Communication Services for Business Continuity Planning. for Canadian SMEs in the. Current Health Crisis Related to H1N1 Influenza A Outbreak

Transcription

1

2

3 Communication Services for Business Continuity Planning for Canadian SMEs in the Current Health Crisis Related to H1N1 Influenza A Outbreak Project Report Prepared by the International Centre for Infectious Diseases PWGSC Contract No. 6D /001/CX March 2010 ICID s Representative: Wendy Schettler Director, Public Health Programs wschettler@icid.com Fax : Ellice Ave. Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 3P5

4 This initiative was made possible thanks to funding by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

5 Table of Contents I. Executive Summary... 2 II. Project Overview... 3 A. Initial Survey... 3 B. Processes and Components BusinessFluPlan.ca/Plancontrelagrippe.ca Dissemination Strategy... 5 III. Partnerships... 7 A. Canadian Chamber... 7 B. Local Chambers... 7 C. Reference Group... 7 D. Voluntary Sector... 7 IV. Project Evaluation... 8 A. Evaluation of Tools Presentations Promotion (Media) V. National Survey and Executive Interviews VI. Summary of Lessons Learned VII. Recommendations P a g e

6 I. Executive Summary The International Centre for Infectious Diseases (ICID) is a not-for-profit charitable organization that brings people and resources together to find new ways of applying research and technology to the fight against infectious diseases worldwide. ICID is based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. ICID has been involved in pandemic preparedness since Projects include the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases Influenza Preparedness for Workplaces which resulted in the development of ICID s Pandemic Influenza Task Force and the subsequent National Business Summit on Pandemic Preparedness, Response and Recovery 2006, Faith Community Summit on Pandemic Preparedness and Response, and the development of a Pandemic Business Toolkit that was made available through the internet ( and promoted across the country. As a result of this work, ICID became a point of reference for pandemic preparedness for workplaces. In response to the H1N1 influenza pandemic ICID, in partnership with the Canadian Chambers of Commerce, received funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in pandemic preparedness. Further, ICID requested an enhancement of the project to incorporate the language and unique needs of the non-profit sector and to implement a more comprehensive evaluation. The original project was funded from June 2009 through December 2009 and subsequently expanded to January through March The original aim of this project was to raise general awareness of the need for pandemic planning among business organizations and SMEs and, more specifically, to increase the number of SMEs who prepare their businesses for a pandemic. This was accomplished using a multi-pronged approach that included the development of web-based tools, cross-country presentations and a communication strategy that included mass ing, promotion of presentations (in-person seminars and webinars), and national and targeted media releases announcing the launch of the BusinessFluPlan.ca toolkit and the comparable French site Plancontrelagrippe.ca. Expansion of the project to include the non-profit sector resulted in enhancement to the web-based tools, the delivery of joint and targeted presentations, and national media releases. Throughout the project ICID had multiple partners that provided support to the project. Partnerships were developed with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and local chambers of commerce, as well as individual businesses and business associations that served on the Project Reference Group. Imagine Canada, Volunteer Canada, and the Centre for Voluntary Sector Research and Development at Carleton University served in an advisory capacity for the non-profit enhancement. A comprehensive evaluation of the project included a review of the planning and implementation process; statistics on use and uptake of presentations and tools, satisfaction surveys, and change in practice indicators. A national survey of SMEs and executive interviews were also conducted to determine changes in: company knowledge of and attitude to pandemic planning, the nature and extent of preparation for the H1N1 pandemic, levels of preparedness for potential future health crises, effectiveness of the plan in relation to the H1N1 pandemic, and support required for future planning. Overall evaluation of this project indicates that ICID has been successful at meeting the goal of raising general awareness of the need for pandemic planning among SMEs and increasing the number of SMEs who prepared their businesses for a pandemic. Surveys of those participating in the presentations overwhelmingly (93%) report that the information garnered at the events would be used to either develop a plan or update their current plan. Follow-up surveys to participants indicate a considerable increase in 2 P a g e

