Juno's Lesson on Being Prepared

If we learned anything from our recent scare with Juno, it’s that it is always better to be prepared. Last Monday night in New York City, as the blizzard was predicted to rip through my neighborhood, I slept soundly, confident that preparations were in place for whatever might happen. My stockpile was supplied with gallon jugs of water and enough granola bars to last a month, and the mayor had put every precaution in place to make sure people were safe. Waking up in my warm apartment on Tuesday to find a layer of shimmering white powder on the surrounding buildings – and no major catastrophe to speak of – quite literally looked like icing on a cake.

That day on the news, officials were challenged on whether they had gone overboard with preparations. In response to the criticism, Mayor de Blasio asked, "Would you rather be ahead of the action or behind? Would you rather be prepared or unprepared? Would you rather be safe or unsafe? To me it was a no-brainer: we had to take precautions to keep people safe."

 Putting preparations in place cost the city of New York $200M, but what if preparations had not been made, and the blizzard did not so narrowly miss? What would it cost in dollars, time, and human lives if we did not bring in the proper equipment, did not get cars off the street, and did not have work crews ready to assist? Is a 50 mile margin worth the gamble?

Working in the business of employee transition, I couldn’t help but compare this scenario to the economy and HR planning. For events like natural disasters, there is no shortage of contingency plans, which are undoubtedly updated and reexamined regularly to ensure absolute effectiveness. It goes without saying that being prepared for the next storm is just as important as it was to be prepared for the last one.

In contrast, organizations have the tendency to focus on the problems that are directly in front of them and deal with disasters as they happen – especially when it comes to downsizing. As we surface from the recent financial crisis, it seems the last thing on our minds is preparing for the next one. Maybe your organization made it through the crisis without laying people off; maybe you were laid off yourself. Regardless of what happened, there is no way to know when the next crisis may come, when new technology will challenge your business, or when downsizing might really be the best option to increase your efficiency. 

Much of the time, companies resist addressing their layoff and off-boarding strategies until they are forced to take action. Having put off creating an efficient strategy, executives find themselves backed into a corner, forced to follow an outdated severance policy during a time in which this is tough to afford.

 Consider taking the time now to put contingency plans in place – before the state of emergency occurs. Become educated on what your options are, and implement strategies that align with your business needs. Modernize your severance policy and your offboarding processes. It’s a smaller effort to development a plan. It’s a MUCH larger effort to respond to a crisis as it is happening.

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