Leading People Through Disasters

Sooner or later, most organizations will face some kind of disaster--flood, fire, hurricane, earthquake, workplace violence, bombings, even the arrest or sudden death of the CEO. Existing books on crisis management deal almost exclusively with physical breakdowns, logistics issues, data losses and environmental and economic impacts. But it is people who actually make a business run, and Leading People Through Disasters is the first book to deal with the all-important human side of recovery. Kathryn McKee and Liz Guthridge show how to ensure that your business continuity plan addresses human as well as business issues and they offer detailed advice on what to do when disaster actually strikes--how to keep people safe, calm, and informed; help managers care for employees; and deal with employees' immediate and ongoing emotional and psychological needs while getting the organization back on its feet. This comprehensive guide features a wealth of examples, checklists, forms, and other practical tools that will help you take action when you need it most.

Sooner or later, most organizations will face some kind of disaster--flood, fire, hurricane, earthquake, workplace violence, bombings, even the arrest or sudden death of the CEO. Existing books on crisis management deal almost exclusively with physical breakdowns, logistics issues, data losses and environmental and economic impacts. But it is people who actually make a business run, and Leading People Through Disasters is the first book to deal with the all-important human side of recovery. Kathryn McKee and Liz Guthridge show how to ensure that your business continuity plan addresses human as well as business issues and they offer detailed advice on what to do when disaster actually strikes--how to keep people safe, calm, and informed; help managers care for employees; and deal with employees' immediate and ongoing emotional and psychological needs while getting the organization back on its feet. This comprehensive guide features a wealth of examples, checklists, forms, and other practical tools that will help you take action when you need it most.

"Shows how to ensure that your business continuity plan addresses human as well as business issues and they offer detailed advice on what to do when disaster actually strikes--how to keep people safe, calm, and informed; help managers care for employees; and deal with employees' immediate and ongoing emotional and psychological needs while getting the organization back on its feet." - cover.

While history has identified a need for improved coordination during emergencies, it has also demonstrated that community volunteers positively impact their neighborhoods during times of crisis. Laying out the rationale and process by which emergency managers, community leaders, and non-governmental aid organizations can effectively collaborate and integrate citizen response, Spontaneous Community Volunteers in Disasters explains how to engage, train, and utilize spontaneous unaffiliated community volunteers (SUCV). The book prepares leaders to integrate local volunteers into any scale emergency response. Protocols and flexible management solutions are outlined to ensure safe and effective planning and execution. Work templates provided can be modified to suit the needs of any community. This accessible manual provides the tools to: Assess your agency’s role, tasks, and challenges to meet community needs in a disaster Build a plan for managing SUCVs by developing internal and external protocols Develop effective spot screening and selection methods Engage community members in information-sharing and outreach campaigns Consider policies and procedures that create relevant roles for volunteers and community groups to build a resilient team for disaster recovery Provide National Incident Management System (NIMS) compliant answers to address common barriers to using SUCVs Combining field experience and psychosocial research, the book makes a strong case as to why community involvement in disaster response will have a positive impact on a community’s resilient recovery. Praise for Spontaneous Community Volunteers in Disasters: All emergency management coordinators can benefit from this book. —Howard Butt, New Jersey State Police, State CERT Coordinator Lisa Orloff has done an excellent job in both identifying a significant opportunity in emergency response and meticulously outlining how that opportunity can best be leveraged. —Dr. Michael Chumer, New Jersey Institute of Technology The Alliance for Nonprofit Management has nominated the book for the Terry McAdam Award. This award is bestowed upon the Committee's choice for the most inspirational and useful new book published for the nonprofit sector.