Businesses Need to Take Action Against Threat of Terrorism. (Communique).

David Carrithers, Chief Bee Keeper of BusinessHive, a Saint Louis-based consulting team, is calling for a "national dialogue within all American businesses, no matter the size, nor the industry. This dialog should be about how companies can prepare to weather not just a financial storm, but a physical threat against their business operations and, most importantly, the people who make their businesses succeed-- their employees."

It is important that as a nation we realize that defense and security go beyond the military, the FBI, the police, the firefighters and the other agencies that do an outstanding job in keeping America free. We need to look at our own four walls, the cube and desk right in front of you. It's important to focus on the engine which propels and allows us to live the way we do--business. Case in point, in a matter of hours, the hundreds of businesses impacted by the destruction on that Tuesday now need to rebuild, re-work and begin to adjust to a new way of looking at their business world.

"As we move forward, companies--all businesses, all industries--need to address the possibility of a catastrophic event in their business lives. What would they do? How would they react? What can we learn from the events that took place? Where can businesses start?" Carrithers stated.

The first prevalent area to apply the prevention logic is the heart of all businesses, the work place. Besides just carrying out fire drills at the office, businesses need to have drills with the power out and all systems down. The reaction of the employees that follows is a critical factor to watch. Test the results, without having to go through an ordeal, attempt to utilize only 80% of the workforce, leaving the rest at home with no contact.

Another excellent maneuver for prevention is to build a plan for emergency relocation, Someone within the business should be assigned the responsibility of preparing, and updating monthly, a target list of possible office space that their business could occupy within a moment's notice, Carrithers also believes "in providing all types of training for your workforce. Create an overlap in knowledge and training. No one person should possess sole knowledge of their job's function. Ideally, it would also be beneficial to create a backup leadership structure where different key functions like CIO, CEO, etc., have backup individuals named and prepared in the case of an emergency."

A small point, but just as important, is the amount of people allowed to attend trade shows. "We recommend that no more than 10% of the workforce attend, and of that amount, monitor who is where, when, and why. Also, to ensure continued communications of the business, it is worth investing in video and remote conferencing technology. By allowing more interaction remotely, instant contact with employees and the office is guaranteed," stated Carrithers.

Carrithers went on to discuss, "Having a certain percent of the workforce varying start and finish time shifts is also ideal; this helps by spreading out the times people are at the offices or at home. Encouraging job sharing and telecommuting for 15% to 20% of your workforce enables the guarantee that a minimal support group exists remotely."