The sun is finally making an appearance and it feels like summer is finally on the horizon. With a weekend forecast of mediterranean weather, it’s got me thinking about summer related business continuity planning.
Here are my top 5 tips for ensuring business continuity this summer:
1. Don’t be fooled by the sun, heavy rain and flooding is always round the corner
According to research findings on the Defra (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs) website
‘Following drought conditions in the early and mid-1990s the UK experienced its wettest 5-year sequence on record (in a series from 1900). The 1998-2002 period was characterised by abundant water resources but an increased frequency of flooding, which culminated in the extensive and protracted flooding of the autumn and winter of 2000/1.’ If this is the trend moving forward then we should expect flooding both in the Summer as well as the Autumn/ Winter seasons and the threat should be taken seriously.
In order to manage the risks your business faces from climate change, you should consider doing the following:
Identify what the risks are
Identify which elements of the risk you have control over or can influence
Implement a plan to avoid the risks where it is possible and cost-effective to do so
Where it is not possible to avoid a risk, you should take measures to minimise the chance of the event occurring
Take steps to minimise the severity of a loss should the event occur
2. Volcanic eruptions could leave your staff stranded at holiday destinations abroad
According to Phillip Pank, Transport correspondant for The Times Online:
‘Aviation regulators have predicted that continued seismic activity and northerly winds will drive the ash over Britain periodically for months to come. Whenever the density breaches safety guidelines set last month to ease the paralysis of European airspace, airlines must suspend flights.’
So ensure that if some of your key staff are unable to get back to the office, they can either continue to work abroad or someone back home can carry out their work for them.
3. Don’t understimate the lure of great weather and World Cup fever
When it comes to international football and nice weather, don’t underestimate how many professional and had working key employees may fall into the temptation of a pulling a sickie.
A recent survey of 1,000 employers by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that just 5% of organisations have already drawn up a policy to deal with employees who fail to show up for work during the football extravaganza.
Legal firm, Shoosmiths have some practical suggestions to help avoid mass staff absences:
Employees should be encouraged to book annual leave early to ensure that business needs can still be met.
Consider if, like the supermarket ASDA, you will allow an extra element of flexible working during the competition so that employees can swap shifts, take unpaid leave or temporarily change their hours? If so, communicate this clearly to employees and ensure special arrangements are consistent across the organisation.
Employees may try and keep track of games via the internet, but if large numbers are doing so this could have implications for an organisation’s IT systems. Decide whether you are happy for employees to use your IT systems in this way or whether you will take a zero-tolerance approach.
Although the issue should be easier to manage because there is not a significant time difference between the UK and South Africa (and many will be able to watch matches after work has finished), employees may still be coming to work suffering from lack of sleep and over-indulgence in alcohol the night before. Employers should remember their health and safety duties and assess the likely risks to employees and others as a result. Consider what measures can be put in place to reduce any such risks.
Do you have the space to have a special screening room for matches or will you allow staff to have TV/ radio on in the background? Consider the drawbacks of the latter – will staff find it too distracting and will it cause resentment among staff with no interest in football, but who are having to work harder to compensate for colleagues who do?
Be clear about what is acceptable absence. It may be helpful to issue special guidelines for employees to make clear that being too hungover to make it into work after a big match will not be regarded as a genuine illness and will be treated as unpaid leave.
Remember that not all employees will be interested in the football, and they should not be made to feel excluded if they do not want to get involved.
4. Lack of water supply or air conditioning
Higher temperatures and drier weather puts more pressure on water supplies and air conditioning units. If either of these two services fail at your offices you should consider the consequences. Health and safety laws require that water supply and reasonable temperatures should be prevalent at a place of work and a failure to provide water for toilet facilities means that staff will have to be sent home. Can your staff continue to work from home under these circumstances?
5. Flexibility to work from home
More women are returning to work after having children than ever before including two thirds of women who return to work within nine months of having a child. One of the biggest stumbling blocks for working parents is finding sufficient childcare for the long summer holiday – 6 weeks in total. Few summer clubs run from 8am to 6pm which can cause stress and hadaches for some mothers. Now I would never advocate trying to mix work and childcare as a general rule but having the flexibility to pick them up from childcare and work from home say for the last couple of hours of the day, or making up hours at home in the evening ensures that working mothers can juggle their work and chilcare in a way which suits them and keeps them being productive for the employing company. After all women are multitaskers – juggling is what we do best!
There are probably many other summer business continuity issues which I will undoubtedly uncover over the next few weeks, and as such I’ll keep you posted. Unless of course you know of any specific issues? Anyway in the meantime enjoy the sun this weekend and don’t forget the suncream!
