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On Top of Real Recognition: Top 10 Ways to Tackle the H1N1 Crisis
October 27, 2009
By Roy Saunderson
According to a recent CBS News report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn't have an exact count of all H1N1 flu deaths and hospitalizations, but existing reports suggest that the swine flu pandemic has led to more than 600 fatalities and 9,000 Hospitalizations since it was first identified in April.
What should you do to keep your employees healthy and your business running strong during this very real health crisis?
1. Sponsor community and company flu shots. Offer to sponsor a local community immunization at your location. Make information available, try to arrange a briefing by a medical or health department official, and plan multiple opportunities during the day that employees can get flu vaccines.
2. Post the “Three Cs” and tips for healthy living. It’s important to relay to employees the following: "Cover your cough or sneeze." "Clean your hands frequently." "Contain your germs—stay home when you are sick." Promote healthy habits, such as getting plenty of sleep, being physically active, managing stress, drinking plenty of fluids, and eating nutritious foods.
3. Post constant health reminders and tips for preventing the spread of germs. Update employees through the company Intranet and offer daily health tips. Communications should continually remind employees of the right (and wrong) things to do to help prevent the spread of germs.
4. Keep employees informed. As H1N1 headlines evolve, communicate them to your staff through company-wide e-mails or employee social networking channels. For example, if a school or a local sports team reports H1N1 cases, make sure your employees know about the news so that they can take any necessary action.
5. Grant permission to stay at home. Since influenza is thought to be spread mainly through coughing or sneezing, encourage sick employees to stay at home and consult their doctors.
6. Minimize workplace meetings and create telecommuting options. To lessen close contact, consider going virtual with online meetings and teleconferencing. If work functions fit, and circumstances such as high geographic incidence rates raise a high risk for contracting H1N1, offer employees the option to work from home.
7. Use personal care supplies as a communication tool. On each desk, put a box of tissues with a printed sticker saying “Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.” This goes the same for alcohol hand-wipes, strategically placed by photocopiers, mail carts, and dining areas. Have your managers hand out individual-size hand-sanitizers to each of their staffers, and, most importantly, have them take the lead by using the sanitizers in front of staff.
8. Be ready if someone gets the flu. Be prepared to have your communication channels available and have managers immediately inform the entire workforce.
9. Demonstrate care and concern. Send a get-well card and/or gift basket to your ill employee to let him or her know you care.
10. Offer counseling in worst-case scenarios. If an employee succumbs to the disease, offer grief counseling. Your employees will need the opportunity to talk and mourn, plus the knowledge that you know what they are going through.
Incentive online columnist Roy Saunderson is author of Giving the Real Recognition Way and president of the Recognition Management Institute, www.realrecognition.com, which consults companies on improving employee motivation that leads to increased productivity and profits. He can be reached at roysaunderson@realrecognition.com.
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