- Announce the availability of Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services. Some people will want to see counselors or other helping professionals to address their experiences in reliving the events of September 11, 2001. Ogilvy & Mather invited onsite counselors from their EAP to be available at work on the September 11, 2001 remembrance day. While the need for these services will likely decrease each year, again, it will depend on your proximity to the tragedies, the intensity of the affect of September 11 on your employees, and the needs of your particular workplace culture.
- Hold a company meeting with a shared workplace remembrance and celebration ceremony. Employees will appreciate a brief company meeting to pay tribute to the heroes and memorialize the dead of September 11, 2001.
- Make televisions and radios available. National coverage of the events of September 11 will dominate the air waves. Your employees may want to watch and listen to the coverage of the day's events. Programming will allow people to relive September 11 but also stay up-to-date about how others are memorializing the day.
- Organize memorial events that involve families.The Families of September 11 Web Site provides ceremonies and remembrances scheduled by state. Additionally, you can schedule your own event for workplace remembrance of September 11, 2001. Public events scheduled include walks, bike rides, blood drives, remembrance services, church services, and candlelight memorials.
- Use the opportunity to review company safety and building evacuation information. Help people feel safe by addressing your particular safety issues. Additional attention to safety issues and workplace violence potential is the single most likely arena to have received attention since the happenings of September 11, 2001 in many workplaces.
- Send letters to homes that thank and recognize your employees. Express your gratitude for their service and care. Talk about your increased attention to potential emergencies and your concern for their safety and well-being.
Lear expresses the views of many employers when he reminds us, "I'm not sure how important it is for businesses and other organizations to have some sort of observance. Of course, some will have been more impacted by this event than others, and I'm sure that will also impact upon their decision about activities.
"Whatever your organization decides, may I suggest that one way to pay respect to those who have left us - for whatever reason - is to celebrate life. Celebrate the life they led, not the death that ended it.
"Celebrate their life by celebrating all life, including your own. Take a moment of silence to remember, but spend the rest of the day in celebration. There is no greater way to honor someone than to live, love and laugh in their honor."
I don't believe I can give you more meaningful advice. Live, love, and laugh in their honor.
Several additional ideas for workplace remembrance of September 11, 2001 are available here in the first part of this article.
