Staffing Shortages

Thoughts on Staffing Shortages
Because an influenza pandemic would not damage physical infrastructure, the workplace would remain viable and day-to-day operations could continue based on the number of available personnel. Most units would not completely halt business operations because employees are ill. The University critical functions still need to deal with students, research, and protection of critical systems. A pandemic may result in an increase or decrease in demand for a unit’s services (e.g., effect of travel restrictions, restrictions on mass gatherings, need for hygiene supplies).

Since essential functions are important at all times and most University units provide some essential functions, it is more appropriate to focus on day-to-day workload management during a pandemic. You need to think about how to rearrange priorities rather than terminating daily operations, or focus only on essential functions as determined for the situation. Under normal conditions, if employees are on annual or sick leave, alternates are normally designated to provide back-up in the staff member’s absence. To supplement the current workforce for conditions of significant absenteeism associated with a pandemic, units may consider cross training and preparing ancillary workforce members (e.g., contractors, employees in other job titles/descriptions, retirees) to maintain daily functions during periods of severe staffing shortages. Remember, contractors will likely face the same shortages we face, so reliance on vendors for support may be limited!

Essential vs. Non-critical/Non-essential Services
Services provided by personnel may be categorized as critical or essential in light of their importance to University operations or in light of their contribution to maintaining critical infrastructure systems. Managers of each University unit must make determinations about which employees perform essential functions. Units must carefully assess how they fit into the overall University functions to determine which staff, materials, procedures and equipment are absolutely necessary to keep the University operating during a pandemic. Units should identify the key suppliers, shippers, resources and other businesses they must interact with on a daily basis. Professional relationships with more than one supplier may be necessary should a primary contractor be unable to provide the required service. A disaster that shuts down a key supplier could be devastating to a unit’s functions.

A final point to ponder in your planning – in the event of a pandemic scenario, domestic and international travel may be severely impacted through quarantines, border closures, or restrictions in the travel industry so if your business relies on traveling to a specific location or bringing vendors in, you should remember to take this into account.