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The staffing threshold model: A systematic approach to addressing absenteeism in a pandemic
Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning,
2
(4),
365-379
(2008)
Abstract
This paper raises management concerns about the organisational and personal impacts of a pandemic outbreak and specifically relates to those issues surrounding employee absenteeism. Principally, this is addressed through the introduction of the staffing threshold model, an original framework developed by the authors that provides managers with a structured methodology to help organisations manage worker absenteeism. Indeed, as organisations have had time to reflect on the macro impacts of a pandemic outbreak, the area that tends to garner much attention is the human resources department. Because this work is completely new, and there are no precedents from which to extrapolate (only recently, in fact, have business continuity professionals even started to recognise the importance of incorporating the human element into their planning efforts), there are no case studies against which to measure the methodology. Nonetheless, the authors feel that the introduction of a systematised method of managing worker absenteeism can make a valuable contribution to the field.
Keywords: critical staffing; absenteeism; pandemic; staffing threshold; cross training; skills database; resource pool; resilience; business continuity
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Manfred Heinzlreiter manages a group of business continuity planners within the Bank of Montreal. He is licensed trainer and licensed assessor for the Business Continuity Maturity Model, and has a teaching engagement at George Brown College for Business Continuity Planning. Manfred has extensive leadership and management experience in information technology, finance, government, manufacturing and retail sectors. He has studied information technology at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria. He has more than 20 years of risk management experience in both Europe and Canada.
Tony Gill is Chairman of Gill Advisors Inc., a firm providing workplace continuity consulting services internationally. He has addressed several conferences, and his work on telework and business continuity has appeared in Facility Management Journal, The Public Manager and Journal of Facilities Management. He has recently been developing a proprietary algorithm to help organisations shield themselves from the economic consequences of a pandemic. He earned an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Waterloo as well as an MBA from the Warrington School of Business at the University of Florida in Gainesville, with a specialisation in finance and real estate.
Citation
Heinzlreiter, Manfred and Gill, Tony (2008, July 1). The staffing threshold model: A systematic approach to addressing absenteeism in a pandemic. In the Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning, Volume 2, Issue 4. https://doi.org/10.69554/FXFX4333.
© Henry Stewart
Publications LLP
Publications LLP