Keeping employees safe and productive can be among the most complex aspects of hurricane management.

"We learned from Katrina that we can't expect people to come to work when they don't have a home themselves," said Ralph Tiede, Weston, Mass.-based vp of property loss control for Liberty Mutual Property, a unit of Liberty Mutual Group Inc.

To get employees back on the job after a hurricane, solutions range from the simple to the elaborate.

For many organizations, it's as simple as getting paychecks out.

"The first thing people think about after a storm, after they and their loved ones are safe, is money," said Ron Hayes, risk manager for the Calcasieu Parish School Board in Lake Charles, La.

"We found out after Rita that we had employees who physically picked up their checks," Mr. Hayes said. "We didn't know where they had all evacuated to, and there were some" who were so far outside the state that the district could not get checks to them until much later.

"After that, we made it mandatory that employees have their checks electronically" deposited, Mr. Hayes said. The hope, he said, is that employees will be willing and able to return to work sooner if they are able to pay for their immediate needs.

"After a hurricane, it pretty much becomes a cash economy," said John Phelps, director-business risk solutions for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Florida Inc. in Jacksonville. His company has also worked to move employees to electronic deposit of paychecks as part of the insurer's storm preparation.

Mr. Phelps said the Florida Blues also tries to help employees reduce the time they spend out of their homes after a storm.

"We actually host a continuity fest every year where we bring in maybe Home Depot, Lowe's, the Red Cross, and people get giveaways and tips on how to prepare," Mr. Phelps said.

Hot meals and loans

In the past, Mr. Phelps said the insurer has promoted awareness of home preparation for storms, helped employees arrange temporary housing, served hot meals at company buildings and facilitated loans to employees in need following a weather event, he said.

In the event a facility is damaged, the best plan to keep employees safe and productive might be to keep them away from the workplace.

Scott Clark, risk and benefits officer for Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Miami, has a unique perspective in planning for a district with 54,000 employees, 93% of whom are unionized with specific rules governing their work conditions. "We have negotiated strategically to find ways for employees to not be out of work, including working remotely when possible," Mr. Clark said.

Businesses with multiple locations have more flexibility. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Florida, for example, has a formal plan to get those employees it needs most back to work, Mr. Phelps said. If a facility is damaged, its most critical employees can be moved to another facility, displacing workers whose jobs are less vital or who can work from home.

"We've also improved our teleworking capabilities. Depending on the neighborhoods that are damaged, we have hundreds of employees who can interface with our customers from home," he said.