do we know who the producers are and how fast can they ship the products to us if we run out of inventory？Is there anyone who is in our neighborhood？Do we know them？
○Finance related
Shall we buy a disaster insurance as a pre-emptive measure？
What can we do to ensure the financial health of the company if businesses are cut off for weeks or even months？
How efficient can we handle urgent expenditures during an outbreak？Do we need a special approval and payment process？
What are the emergency response plans of the banks we deal with？What kind of help can we get from them if there is a major outbreak？
○IT related
How many office employees can we accommodate to work remotely？
Do we need extra capacity？If yes，is that available during an outbreak？
If not，what are the alternatives？
Are there essential business procedures which need to be performed physically in office？Can we digitize it for remote access？
○Supply chain and logistics related
What is the dependency level of important raw materials？
Do our key suppliers have a contingency plan to continue business if they are affected by the outbreak？
Do we have alternatives？Are there suppliers close to us？Do we know them？
What are the key indicators for us to start to build inventory to continue to serve customers？
Do we have proper prioritization of customers if we cannot produce at normal levels？
What means do we have to be able to deliver products and services to customers？
What are the government’s restrictions affecting logistics capabilities？
○Communications related
Do we know what external information is important for the CMT to make decisions？
Do we have a crisis communication plan for internal and external stakeholders on different scenarios things go wrong？
How do we strengthen the sense of belonging and keep the morale of employees？
○Charity related
Shall we make a charity donation at this level？Cash or products？
Do we know the charity organizations which usually are active at a time like this？
·Useful tips
○Once the draft is completed，have all CMT members review the details to ensure consistency and have Legal review whether the measures are compliant with the applicable laws and regulations.
○On critical roles，prepare to three or more employees to be able to sustain business-necessary functions and operations，and communicate the expectation for available employees to perform these functions if needed during a pandemic.
○Stockpile items such as soap，tissue，hand sanitizer，disinfectants，masks，goggles，gloves and industrial coveralls. “When stockpiling items，be aware of each product’s shelf life and storage conditions（e.g.，avoid areas that are damp or have temperature extremes）and incorporate product rotation（e.g.，consume oldest supplies first）into your stockpile management program.”[3]
○Assist employees in managing additional stress related to the pandemic，such as personal or family illness，life disruption，grief related to loss of family，friends or coworkers and loss of routine support systems. Assuring timely and accurate communication will also be important throughout the duration of the pandemic in decreasing fear or worry.
Case Sharing II
When the whole of Hubei Province was locked down 34 employees of the Dow Chemical（China）Investment Ltd were in the province.
A WeChat group was formed，which included all these employees，the Dow Asia Pacific President，Greater China President，HR Director，China Responsible Care Leader（also China CMT coordinator）and the corporate Health Service Leader. Employees used this WeChat group to seek answers to their questions about company policies and personal safety tips，as well as building a temporary community of mutual support.
At the corporate level，the Health Services organized two webinars for employees on the latest credible information on Coronavirus and managing stress during difficult times.
○Many companies will make donations to relief efforts to return to the society. These donations can also enormously energize the employees. In addition to cash and products，there are other ways to contribute，such as services and volunteering. And as a pandemic is always prolonged，companies many think of making multiple batches of donations according to the needs of different group of people hit by the outbreak at different stages. While hospitals and medical workers are at the center of attention，allocation of some aids to local communities and volunteers can also make a big difference.
Case Sharing III
During the COVID-19 outbreak，Dow Chemical（China）Investment Ltd has made three batches of donations，1 in cash and 2 in products.
The initial cash donation of RMB1 million was made via One Foundation on Jan 29th to buy medical supplies. One Foundation was chosen because of their strong connection with local volunteer groups in Hubei Province，which can make sure the goods could be delivered to the hospitals on time at a time when transportation was a huge challenge.
The 2nd batch of donation of 60 tons of disinfectants was given to Xianing，a less well-known city out of the radar of many donors on Feb 19th，after knowing that the city just had a spike of confirmed cases.
The 3rd batch of donation of 2，000 bottles of hand sanitizers was mainly sent to 8 volunteer groups plus 1 hospital in Wuhan and Xiaogan. Those volunteers were the people in the front line who used their own cars and scooters to buy supplies for elderly and sick people，drive medical staff to and from work and keep communities running. They relied on private donors to supply most of what they needed.
A 4th batch of donation is being considered now and very likely will be invested in recovery related projects.
Training，drills and regular updates
Once the Plan is completed，there need to be training sessions for the CMT，functions and local branches of the company to familiarize them with the plan and what actions different people in the organization are supposed to take when there is an outbreak. Requirements for individual employees should also be disseminated to everyone and awareness trainings organized.
Regular table-top drill with CMT or key leaders is an effective tool to refresh memory，and help people internalize the plan and identify the gaps in the plan.
A table-top drill typically unfolds scenarios based on the different alert levels in the Corporate Pandemic Plan and asks people to discuss what the actions the company needs to take in response as situation escalates. Note-taking is an important part of the drill，which will help the CMT update the plan with the good ideas emerged in the discussions.
A Field test can be a simple hypothetical run through of a small part of the plan to test response. Following are some activities（but not limited to）that can be done during a field test：
·Verify the critical roles
·Test connectivity of critical workers who will be assigned to work from home/remotely
·Test and confirm the readiness of tools/equipment for Pandemic response such as body temperature measurement equipment and PPE
·Check the existing hygiene practices of the facility
It is recommended that the Plan at least should be reviewed and updated annually.
As the old saying goes，do not have thy cloak to make when it begins to rain. Chinese companies have demonstrated extraordinary resilience and creativity in the difficult Spring of 2020. There is chance for a good company to become a great company by looking forward via looking back.
[1] OSHA，Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for an Influenza Pandemic.
[2] Dow Corporate Pandemic Response Crisis Management Plan.
[3] OSHA，Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for an Influenza Pandemic.