KingsBridge Blog

Ouch, have you looked at the thermometer lately? With temperatures in the minus 25 to 30 range, parts of Canada and the United States are in a deep freeze. Some people will shrug off this cold and simply say “it is part of life in Canada and the United States. Not a big deal really,” but luckily, you know better. Right?

This cold weather can and is impacting your business. Everything seems to slow down with the cold. Employees are getting into the office a bit later – their cars won’t start, the public transit system is delayed, they really just didn’t feel like leaving the house, their kid’s school bus was canceled. Some employees won’t even making it in for those same reasons – no alternative means of transportation, kid’s school is closed, public transit is too slow in this weather. And then there are the burst water pipes, the frozen sidewalks and driveways, and the general feeling of malaise that seems to come on with the cold.

So if this is how your employees are being impacted by the cold, think of the trickle-down effect in your business. Late employees or missing employees results in less productivity – impacting your bottom-line. Now look at your suppliers – same problem – their employees are coming in late or not at all – now your supplier is behind schedule – how will this impact your ability to get your product or service out the door to your customers?

Something to think about while trying to stay warm with a steaming mug of hot chocolate… Is this cold snap a disaster or threat? Not really – but it does have an impact on your business. Bottom line is you need to be running at top efficiency and productivity at all times. With this cold weather, you simply can’t be. So what to do?

Now is the perfect time to look at your disaster recovery and business continuity plan. Do you have home phone numbers for all your key employees? Are these employees equipped to work from home if they can’t get into the office? What about child care arrangements at your office? What is your back-up plan with your suppliers if they can’t deliver their products or services on time? Are you prepared should the pipes burst in your office? Do you have off-site data storage? What about your warehouses – has someone dropped by to make sure the heating is still working properly?

See, while the cold weather might not be a disaster or threat per se, it still does have a big impact on your ability to run your business. Our recommendation for surviving this cold snap, sit down and look at your plan – make sure all of the above are covered.

Soon enough the sun will be shining and we’ll all be complaining about the summer heat, but until then, make sure your business is ready and able to survive this cold snap.

(P.S. speaking of  heat – did you know we’re holding a 1.5 day course at the Disaster Recovery Journal Spring World show in Orlando, Florida in March? Escape the cold and take our course and learn the essentials of disaster recovery and business continuity planning.)