Extreme weather is becoming increasingly common in the UK, and while our infrastructure can struggle to cope with unexpected weather, do you know if your business is set up to manage on these occasions?
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It is estimated that last year the weather cost the UK economy £1bn a day during the most extreme weather phenomenon – https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/03/freezing-weather-storm-emma-cost-uk-economy-1-billion-pounds-a-day. If the roads are not suitable for travel, it means your staff cannot get into the office and many are also faced with school closures.
If staff cannot travel into work, can your workplace accommodate remote working?
Remote working
Unless your staff need to be onsite to perform their job, remote working is the best way to ensure productivity still continues on the days when the weather works against you. As most people will now have access to broadband and a laptop in their homes, if you enable cloud-based filing and communications, there is no reason they cannot access all the same information needed to perform their jobs from home rather than risk travelling to the office.
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Investing in VoIP system will give your staff access to make calls without the need to be in the office as they can essentially take the office phone home with them, wherever they are based. It can also reduce costs for the business year-round, rather than just on snow days.
You can also utilize a Visitor Management System, such as the ones from https://www.ofec.co.uk/web-and-software-development-services/digital-visitors-and-staff-signing-in-book.aspx that allow for staff and visitors to sign into your office or place of work without the need for a receptionist, should they be stuck in the snow.
Remote working is becoming more commonplace throughout the workplace. It enables flexible working structures that can adapt to the changes in the business. It can future-proof your business and will show prospective employees that you are forward-thinking and ready to adapt to new technologies.
Financial benefits
There are also cost savings to be made from embracing remote working. As more communication is taking place online, you have less need for office hardware, stationery and the little extras such as kitchen equipment. It means if you need to expand, you may not need additional desk space.
While you may use remote working as a snow day emergency, getting ready now can have additional benefits for your business before next winter comes around.
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