7 those who were in the process of planning, 39% instead of 28%, and those who had completed a plan, 37% instead of 9%. National survey results of SMEs support this finding with 75% of SMEs reporting that they are more knowledgeable about pandemic planning than they were 1 year ago and 33% reporting they had developed a plan. Comparatively, surveys conducted by the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (May 2009) and BMO (July 2009) show that prior to the implementation of this project only 13% and 18% of businesses respectively have continuity plans in place to deal with health related emergencies like a pandemic. There were some major challenges in the planning and implementation of this project and this was reflected in the low attendance at seminars and webinars. Main challenges included the delayed timing of the project, compressed timeframes for planning and project delivery, lack of clear partner expectations, lengthy and complex government approval processes, and minimal advertising budgets. Strengths in planning and project implementation were reflected in satisfaction surveys and the overall success of the project. Specific strengths include ICID s experience with pandemic planning, enabling ICID to implement the project within compressed timelines; high quality presentation and tools that reflected SME and nonprofit organizations needs; strong communication and working relationships between PHAC and ICID resulting in meeting project deadlines; and excellent media coverage with an estimated value between $300,000 and $600,000. Although the H1N1 pandemic has waned, the need for ongoing pandemic planning continues. In spite of the effort to raise awareness on the need to develop pandemic plans, many SMEs (65%) do not have a plan and 45% of that group has never considered developing a plan. Ongoing programming is required in order to continue to build awareness and support the development of these plans. ICID s national survey indicates that a significant number of SMEs (43%) would prefer to receive information on flu planning via websites/ s followed by the news media (30%). ICID recommends ongoing investment in maintaining and promoting the use of the developed BusinessFluPlan.ca website and toolkit and outreach to the business and non-profit sector. II. Project Overview A. Initial Survey A telephone survey of 24 businesses was conducted July 23 to September 2, The objective of the survey was to determine the incidence of existing pandemic plans, the information considered to be most useful in pandemic planning, and the preferred format for receipt of such information. Survey questions were drafted by ICID, reviewed by the Reference Group, and approved by the Public Health Agency of Canada. The key findings of the survey determined that most businesses did not have a pandemic plan. This was supported by surveys conducted by the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (May 2009) and BMO (July 2009). The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters surveyed 527 companies, 85% of which were small and medium sized, and reported that only 13% had a continuity plan in place to deal with emergencies like a pandemic. BMO surveyed their client base of small businesses and reported that only 18% had a healthrelated continuity plan. ICID s survey found that the preferred method for businesses to receive pandemic planning tools was through the internet. It was recommended that any online tools be easy to access, easy to understand, and well organized. Businesses said they wanted tools that included step by step 3 P a g e

8 instructions and accurate templates, used plain language, and were in formats that were easy to change or adapt to their own situation. In addition, businesses wanted information about the availability of pandemic planning tools via through business associations or sent directly to the business. B. Processes and Components Based on the survey responses, the BusinessFluPlan.ca toolkit, print material and a three-hour presentation were developed. In an effort to maximize the exposure for the BusinessFluPlan.ca toolkit, and with assistance from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, ICID contacted the local chambers of commerce in 17 major centres, including at least one in each province across Canada. Many of the chambers were happy to partner with ICID and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce to deliver this workshop (free of charge) to their membership. However, several chambers already had an extensive pandemic planning program in progress and felt this workshop would be redundant; they therefore were not interested in the opportunity to partner. Once ICID had determined the level of support from the local chambers of commerce, it prepared a schedule of in-person seminars and online webinars in October and November ICID then worked to raise awareness of these presentations in the local business community and media. Where ICID did not have the support of the local chambers to communicate to their membership, alternative methods were used to communicate to the local business community. In addition to ing invitations to chambers, business associations and subscription services, targeted media announcements were disseminated in each of the 17 different cities in advance of the seminar. The purpose of the workshop was to provide businesses an opportunity to learn about pandemic planning and receive appropriate information and support. A total of 32 workshops were scheduled; 18 seminars and four webinars were initiated by the project team, plus 10 were initiated by groups of businesses that independently requested to participate in the program. Data gathered during the presentations was used to refine the toolkit and the workshop content, and will contribute to a final evaluation of the program. 1. BusinessFluPlan.ca/Plancontrelagrippe.ca Based on the feedback from the initial survey, ICID developed online planning tools suitable for small and medium businesses. The website included: Step by step instructions for building a pandemic plan that were available for download or saved online. Tools and Resources which included templates that were easily adaptable Information on upcoming presentations (seminars and webinars) Ask the Expert Providing viewers the opportunity to submit questions to our Experts Questions and Answers on Pandemic Planning and Business Posters and Printouts A comparable French website was also launched at Plancontrelagrippe.ca. In March 2010, the BusinessFluPlan.ca and Plancontrelagrippe.ca toolkits were enhanced to incorporate the language and unique needs of the non-profit sector into the planning tools. 4 P a g e

