At too many FBI offices, it’s business as usual–and that’s not helping the war against terrorism, critics say. High-ranking FBI officials have chastised local office chiefs for failing to make terrorism a priority, devote staff to the job or keep headquarters up to date, according to newspaper reports.
Given that even the FBI is having trouble getting a handle on the post-Sept. 11 landscape, maybe it’s not surprising that most businesses have done little or nothing to change their companies’ approach to crisis planning–despite continued warnings from the government that more spectacular terrorist attacks could be coming.
A survey by Cambridge Human Resource Group found that 50 percent of respondents have no crisis management plan at all. Plus, a survey by the Society of Human Resource Management in April showed almost 90 percent of companies reported little or no change in the way they approached crisis management since Sept. 11.
One reason for companies’ inaction is economic. Hit hard by a recession, “companies are under pressure to focus on the bottom line,” said Valerie Perera, a vice president at Cambridge.
“But at the same time, companies are almost paralyzed by what’s happened in the last year and a half,” she added. “Too much is being thrown at them right now.”
Of course, crisis management extends beyond the threat of terrorism and includes anything that may disrupt a company’s normal process, from environmental issues to computer failures to product recalls, Perera said.
The first step for most companies is an organizational audit, which comes with a price tag, Perera admits. “You need to look at where the vulnerabilities are for the company,” she said, “and it’s better if someone outside the company does it. They’ll see things somebody inside the company may have blinders to.”
In the safety zone
Most workers aren’t worried about safety on the job. A Gallup Poll found that 92 percent of Americans were satisfied with the safety of the workplace and that 69 percent were “completely satisfied.” That’s up slightly from 1999, when 63 percent of workers said they were completely satisfied.
Ho, ho, ho: Holiday bonuses hold
Bosses with a history of generosity won’t be turning into Scrooges when it comes to holiday gifts this year, despite the poor economy. Although two-thirds of U.S. companies don’t give their employees anything at year-end, those that normally do aren’t cutting back, according to Hewitt Associates.
The consulting firm surveyed 432 companies for its 2002 Holiday Bonus and Gift Study. Sixty-seven percent of companies won’t offer a holiday treat of any kind (cash, gift or food). This fits into recent trends; past Hewitt studies have shown the percentage of non-givers has ranged between 64 percent and 69 percent since 1999.
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So what are the givers doling out? Cash is the most popular perk, given by 39 percent of companies that give bonuses, followed by a gift certificate to a retailer (36 percent) and food such as a turkey or ham (28 percent). On average, organizations plan to spend $200 per employee on the cash bonuses, $25 on gift certificates and $20 on food.
I gave at the office
If you’re trying to get employees to share some of that holiday money, try them at the office, not at home. A study by Kintera Inc., a consultant to non-profits, found that weekday donations account for 87 percent of online charitable contributions. Only 13 percent of Internet gifts are made during the weekend.
The study was based on an analysis of 300,000 online transactions for U.S. fund-raising events between Sept. 1, 2000 and Nov. 1, 2002.
Non-profits increasingly see e-philanthropy as a way to cut fund-raising costs and reach wider audiences. “With a significant part of the workweek spent online, the Internet provides the quickest, least-intrusive method of charitable solicitation,” said Kintera’s CEO Harry Gruber.