Editorial
With floods in China, scorching heat across southern Europe and the US, and fears growing of a particularly bad El Nino event when spring arrives in the southern hemisphere, the impacts of climate change are becoming a lived reality for millions of people worldwide.
The risk of extreme weather events has shot up the World Economic Forum's annual Global Risk Report in recent years, and now sits at the number 2 spot (just behind the cost of living crisis). The reality is that more of us are going to experience extremes of heat, cold, wind and rain more frequently. More workplaces will experience shutdowns. More employees will find themselves victims of floods or hurricanes. Extreme weather brings extreme disruption.
I live in Amsterdam, a rainy city sitting 2 meters (6.6 feet) below sea level, where the risk of flooding is so acute that water management is built into the landscape and the way of life. We have a flood alarm test every month and children take advanced swimming lessons from pre-school. The national mantra is: 'Slecht weer bestaat niet, welke slechte kleding' (There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing).
If this country has taught me anything, it's that you can't keep weather at bay but you can prepare for it.
And the digital workplace can help us do that. As these have evolved from simple comms channels to critical productivity tools, they help our organizations to build flexibility and resilience — two essential traits to help our organizations plan for, deal with and recover from extreme weather events.
So now's the time to understand what you need and how you might use the tools you have to cope.
How the Digital Workplace Can Help
Modern digital workplaces offer a host of features that can prove invaluable in helping our organizations and people to cope with disruption, by facilitating communication, collaboration and access to critical information.
As the primary comms channel, the intranet comes into its own during a crisis. During extreme weather events like hurricanes, floods or blizzards, an intranet can be used to send out emergency alerts to all employees, informing them about the situation, safety measures and evacuation protocols.
It becomes a central hub for communicating essential updates and instructions to ensure everyone's well-being.
Intranets can host detailed continuity plans and disaster recovery procedures, making them easily accessible to employees. This will help people quickly respond to crises and maintain essential business operations, even during adverse weather conditions.
In providing access to specific documents, protocols or guidelines, the intranet can act as a repository of crucial information, making it readily available to authorized personnel when needed.
Comms and collaboration features allow employees to report their safety status during or after an extreme weather event. This helps identify any potential risks or emergencies employees might be facing so you can respond accordingly.
When severe weather conditions hinder physical access to the workplace, the intranet can enable remote work and telecommuting to maintain service delivery. Employees can access necessary documents, collaborate on projects, and stay connected with their teams through collaboration tools.
Intranets also have a critical role in accelerating recovery. The digital workplace should serve as a platform to manage and coordinate resources during an emergency. For instance, organizations can use it to track the availability and allocation of emergency supplies, equipment or people needed for recovery efforts.
The intranet can facilitate collaborative decision-making among various departments and teams. Interactive discussion forums and chat features can help teams effectively share insights, strategies and coordinate responses.
A modern intranet is a powerful tool for organizations to effectively manage and navigate their way through extreme weather events, ensuring the safety of employees and the continuity of business operations.
But remember: the intranet's not infallible. If power goes out these channels are largely inaccessible. Low-tech solutions like phone trees still have a place when the grid goes down or laptops are left behind.
Make a Plan
With those ideas in mind, gather your stakeholders together to assess your risks and prepare. Here's a step-by-step guide:
1. Assess your risks: Review your organization's business continuity plan. These will typically set out your vulnerabilities to various extreme weather events based on geographical locations, historical data and local climate patterns. This will help you understand potential risks that could impact operations, infrastructure and employee safety.
2. Write an emergency communication plan: Develop a clear and comprehensive protocol to be followed during extreme weather events. Specify the channels and tools to be used for communication, designate responsible individuals for disseminating information, and outline the chain of command for decision-making.
3. Use those intranet features: Identify the features that can be leveraged during emergencies, such as pop-up notifications, banners, emergency alert sections, and real-time communication tools like chat or video to keep employees informed and connected.
4. Prepare announcements: Create template comms that can be customized and sent out in the event of expected-but-extreme weather events. These announcements should include safety tips, work-from-home instructions and signpost key resources or support. Think how these will work across the different channels or touchpoints.
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5. Develop a continuity plan for your own team: Remember your own team is as likely to be affected as those around you. Think about how you'll collaborate with one another and with key delivery teams if you're impacted. These plans should outline roles, responsibilities and procedures for remote work or alternate arrangements when physical or digital access to the workplace is compromised.
6. Help others to prepare too: Make training resources related to emergency preparedness available on the intranet. Conduct workshops or webinars to educate employees on safety procedures, emergency response protocols, and how to use or access the intranet effectively during crises.
By following these steps and involving key stakeholders, intranet managers can develop a comprehensive plan to proactively deal with potential extreme weather events, ensuring employee safety and business continuity.
Related Article: Your Content Has a Carbon Footprint: Here's How to Tackle the Problem
Test and Adapt Your Plan
Once you have a plan, conduct simulated emergency drills to test it under pressure. In particular, look at how you can activate your emergency features, and how effective these are in reaching your audiences. Gather feedback, look at your analytics, and make necessary adjustments until you're confident it will do the job.
Remember that the risks you face and your ability to deal with those will change over time. And you'll learn from events you experience.
After an extreme weather event, use the intranet to gather feedback from employees and conduct post-event assessments. This invaluable information will help you refine your response, so you're better prepared for future crises.
I'm Not Made of Sugar (and Neither Are You)
As I chained my bike up outside the supermarket this afternoon while the sky poured several gallons of water over my head, a man held his umbrella over me in a kind if — by that point — somewhat futile gesture. "Je bent niet van suiker" he remarked, meaning "you're not made of sugar." Another local phase meaning that while you may get wet, you're made of stronger stuff and won't melt on contact with water.
Us digital workplace pros are a resilient lot. While the world around us may be getting hotter, wetter and less predictable, we've got a critical role to play in helping those around us to plan for and deal with it.
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