Today Andrew Millard stops by from across the pond to give his input on how to retain business continuity in the face of the unexpected. Andrew is the eCommerce Director of EMEA at Citrix Online.
This winter has seen some extreme weather conditions on both sides of the Atlantic with snowfall causing havoc for businesses and employees alike. Of course, as savvy workshifters know, it doesn't have to be like this! But the sad fact is that there are many who are just not as prepared for these unexpected conditions when they occur.
In the UK, we conducted some research during the heavy snowfall that hit in January and found that the cost of the inclement weather was £1.35bn in lost productivity for British businesses in just one week!
In addition to this, we found that despite 78% of small businesses saying they were prepared to cope with the snow chaos, over half admitted that their business suffered as a result of the winter weather.
When we look at the impact on employees, around a quarter of British workers claimed they lost more than five working hours, with as many as 124 million working hours estimated to have been lost in total.
Let this be a warning!
But now is not the time for us to breathe a sigh of relief. More snow is predicted, and it's just one of any number of unexpected events that can prevent workers getting into the office. During the rest of the year we're likely to face a gamut of other incidents that will make life hard for employees and employers, whether its strikes on public transport, natural disasters or something totally unexpected.
So for all those businesses that were impacted by the snow, now is the time to get your business continuity plan in place, so that next time round there will be no nasty surprises and you have the right processes and technologies in place so productivity losses are avoided.
And it doesn't have to be hard! Here are my five top tips for businesses on how to prepare for the unexpected:
1. Communicate clearly in advance - make sure your workers know what they need to do if they can't get into the office
2. Equip employees with the right technologies - remote access and Web conferencing tools can help them remain productive even if they can't get to their desk
3. Talk to your customers - Phone redirects and remote access software will allow you to go about business as usual, but if clients or customers are likely to be affected let them know as early as possible and keep communication channels open
4. Consider alternatives - Travel to the office or to client meetings may be impossible, but instead of canceling, conduct the meetings online instead
5. Put in place a business continuity leader - if the unexpected happens, it's wise to have one person in your organization responsible for coordinating efforts and informing all staff of the potential impacts and company policies
What will do you to prepare for the unexpected?
Photo Credit: Anirudh Koul
This winter has seen some extreme weather conditions on both sides of the Atlantic with snowfall causing havoc for businesses and employees alike. Of course, as savvy workshifters know, it doesn't have to be like this! But the sad fact is that there are many who are just not as prepared for these unexpected conditions when they occur.
In the UK, we conducted some research during the heavy snowfall that hit in January and found that the cost of the inclement weather was £1.35bn in lost productivity for British businesses in just one week!
In addition to this, we found that despite 78% of small businesses saying they were prepared to cope with the snow chaos, over half admitted that their business suffered as a result of the winter weather.
When we look at the impact on employees, around a quarter of British workers claimed they lost more than five working hours, with as many as 124 million working hours estimated to have been lost in total.
Let this be a warning!
But now is not the time for us to breathe a sigh of relief. More snow is predicted, and it's just one of any number of unexpected events that can prevent workers getting into the office. During the rest of the year we're likely to face a gamut of other incidents that will make life hard for employees and employers, whether its strikes on public transport, natural disasters or something totally unexpected.
So for all those businesses that were impacted by the snow, now is the time to get your business continuity plan in place, so that next time round there will be no nasty surprises and you have the right processes and technologies in place so productivity losses are avoided. And it doesn't have to be hard! Here are my five top tips for businesses on how to prepare for the unexpected:
1. Communicate clearly in advance - make sure your workers know what they need to do if they can't get into the office
2. Equip employees with the right technologies - remote access and Web conferencing tools can help them remain productive even if they can't get to their desk
3. Talk to your customers - Phone redirects and remote access software will allow you to go about business as usual, but if clients or customers are likely to be affected let them know as early as possible and keep communication channels open
4. Consider alternatives - Travel to the office or to client meetings may be impossible, but instead of canceling, conduct the meetings online instead
5. Put in place a business continuity leader - if the unexpected happens, it's wise to have one person in your organization responsible for coordinating efforts and informing all staff of the potential impacts and company policies
What will do you to prepare for the unexpected?
Photo Credit: Anirudh Koul
