What You Need to Know About Personnel Accountability During Crises

On May 24, 2023, Typhoon Mawar struck Guam, knocking out power and affecting the phone service on the island. Following Exchange protocols for personnel accountability, Guam Exchange General Manager George McNamara and his team quickly responded. Despite the power and phone issues, 100% of associates were quickly accounted for.

In today’s world, natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, typhoons, severe snowstorms or extreme temperatures can strike at any time. The Guam team’s actions are just one example of how managers show not only be prepared and ready to respond, but must also have a plan for associates when the unforeseen happens.

“Personnel accountability is a shared responsibility between the supervisor and the individual” as noted in DoDI 3001.02, Personnel Accountability in Conjunction With Natural or Manmade Disasters. Department of Defense (DoD) policy “requires annual personnel-accountability exercises and twice-a-year inspections of the Personnel Accountability Reporting System, and every even year, results will go from the Exchange Inspector General office to USD/P&R (Military Community and Family Policy).”

The Exchange Inspector General conducts biannual inspections with program manager Angel Jones, who is the Human Resources Service Center manager, and the HRSC. The inspections focus primarily on systems and policies at headquarters that affect the Exchange. During a DoD personnel accountability exercise in 2023, the Exchange was recognized by Joint Personnel Readiness for efficiency in reporting despite a manual process, which requires a considerable time investment to consolidate and complete reporting.

To maintain a successful program, directorates are encouraged to establish a personnel-accountability notification tree and use recall rosters to identify shortcomings and areas for improvement. Below are tips for managing the personnel accountability program within your directorate.

Tips for accountability:

• Management should develop a disaster preparedness and personnel accountability plan.
• Associates should familiarize themselves with policies, procedures and actions to take in a natural disaster. Coordinated actions can ensure everyone’s safety before, during and after the event.
• Keep personnel contact information updated. Outdated and partial information can make it difficult to account for teammates in a timely manner.
• Rehearse recall roster techniques. During any crisis, the goal is to obtain 100% accountability of all personnel as quickly as possible.
• Check for inefficiencies or shortcomings and streamline processes to be more efficient and effective. Evaluate accountability procedures to identify areas for improvement within the system, methods and policies.

Associates’ safety and accountability are necessary! The Exchange cares about you!