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Last week, the Federation of Small
Businesses estimated that 10 per cent of the UK’s 30-million strong
workforce failed to make it in to the office. Other sources pitched
their figures even higher. Such as the poll of 213 companies,
conducted by Peninsula and published in the Manchester Evening News,
which revealed a staggering 44 per cent of employees in the
North-West had stayed at home on Tuesday 5th January.
So what were these workers doing besides emptying their local
supermarket shelves of bread and sledging around the local park with
their children? Not very much, would appear to be the answer, with
some business groups predicting that the cost of this absenteeism
could reach £2 billion.
As the perennial debate rumbled on over salt and grit reserves and
airport runways were closed, the wintry conditions demonstrated to
UK businesses the important role that can be played by remote
working solutions - not simply in terms of promoting more flexible
and efficient daily working practices but also in the vital area of
business continuity planning.
Remote working
solutions: a crucial part of your business continuity planning
Today more and more businesses are
embracing remote working as a means of increasing efficiency and
reducing costs. Whilst secure access for your mobile workforce to
emails and other important company data can improve customer service
levels, allowing workers to “telecommute” from home has also been
shown to raise staff morale. More importantly, the ability to work
remotely can form a crucial part of your business continuity
planning.
Snowfall causing disruption of the order witnessed this month may be
thankfully rare but climate change experts warn there is more to
come. Also within a week of the initial interruptions caused by last
February’s snow, many UK firms were caught in the grip of severe
flood warnings. In fact, when motorway congestion, train
cancellations and terrorist threats are factored into the equation,
remote working solutions begin to look like the must-have
contingency plan for businesses of any size.
Why not speak with your account manager today for a review of the
remote working options available to your business. |