9 2. Dissemination Strategy The aim of this project was to raise general awareness of the need for pandemic planning among business organizations and SMEs and, more specifically, to increase the number of SMEs who prepare their businesses for a pandemic. This was measured by the number who participated in or downloaded webinars, the number of participants who attended seminars, the number of businesses who registered through Constant Contact for Pandemic Business Planning, and the number of businesses who used the online planning tools and accessed the site BusinessFluPlan.ca/Plancontrelagrippe.ca. The dissemination/communications strategy had several components: A new website that provides online pandemic planning tools: BusinessFluPlan.ca/Plancontrelagrippe.ca Seminars (and accompanying webinars) delivered across Canada. A mass ing component through the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, whose network comprises 300,000 SMEs, and other business associations and downtown biz associations. Trade show attendance at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce annual general meeting in Victoria, B.C. Public relations efforts through media releases and interviews to raise awareness of the pandemic planning tools developed by ICID and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. News releases targeted specific markets where seminars would take place, as well as business journalists and media outlets that focus on SMEs. These efforts aimed to encourage interested businesses and chambers to register for an newsletter through Constant Contact, which creates a database of clients specifically interested in pandemic business planning. We also sought to partner with private institutions, such as banks, who already had an identified client base of small and medium-sized businesses to whom information could be distributed. Print materials a) Mass ing Target 300,000 Small & Medium Businesses through Associations, Chambers & Biz Associations, targeting 300,000 members The Canadian Chamber of Commerce distributed the information to its membership and invited local chambers to in turn distribute to their own membership (individual businesses) messages were distributed directly to other organizations (aboriginal and minority business organizations, Canada Business Service Centres) to ensure that those businesses that do not belong to chambers of commerce were also receiving information about the website, seminars and webinars. Key Messages Pandemic is not just a threat to your health; it threatens your business. Free planning tools are available. Sign up with BusinessFluPlan.ca/Plancontrelagrippe.ca to find out more. b) Trade Show Attendance Members of the project team attended the Canadian Chamber of Commerce Annual General Meeting held in Victoria in early October. The goal of participating in the trade show was to promote the seminars/webinars, build awareness of pandemic resources among chambers of commerce, and generate invitations to meetings. 5 P a g e

10 6 P a g e c) Meetings/Seminars (1) In Person Meetings/Seminars The three-hour half-day seminar consisted of two presentations: one on the pandemic planning process, and the second on human resource issues & considerations, followed by a question & answer period. There were 18 half-day meetings planned in 17 major cities in Canada in October and November 2009 (Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Victoria, Vancouver, Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Thunder Bay, Kitchener/Waterloo, Toronto, Calgary, Fredericton, St. John s, Charlottetown, Ottawa, Montreal (English and French), Quebec City and Brandon). Although Halifax was also considered as a site for a meeting, preliminary consultation with that city s local chamber of commerce and PHAC regional office indicated that extensive programming had already occurred. Target people per session ( total) For the French seminars, two presenters from Pluri-elles (Manitoba) were hired to present the Pandemic Planning Process portion, and a French speaking Human Resource expert from Quebec was hired to present the Human Resource Issues portion. The Canadian Chamber and national associations were asked to distribute seminar information to their provincial and regional members, who in turn were asked to distribute to individual businesses. Seminars presented in January and February 2010 were presented and promoted jointly to SMEs and nonprofit organizations. In March 2010 a pilot session was held solely for non-profits to assess the feasibility of developing a plan on site and to obtain feedback on the enhanced presentation. (2) Webinars - October/November There were four, one-hour webinars (audio and PowerPoint presentation transmitted via internet) presented in October and November. Webinars were chosen as a convenient and accessible method of communicating to small and medium businesses that might not be able to attend in person, either because of distance to an in-person meeting or their inability to attend during business hours. In addition, it was a cost effective mode of two-way communication, with the potential to reach a wider audience. The content of the presentation was the same as the in-person seminars and was provided in both English and French. The webinars were available live or archived on the website and then available to anyone at anytime on demand. It was anticipated that approximately 2,000 to 8,000 SMEs would take advantage of this opportunity. (3) Meetings with Associations/Chambers/BIZ by invitation The second phase was to present to those groups that invited ICID to attend. These presentations were adapted to suit the audience and time allotment, and were offered free of charge to groups where at least 25 people would attend. Given travel costs, it was considered impractical to incur these costs for an audience of less than 25. Initially 15 presentations were anticipated in November and December However, given the holiday season and interest from chambers of commerce for presentations in the New Year, ICID requested an extension of the project to March d) Promotional Materials: Promotional materials were developed to: encourage SMEs to develop pandemic plans using the pandemic planning tool kit,

