Member Article

How to prepare your business for Tube strikes

On Thursday, London will once again grind to a halt due to Tube strikes. We know from July’s strike that London will descend into chaos, but the Government also estimates that a Tube shutdown costs the economy £50 million each day. Kevin Scott-Cowell, CEO of 8x8 Solutions, gives his top tips on how businesses can stay on track during this week’s strike.

1. Be flexible

It’s reasonable to expect your employees to make an effort to find alternative routes into the office. But with nearly four million passengers using the tube each day, it’s likely that some of your employees won’t be able to make it in. Even if you’re not affected by it, make sure you’re understanding – help them by finding alternative options and make it clear that you’re on their side.

2. Keep customers in the loop

If a rail strike threatens, it’s important to keep your customers updated on where you and your employees will be and how you can be contacted. However, it’s likely that they will be in the same position. Consider using every channel available, such as social media, text message and emails to keep everyone in the loop.

3. Use technology to your advantage

There’s an abundance of technology on the market designed to make working possible no matter where you are. Even smaller businesses can benefit, as these services can be scaled up or down to suit you, making it affordable for any size of business.

By putting a cloud computing solution in place, staff will be able to work from home, or anywhere that has an internet connection, even if they can’t make it into the office. By using cloud technology it will be business as usual even if your staff are not actually in the building.

You could also implement a cloud-based unified communications solution which would integrate all of the user’s messages and contacts into a single place, so they can be accessed anywhere. With more employees using BYOD (bring your own device) employers can be even more flexible with remote working as employees will have access to the same tools they would have in the office.

4. Have a plan in place

Make sure you have a business continuity plan in place so you’re prepared in case staff can’t get into the office. Trial your business continuity plan to make sure it works when you put it into action and to iron out any kinks. Whether it’s a train strike or bad weather, it’s important to be prepared.

8x8 Solutions provides cloud-based unified communications and collaboration (UCC) services to companies of all sizes across the UK and globally. 8x8’s software ensures companies work more efficiently and collaboratively.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by 8x8 Solutions .