5 Tips to Help Your Staff and Clients During the Bad Weather

When severe weather warnings are showing and you are struggling to keep your business open, consider these top 5 tips to prepare your staff and keep business operational as normal.

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1. Get the Updates

The best way to manage whether to open your business by making an educated decision on the forecast and knowing what the road conditions are like in the surrounding areas; by staying connected with with local authorities using social media. You will need to give staff advanced warning before they embark on their way to the office/shop and if they can make it to work by foot, then ensure that you are in constant contact with them.

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2. Is it Safe to Drive?

The state of the roads plays a huge part in the commute to your offices/shop. Is it really safe to drive? You will have staff and clients that need to travel a further distance to your business than others so ensure that these people are notified first and do not attempt the commute. It is wise to ask your employees that live local to the office/shop if they can still make it in during the severe weather. Knowing who can make it in during these times of need, allows you to offer extra pay or future time off.

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3.  Work from Home

Can any of your employees work from home? If they run calls over a VoIP mobile app and use a stable internet connection, then they can remain safe in the comfort of their home to keep in touch with clients and continue with day to day business. Making business calls over a mobile phone or VoIP app are common practice, with functionality to divert office/shop calls to a single or multiple chosen landline and mobile numbers. If internet security and access to internal systems from an external (home) internet address is an issue, consider an MPLS network to keep data on-net.

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4. Communicate with your Staff and Clients

If your business is set to close, be sure to let everyone know. Ensure that a plan is in place with either one person, designated contacts to update everyone or establish a phone tree. Be sure to work this system out beforehand, with all staff and clients aware of the closure in good time. You wouldn't like staff and clients arriving to your offices not knowing that you are temporarily closed. In addition, notify customers of the closing via your company website, email and social media platforms.

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5. Consider Third Party Help

In the event of temporary business closure, you may need to call upon third party assistance to keep operational. Call handling services are available, with options to have an agent capture your calls and forward an email to the relevant member of staff. Also consider using a neighbouring business’s internet connection to access systems, or ask to use their available resources to support your staff.

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MPLS Network offers secure data between your business sites, branches and homeworkers. For more information speak to our dedicated team on 0800 774 7772

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