11 point SMEs to the new website, and advertise seminars, webinars, meetings and individual presentations. Products included: Bilingual Banner Folder/Report Cover Tent Cards Booklets CDs Press Releases Media Advisories (English/French/Bilingual) III. Partnerships A. Canadian Chamber Based on preliminary discussions with the Public Health Agency of Canada, it was recommended that the Canadian Chamber of Commerce--with an established network of over 300,000 small and medium business contacts--and local chambers of commerce would be ideal and credible partners in communicating to small and medium businesses in Canada. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce disseminated announcements to its membership, and requested that individual chambers in turn distribute to local businesses. This aided in the dissemination and promotion of the website, webinars and seminars. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce was considered a key business partner and its logo was featured on all materials and the website. B. Local Chambers Following up on the Canadian Chamber of Commerce s to the individual chambers requesting partnership opportunities, phone calls were made to local chambers in each city where seminars were scheduled. This was done to build awareness of pandemic planning activities, explore partnership opportunities and receive advice about local events and expectations of the business community. Based on these preliminary discussions with the individual chambers, adjustments were made to the schedule of workshops. C. Reference Group A Reference Group, with the capacity to represent the small and medium business perspective, was established to guide and provide feedback to ICID. The Reference Group met monthly for the duration of the project, with some members providing expert industry advice. D. Voluntary Sector ICID recognized that the nonprofit/voluntary sector has additional and unique needs for assistance with pandemic planning, over and above the assistance provided to SMEs. The SME project was therefore enhanced to provide unique planning tools that would take these needs into account. ICID consulted on the project enhancements with representatives from nonprofit/voluntary organizations. 7 P a g e

12 IV. Project Evaluation The goal in evaluating this project was to measure the use and uptake of the pandemic planning toolkit, website, seminars, webinars and print materials by small & medium business representatives and stakeholders to ascertain the level of satisfaction as well as document any changes in planning. Participant feedback and user satisfaction data was collected using evaluation forms following each seminar and webinar. An online survey was also included on the website. In February 2010, follow-up satisfaction surveys using an online evaluation tool were sent to participants in English and French. The links to the surveys were sent by from In addition, ICID conducted follow-up telephone interviews with provincial and local chambers of commerce. The purpose was to gather qualitative information from our partners about the project and to ascertain their level of satisfaction with the partnership. Results of the surveys are detailed below. 8 P a g e A. Evaluation of Tools 1. Presentations a) Seminars Although there were 18 sessions planned, only 16 half-day sessions were ultimately held in 15 cities. The meetings in Yellowknife and Thunder Bay were cancelled due to low registration and weather conditions. Attendance at the 16 sessions totaled 234. Non-profit organizations in Winnipeg were invited to participate in a pilot session where the new material was presented and a pandemic planning exercise facilitated. There were eight confirmed participants for the pilot meeting, with 5 people attending the pilot presentation. At the end of each seminar and webinar, participants were requested to complete a participant feedback survey. Of the 234 people who attended the seminars, 162 (69%) completed the survey. Of those who completed the survey, 34% reported they currently have a pandemic plan or have started preparing one. At the end of the seminar, 93% of those who completed the survey reported they would use the information provided during the presentation to either develop a pandemic plan or update their current pandemic plan. Almost everyone (99%) who attended the seminar and completed the survey reported they found the presentation useful. Follow up surveys were ed to 245 participants who had pre-registered with ICID or chambers of commerce; 46 surveys were completed. Of those who completed the survey, only 9% reported having a pandemic plan and 28% were in the process of developing a plan when they attended the seminar in October/November. Almost three months following the seminars, 37% reported they had completed a plan, and another 39% had at least started to develop their organization s plan, indicating that pandemic planning increased after attending ICID s workshop. The majority of participants were satisfied with the information provided in the seminar and used the information to either develop or modify their current plans. Attendees of the pilot session were unable to fully develop their plan by the end of the session but felt they were well on their way. Participants ranked the usefulness of the pandemic planning exercise 4.6 out of 5 and felt the length of the session was Just Right. All participants said that they would use the Build your Plan tool to complete (or update) their organization s pandemic plan.

