FEATURE
WEATHER PERMITTING
Lionel Bailey, Health and Safety Manager at Office Depot, offers his advice on taking a common-sense approach to business continuity in the face of adverse weather.
Every winter, temperatures plummet and we experience extreme weather conditions like snow, sleet and ice. When planning for business continuity, firms think about huge disasters that could have a catastrophic impact on company activity too often. In reality, it’s the small day-to-day problems, such as bad weather, that have the biggest impact.
Taking steps to ensure that the correct health and safety procedures are followed and where possible, essential business activity is preserved, will reduce the likelihood of accidents and loss of revenue. With that in mind, here are the key considerations to make when planning for bad weather.
1
MAINTAIN A SAFE WORKING ENVIRONMENT
Businesses are legally required to ensure safe access to their premises for both employees and visitors. Reduce the risk of trips and falls by gritting pathways and clearing walk ways of settled snow. If your employees work out in the field, for example making deliveries or working on site, be sure to provide them with the correct workwear, including insulated and high visibility clothing. Other products such as non-slip boots and winter tyres can help to prevent accidents caused by ice and treacherous conditions underfoot. Regular communication with the team
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is vital to identify any new equipment needs or safety requirements to ensure that all staff have the correct personal protective equipment.
2
CREATE AND COMMUNICATE CONTINGENCY PROCEDURES
Set guidelines on how and when you will alert staff during extreme working conditions. Keep up-to-date contact information and communicate with employees by a pre-defined time, say 8am, if they are not required to come into the office. In the event of the onset of extreme weather, define which members of staff are permitted to ‘call it a day’. Allowing workers to leave the office early could prevent them from travelling in increasingly treacherous conditions and reduce the likelihood that they cannot get home.
3
FACILITATE REMOTE WORKING
Inevitably, there will be instances where employees are unable to make it into the office. While this can, of course, negatively affect business activity and productivity, where possible put measures in place to allow employees to work from home. Providing company laptops which have access to relevant files and email means that key tasks can be completed and clients will be able to contact staff. As with any remote data access care must be taken to ensure that the business network is
protected, but most cloud computing firms can provide safeguards to keep information secure.
4
CONSIDER EFFECTS OF DISRUPTION TO OTHER
PARTS OF THE BUSINESS Firms with multiple branches may find that extreme weather in one part of the country affects one section of their workforce. If this is the case, steps should be taken to enable other teams to pick up some of the workload from the disrupted branch. Taking measures such as rerouting calls to another office can relieve pressure and maintain a good level of customer service. In addition, businesses that outsource services such as IT support may find that their suppliers are unable to make it into the office, which could have a negative impact on productivity. Anticipating these problems and having agreed contingencies in place will help to reduce their impact on your business.
Adverse weather conditions can be disruptive but by following best- practice and having the correct procedures in place, firms can ensure the safety of employees whilst maintaining essential business activity – it’s a win-win.
online.officedepot.co.uk
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