Example Cases

Mississippi Power Co.

Disaster Recovery – empowerment contributes to success

As Hurricane Katrina made landfall all 200,000 of Mississippi Power Co (MPC) customers lost power which remarkably was restored within just 12 days. A high degree of staff empowerment contributed to the successful and rapid restoration. MPC's storm implementation plan provided great flexibility and placed employees into roles that they normally would not carry out. Delegated authority was given to employees in the field to make any necessary decisions to get power restored. Because Katrina had flattened corporate headquarters and disaster response centre MPC's emergency plans were put to the test. Marketing managers and salespeople became logisticians/supply chain managers and all employees assumed clearly defined emergency roles. Many employees had been assigned logistical jobs, or storm assignment, for some time which provided continuity to the plans. The emergency plans were tested about twice a year as real storm conditions threatened services. [13]

Glenmede Trust Co.

Contingency Planning having balance sought

Glenmede Trust Co. tested its disaster recovery (DR) plans seven times per year, and evaluated performance through different disaster levels for various kinds of event. Employees were sent home to test remote working performance. A balance was sought between having a too simplistic DR plan and one that was too complex. Copies of the plan were kept in multiple locations and also included in emergency packs given to staff which contained food, medical supplies, and flashlights. Critical systems could be brought on line within 4 hours using hot standby equipment provided by an outsourcing provider's site. If an incident lasted longer that one week then equipment was available off-site for provision to key personnel. Glenmede appointed a business continuity group which reported regularly to the board of directors. [14]

Ernst & Young LLP

Crisis Management system tracks worldwide workforce

Ernst & Young needed to protect the firm and its staff and to ensure the continuity of work during disasters and emergencies. E&Y implemented a system to account for its workforce as follows:

• Employee tracking; All employees were assigned an office and when travelling they always signed in at a nearby E&Y location, even when working at a client's site.

• Emergency declaration; key crisis representatives at each office had the authority to implement a "roll call".

• Employee notification; e-mail and voice mail messages were then automatically sent to the employees affected by the emergency event. Employees were able to log onto a Web page, or a national helpdesk to provide key information.

• Reconciliation; emergency personnel then reconciled records to enable business units to reach out to any staff that had not checked in. [15]

Toronto-Dominion Bank

Crisis Management and handling pandemics

To cover the possibility of a national pandemic the Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) planned for only 70% of its workforce being healthy and available for work at a given time. A corporate business continuity plan was developed and an associated continuous monitoring system. Critical business functions were identified to ensure that the organisation would continue to function effectively even with limited personnel. Alternative work arrangements were planned to enable employees to continue working during a pandemic, including using multiple back up locations, teleworking, and rotational work shifts. Employees were sent information on how to best protect themselves from infectious diseases and health websites were monitored on a daily basis for possible threats. TD also advised its employees on safe international travel practices and provided information on the company website to counter fear that might accompany a pandemic. [16]

American Century

Business Continuity Planning (BCP) tested in practice

American Century (AC) used a two tier system to provide its workers with secure remote connections for accessing company information i.e.:

• Key employees were provided laptops with remote access over a virtual private network.

• Another layer of employees with home computers were provided remote access to company applications but not to the complete network. Some 50% of AC's employees were able to work from home. An important consideration using this arrangement was the potential loading on the Internet during a prolonged crisis. American Century designed its BCP processes by first considering its business requirements, and secondly by providing the necessary technology after practicing various strategies for working through the events remotely. AC had tested the BCP processes by closing down its head office during busy days, and through this process was able to learn valuable lessons and to make refinements. [17]