13 b) Webinars BusinessFluPlan.ca Project Report There were four webinars organized. Each webinar was scheduled at 11:00 AM CST to be able to accommodate both the eastern & western provinces during the business day. The sessions consisted of: Pandemic planning process English and French Human resource issues English and French The webinars were then available on-line via the website, for participants to view on demand at their convenience. Attendance at the webinars was much lower than planned. There were 241 individuals that participated in the webinars (live and on-demand) instead of the 2,000-8,000 anticipated. For the English sessions, there was a greater than 50% loss between the number who registered (270) and the number who actually participated (125). Of the 127 people who attended the webinars, 33 (26%) completed the survey. Of those who completed the survey, 30% reported they currently had a pandemic plan or had one started. At the end of the seminar, 82% of those who completed the survey reported they would use the information provided during the presentation to either develop a pandemic plan or update their current pandemic plan. Everyone (100%) who attended the seminar and completed the survey reported they found the presentation useful to them. Follow up surveys were ed to 115 pre-registered attendees. Seven surveys were completed and returned. Of those who completed the survey, only 10% reported having a pandemic plan and 30% were in the process of developing a plan at the time of the webinar. Almost three months following the webinars, 33% reported they had completed a plan, and another 17% had at least started to develop their organization s plan. All participants were satisfied with the information provided in the seminar and used the information provided to either develop or modify their current plans. c) Invitational Presentations The information presented at these invitational sessions was a combined presentation on the pandemic planning process and on human resource issues, so that only one presenter was required. There were seven invitational presentations, two of which were part of contingency / pandemic planning conferences. There were 109 individuals that participated in the invitational presentations. As with the half-day seminars and the webinars, participant feedback was requested of those who attended the modified presentations (combined session on pandemic planning and human resource issues). Of the 109 participants who attended the seven requested presentations, 40 participants completed the questionnaire immediately following the presentation. Of those who completed the survey, 40% indicated they either had a pandemic plan or were in the process of developing one. Based on their feedback, it appears most participants (95%) found the presentation useful, with 65% reporting they would use the information provided to develop or update their organization s pandemic plan. Participants at these presentations registered directly with their chamber of commerce or third party organizations; therefore, follow-up evaluations were not possible with this group. d) Website The BusinessFluPlan.ca website was launched in phases, in both English and French. A quiet or soft launch was followed by a formal launch via news release. 9 P a g e

14 The first phase focused on Build Your Plan--a guide for organizations in Microsoft Word, while the later phase focused on an interactive version of Build Your Plan. Both tools are currently available on the BusinessFluPlan.ca website. The contract with PHAC was extended, in part, to update and broaden the website content to be more inclusive of the nonprofit/volunteer sector. These enhancements were based on discussions with organizations from this sector. In summary, approximately 5000 unique visitors accessed the website, staying an average of 2.12 minutes and visiting 2.66 pages on the website between October 1, 2009 and February 28, Based on feedback received the website was revised to address issues that were identified. There have been no surveys completed by any of the website users. However, participants of the seminars and webinars were surveyed on their use and satisfaction with the website using the online follow-up satisfaction survey sent in February Of the 44 respondents to the seminar survey, 78% reported they had been to the website and almost 60% rated the usefulness of the website as Good, and 36% had used the online planning tools. 2. Promotion (Media) The communications strategies involved: Public relations through news releases, some for national consumption, and targeted releases for each market s and faxes to business associations An effort to engage interested businesses through the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and its members, and get them to sign up for updates through Constant Contact, an newsletter service. Earned Media through public relations We also sought to engage additional partners to promote the website and, in particular, to hold a media event to coincide with the Toronto seminar. We contacted a number of banks, and BMO partnered with ICID to run a roundtable discussion on the importance of business preparedness. It was initially hoped that media would provide coverage of the events ahead of time. This did not always happen, but the event itself provided an opportunity for engagement with the media. The publicity effort was extremely successful in gaining coverage and raising awareness of the lack of business preparedness both in local media markets and on the national level. ICID s message of the need for preparedness was communicated well. ICID was featured in the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, on Canadian Press Wire Service, and twice on CTV National News. At CBC s request, ICID provided 13 eight-minute interviews for markets across the country. ICID was also a guest on CBC call-in radio shows--once in Vancouver and once in Ottawa. 10 P a g e a) Releases: The following media releases were sent: Announcement of program launch (national release)

