07th March 2009 Snow time to lose

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Remote working may not be integral to everyone’s company culture under normal circumstances; but the ability to work from home certainly came into its own under a blanket of snow, a standstill in public transport and some impassable roads. Since climate change definitely seems to be with us, and that could mean summer floods and gales as well as snow, we should all be gearing up to providing business continuity from remote locations – virtual and real. Here are a few tips to help make sure you stay operational despite the weather:-

1) Access to email is crucial – even if you can’t afford to give everyone a Blackberry, you can provide remote access via the internet. If your staff rely heavily on email at work, they will almost certainly have internet access available at home, so make sure they can log on, check for vital messages, communicate with colleagues, and email in completed work.

2) Take weather warnings seriously – we all knew the snow was coming, but many failed to plan. How often do you hear people say that they would get more done if the phone didn’t keep ringing? Instruct staff to take work home in case they get stranded – it could be a brilliant opportunity to catch up on important, but less urgent tasks that can easily get shoved aside in a demanding office environment.

3) Don’t insist everyone comes in if it’s risky. Musculo-skeletal injuries shot up during the snowy conditions as people slipped and fell on the ice. If your staff injure themselves, they could be off work for a lot longer than a day or two.

4) Think laterally – would you rather email a key person an important project to complete at home, or have them spend three hours trying to get in, only to send them away again due to worsening conditions, for a four hour journey back?