(Click to enlarge)

The world has experienced some of its worst natural disasters in the recent past, with 2005 being declared the ‘year of disasters’. However, following each disaster there has been a renewed recognition of the role of business in the relief, recovery and reconstruction process.

In many cases this corporate response has been inspired and sometimes even led by an employee response, as companies across the world race to match their employees’ desire to become actively involved and to reward and recognise their efforts for disaster relief and recovery. But to what degree has this business response built on previous private sector experiences of responding to disasters around the world, and what programmes and structures can companies put in place to help them better engage their employees’ energy, expertise and resources in the wake of a disaster?