15 Warning on lack of preparedness (national release) Standard releases, based on a template, for local markets with relevant local data added Each of the national media releases was sent by and fax to 290 contacts. In addition to the national releases, targeted media announcements that raised awareness of the website, seminars and webinars were disseminated in each of the local markets. Starting in November, additional media releases and notices were sent to business associations in an attempt to increase promotion of the seminars to their members and, ultimately, to increase attendance at the seminars. As a result of the releases distributed nationally and locally, members of the media requested 10 television interviews, 22 radio interviews( including two radio talk shows), and five print media interviews. The final result of the media releases and interviews were as follows: the project was featured in four website articles, three national newspapers articles (one of which was French), twice featured on the national news broadcasts on two television networks, two radio talk shows, 17 radio interviews (one interview in French), 12 local newspaper articles in various major markets across Canada and one article in a business magazine. Earned Media Earned Media is an attempt to quantify the monetary value of free publicity generated through coverage on TV, radio and in newspapers. It is based on a calculation of what it would cost to purchase an equivalent amount of advertising on the media in question. Since advertising rates are based on circulation and ratings, the value of generating news coverage goes up if the news item is in a more popular news show or medium. Also, because consumers pay more attention to news than they do to advertising, earned media is considered to be worth more (by a factor of two to four times) than advertising. The value of the coverage is estimated at between $300,000- $600,000, depending on whether we use the more conservative multiplier (x2) or (x4). This does not include the value of CBC Radio coverage, which is more difficult to calculate since it is ad-free, although it clearly has value and is a major player in many media markets. b) Business Associations Where there wasn t support of local chambers of commerce, ICID used other methods to promote the website, seminars and webinars. ICID compiled a list of BIZ associations, aboriginal and minority business associations and Canada Business Service Centres in each of the identified seminar locations to ensure that those businesses that do not belong to chambers of commerce were aware of our activities. s were distributed by personal from pandemic@icid.com A list of 1,083 other business associations across Canada was compiled. At least two s (initial invitation and a reminder) were sent in advance of each of the 18 half-day workshops to promote registration. c) Subscription Service - Constant Contact An newsletter service was used to send out targeted messages to subscribers based on identified topics of interest. 11 P a g e

16 Promotion of the service was done via from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce to its membership of over 350 chambers of commerce across Canada. Nine s were sent to raise awareness of the BusinessFluPlan.ca website, using the Constant Contact online service: A total of 886 s were sent to the 177 active contacts. Some of the contacts were chambers of commerce and business associations who would then pass the information on to their members. 12 P a g e d) Partnerships (1) Canadian Chamber of Commerce In February 2010, ICID staff conducted follow-up telephone interviews with a number of Canadian Chamber of Commerce members. Of those interviewed, 50 % recalled receiving the from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in September, informing them of CCC s partnership with ICID on the Pandemic Planning for Small and Medium Businesses project. Of those who recalled receiving the from CCC, all passed on the information to their members within the province they represented. To determine the effectiveness of ICID s partnership with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce as a means for disseminating information to local chambers, a number of questions were asked about their typical experiences. All respondents confirmed that CCC would typically send this type of programming information to them and that they would in turn communicate opportunities to their businesses at the local level. However, the processes and the amount of time required to forward opportunities ranged quite widely, as were the diversity of distribution lists. (2) Local Chambers of Commerce Partnerships with individual chambers of commerce ranged in scope and utility. Some chambers were very enthusiastic about the opportunity to partner with ICID in delivering a free half-day seminar to its members; others were happy to advise their members of ICID s activities in their city; and others showed no interest. The level of support from chambers also varied. Some agreed only to promote the seminars to their members, while others agreed to assist in planning and organizing the seminar and were actively involved in recruiting members to attend. In some areas where there were already pandemic planning tools and programs in place, ICID was not successful in partnering with the local chamber to disseminate information. The level of involvement by the local chamber of commerce in the delivery of the workshop had a direct impact on the interest of small and medium business and number of workshop registrations. Regardless of their level of involvement, all chambers that were involved in any way with the promotion or delivery of the seminar were contacted by an ICID staff member (not involved with the project) to arrange a follow-up telephone interview to gather qualitative information from our partners about the project and to ascertain their level of satisfaction with the partnership. All 10 chambers that partnered with ICID were contacted; eight completed the interview. Of those interviewed, 75% rated their experience with ICID as excellent. As for the timeliness of the seminar, those that participated indicated the seminar was either very timely (71%) or somewhat timely (29%). When asked about the effectiveness of the dissemination of information between ICID and their chamber of commerce, 57% felt that it was Excellent, 29 % Good and 14% Average. Most of the chambers (86%) were satisfied with the level of promotion of the seminars to the membership. Everyone reported

