Viewpoint November 17, 2009, 2:30PM EST

Swine Flu Should Prompt Business Checkups

Tech consultant Gene Marks explains why flu-related employee absences may turn out to be a good thing for fellow small business owners

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When I was in the eighth grade, I caught mononucleosis. The virus, known as the kissing disease because it's often transmitted through saliva, can cause fatal complications in up to 5% of the people who get infected. I remember I was really sick for a while. But you know what? In the end it wasn't so bad after all. In fact the experience taught me a few things.

I learned how to study independently so I could keep up with my classwork during the six weeks of school that I missed. I learned that there are only so many repeats of the Beverly Hillbillies and Hollywood Squares one can watch before noon. Most importantly, I learned that Ellen Moskowitz, the hottest girl in class, also had mono at the same time that I did. Ellen was the kind of girl who wouldn't come within 50 feet of a geek like me—but the coincidence did wonders for my reputation.

Today, the news is all about the H1N1 swine flu virus that's spreading around the world. Of course this is serious and I hope no one gets very sick from this. But the swine flu, even if it causes widespread absences, may turn out to be a good thing for many small business owners like myself.

In a prior life, I worked at an international consulting firm. Managers and seniors would announce their resignations and people would cry, "Oh no! How will the work get done?" And yet, it always did. I expect this revelation will occur for many of us during this upcoming flu season. "Key" and "important" employees may be out for periods of time. Will our businesses grind to a halt? Probably not. There's a better chance we'll look around and find that things are still getting done and the world continues to turn. We might start asking ourselves questions like how to define "key" and "important" employees. We might start asking such employees the exact same questions.

Learning Lessons from Swine Flu

And that question may be first asked of ourselves. Michael Gerber, in his great book The E-Myth, talks about how the best small businesses have processes in place so that they can run smoothly even when the owners aren't around. If we get sick, and we're out of commission for a week or so, will our businesses continue to operate profitably? If so then Gerber would be proud. If not & then we've got some work to do. This could turn out to be a great lesson. And we've got the swine flu to thank for it.

Dishonest bookkeepers may not be so thankful. That's because the swine flu may reveal a discrepancy or two. Ask any accountant who's up on his internal controls and he'll tell you that employees should be required to take vacation a few times a year. Don't believe me? Next time take notice of that little old lady in your local newspaper who was found to have stolen a hundred grand from the company she worked at. How was it uncovered? I bet it was because she was out of the office for a few days. It happens all the time. Let's hope that if the swine flu puts your bookkeeper out of commission you don't uncover any surprises.

And speaking of surprises, when an employee abruptly quits it can throw things into turmoil. This winter if our employees miss work because of the flu, others will be forced to fill in. This is also a good thing. Our employees are always so busy that they don't have the time to learn what the guy in the cubicle next to him does. But when push comes to shove, and the guy's home sick, someone's going to have to get the work done. And someday, when that same guy takes an extended vacation, gets sick again, or just plain leaves, we've got someone who's been cross-trained and can fill in the gaps until a full-time replacement is found. At the very least, the H1N1 strain may help cover our butts when someone departs.