Time to push the boat out?

In this, my first blog of 2014 I would initially like to extend sympathy to all those unfortunate enough to have suffered from flooding at home or at work. The effects of water ingress can be devastating in both environments.

Flooding can come from natural events, localised utilities failure or even a leak within the building. Our homes often contain personal treasures and all we have built up over several years.

From a business perspective, we must consider the disruption to customer service, interruption of product flow and potential financial difficulties. Adequate insurance helps in the short term but may not protect a business form longer term damage. Poor response to sudden and unwanted events can lead to loss of customer or investor confidence, which may be hard to rebuild.

Planning alternative working practices and potential secondary work locations forms a natural part of good operational risks management. Easy to think of shutting the stable door after he proverbial horse has departed, although making a start about consideration of risks is the first logical step towards resilience.

Summer may yet bring soaring temperatures and workplace constraints. The hard question is: Are you ready for it? Extreme weather had been a consideration by risk and business continuity professional bodies for some years now. Your business would benefit from reading results from their research. My experience has shown an increase in water related events over the last few years. Being prepared is simply the right thing.