17 that they typically need one to two months to effectively promote their own events and that they charge a fee for attendance at their events. Half of those interviewed partnered with ICID in hosting the seminar. Of those that didn t partner, 50% indicated that the reason for not hosting the event was because they already had events planned. Based on this feedback, in order to improve the level of support from local chambers, ICID ideally needed to begin discussions one to two months earlier and needed to be more flexible in accommodating the chambers practice of charging for the event. As well, had ICID approached chambers earlier, we would have been more likely to find partners that hadn t independently developed their own programs. (3) BMO BMO became involved with the project because there was concern that most businesses did not have any contingency plan. They sent representatives to seminars in Victoria and Kitchener to provide participants with first-hand experience with businesses that do not plan. In addition, ICID partnered with BMO in putting together a media event in Toronto. Members of the media were invited to attend a roundtable discussion on the potential impact of H1N1 on Canadian small businesses on Thursday, October 29. The roundtable discussed how businesses can close the gap in preparedness by addressing the barriers entrepreneurs face in developing contingency plans. The panel was moderated by BMO s Senior Vice President, Commercial Banking and included representatives from ICID, an ICID human resources expert, a lawyer and a business owner. The event was successful in that it generated national media print news articles. (4) Voluntary Sector Early in the development of the pandemic planning project, representatives of the nonprofit sector showed interest. Once ICID received approval to enhance and modify the original toolkit to make it more inclusive of the nonprofit sector, an Advisory Group was established. The experienced members of our Advisory group were able to provide feedback on our original toolkit and recommended modifications to language and examples that would be appropriate to the nonprofit/voluntary sector. V. National Survey and Executive Interviews Below are the key findings arising from both the quantitative and qualitative components of the study. This study analyzes how small- and medium-sized Canadian business responded to the H1N1 pandemic during the past year and assesses the extent to which the owners and managers of these companies engaged in pandemic planning. Effects of H1N1 on Companies One-in-five of the business executives surveyed (21%) felt that H1N1 posed a legitimate threat to their operations, with informants expressing fears about both business disruptions and the health and wellbeing of employees and clients. Employee absenteeism (18%) was the most noticeable effect of the H1N1 pandemic reported by business executives. Businesses where there were more than 15 employees were slightly more likely to report being affected by higher absenteeism rates. The most common steps that companies took to mitigate the effects of H1N1 pandemic were to promote proper handwashing techniques (65%) or to change their on-site cleaning practices (41%), with smaller proportions of businesses amending their human resources practices or taking other steps to 13 P a g e

18 deal with the pandemic. Once again, larger companies were more likely to do these things than companies with relatively small numbers of employees. Several executives also noted that even if they did not consider H1N1 to be a significant threat to their operations, they took extra sanitary measures as a precaution against the virus. Views and Behaviours Pertaining to H1N1 Three-in-ten business executives (31%) report that their views regarding pandemic planning have changed as a result of the H1N1 pandemic. For several of these informants, this was because they either had pandemic plans in place or because they did not consider H1N1 a threat. However, some noted that they now recognize the importance of having a specific plan in place. Companies are likely to indicate that they have sufficient information about H1N1 (84% strongly or somewhat agreed with this statement). A majority of business executives (57%) indicate that they are no longer as concerned about pandemic planning as they were in Less than one-half of businesses (38%) encouraged their employees to get a H1N1 shot, with most firms reporting that their employees were not anxious about contracting this virus (just 21% said that their employees expressed anxiety about H1N1). Pandemic Planning Efforts One-third of small- and medium-sized firms (33%) have developed a pandemic plan, with an additional two percent reporting that they are currently in the process of developing these strategies. Firms with larger workforces are more likely to have taken this step than those with fewer than five employees. Several employers indicated they did so because they were mandated to develop a pandemic plan or because they felt it was important to protect the health of employees as well as ensure absenteeism did not lead to business disruptions. Firms that have developed a pandemic plan have generally spent less than $1,000 to do so (22% spent $100-$999, 8% spent less than $100 and 17% spent no money to do this). The amount of staff time taken to develop these plans varies among these firms, though a significant proportion (29%) devoted just one to two person-days to develop a strategy for combating the spread of H1N1. More formalized mechanisms, such as human resources departments or health and safety committees, were tasked with developing pandemic plans for companies with larger workforces. Nearly three-in-ten SMEs used web-based planning tools (29%) and less than one-in-ten hired consultants (8%) to develop these plans. Smaller companies were more likely to use Internet planning tools, whereas larger firms were more likely to engage consultants. One-half of businesses with pandemic plans (52%) indicated that they implemented their strategy at some point. The rationales offered for doing so ranged from precautionary reasons to instances where a number of employees actually contracted the virus. These enterprises used a variety of methods to publicize their pandemic plans, including printed communications as well as verbal discussions with employees. Perceptions of Pandemic Planning An overwhelming majority of businesses with pandemic plans (83%) felt that it was useful to develop such a strategy for dealing with H1N1. No matter whether or not their employees contracted the virus, executives from these firms felt that developing these plans improved hygienic practices and raised awareness of the effects of H1N1 in their workplaces. 14 P a g e

19 Most businesses with pandemic plans (74%) indicated that their strategy could be used in the event of a future pandemic or other emergency, though a proportion of these respondents (17%) indicated that there are a limited number of scenarios where their respective company plan might be used. Several executives expect to review their plan at some uncertain future point and make adjustments to it as necessary. Firms that did not develop a pandemic plan were most likely to report that they did not take this step because it was not something they had thought about (45%) or did not perceive H1N1 to be a grave threat to their operations (28%). Regardless of whether they developed a pandemic plan or not, most business executives (75%) now feel more knowledgeable about pandemic planning and the steps required to develop and executive such a strategy. Information Related to Pandemic Planning Companies are most likely to seek information regarding the precautions that they can take to stop the spread of H1N1 (31%), or up-to-date information about the status of the pandemic (22%). Owners and senior managers of SMEs stated a preference for receiving this information about pandemic planning directly from websites (43%) and direct mail (21%), or indirectly via the news media (30%). A small proportion of small- and medium-sized enterprises were familiar with ICID (14%) and the BusinessFluPlan.ca website (7%). VI. Summary of Lessons Learned Lessons learned are summarized as follows: 1. Clearly defined expectations with all partners are required. 2. Include a partner from Quebec when implementing seminars in Quebec. 3. A Reference or Steering Committee is useful. Include an initial face-to-face meeting to help build commitment and support. 4. Facilitate feedback for all aspects of the project. 5. Allow sufficient time for all components of the project. Timelines need to be aggressive but realistic and allow for sufficient lead time to communicate and organize events. 6. A less cumbersome approval process during a time-sensitive project would have been very useful in delivering the tool to the identified audience in a timely and efficient way. 7. Project timing is important. This project always felt it was behind schedule and being rushed. Starting the project earlier--by approximately three months--would have been beneficial. 8. Media interest can be generated but media s main objective is not to promote the information sessions. However, media promoted the general topic of pandemic planning and in that way was very beneficial to this project. 15 P a g e

20 VII. Recommendations ICID recommends the following for future, similar projects: 1. Arrangement/contract with PHAC (funder) a. Allow for overlapping timeframes of various components of the project. Try to avoid a linear structure, where approval of one step is required before the next step can proceed. b. Allow time for a start-up phase (lead time) after contracts are signed or between stages of the contract. c. Start the project earlier i.e. once the imminent threat of a pandemic is identified. Take into account and allow for additional time to compensate for times such as summer and holiday seasons, when it is more difficult to bring together people or groups. d. Contract translation services directly from the Translation Bureau to avoid the delay (and additional cost) involved in the Translation Bureau having to verify the quality of translations done externally. 2. Partnerships a. Allow time in the project to identify and develop partnerships as required. i. Document expectations of any and all partners to the project. ii. Identify a partner from Quebec for projects that are national in scope. 3. Reference Group a. Make sure members adequately represent the target group. b. Organize a face-to-face meeting early in the project to help build commitment and support for the project. 4. Development of Tools a. Utilize a similar process to the one used in this project. The survey on which to base the development of tools was beneficial. b. Allow sufficient time for translation into French. Alternatively, incorporate a French resource into the project so that translations can occur simultaneously. c. Allow sufficient time for feedback from a variety of sources. 5. Dissemination Strategy a. Understand the capability of the partners to assist with the dissemination strategy. b. Consider including direct advertising in the project budget. c. Allow time to organize and promote the selected dissemination strategy. d. Include a French-speaking partner to guide the dissemination through Quebec. 16 P a g e

21

22