Prepare your business now for future lockdowns
As the government has finally begun easing lockdown people have had a chance to think about life returning to normal. Just being allowed out of our homes more than once each day felt like a true taste of freedom.
We’ve also seen people returning to work, trying to get the economy moving once more. The first major wave of infection (thankfully) passed. But COVID-19 is still present.
There could be more lockdowns on the way - but they will be called something different
Until a vaccine for COVID-19 is discovered, we can expect to see a steady stream of infections across the UK and beyond. And as people return to work and socialising, we may see the famous ‘R’ rate to begin climbing again.
This accelerating rate of infection will be most keenly felt in cities where social distancing is much harder. If the ‘R’ goes above one and the virus begins spreading rapidly we could see the beginning of regional lockdowns, to try and contain further infections.
The long-awaited Test and Trace system will shortly go into effect, providing COVID-19 tests for any individual who is exhibiting symptoms of the virus. Should they test positive, anyone who has been in close contact with that individual will be alerted by the NHS and instructed to self-isolate for 14 days.
This means that any business operating from a city is extremely likely to see further disruption. If one of your staff tests positive for the virus, all of your employees will have to stay home - whether they are unwell or not. You may also lose individual employees because they have come into contact with an infected third party outside work.
Self-isolation is also far stricter than the previous nation-wide lockdown - individuals cannot leave their homes under any circumstances, including going to work. Small businesses be warned – you may experience significant operational disruption again before the end of the year.
Turning a national emergency into a business disaster
If the first wave of infections has taught us anything, it is the value of business continuity planning. Those organisations who had adopted remote working technologies like G Suite by Kimbley IT were the least affected when the order came through to close offices.
Other, less well-prepared organisations weren’t so fortunate. Instead, they were forced to cobble together a set of tools to achieve some basic level of productivity. Uptake of Zoom video conferencing rocketed because no one had time to do due diligence or testing. Later this lack of preparedness proved to be a disaster when issues with reliability, security and privacy came to light.
It is highly likely that these under-prepared businesses will discover they have lost, leaked or had sensitive information stolen from them. All because they didn’t have the right remote working tools in place ahead of time.
No excuse for not preparing for further disruption
“We knew we were capable of working remotely and many of us already did who travel frequently, but we were able to swiftly shift to stay home and able to work closely together with G Suite by Kimbley IT.”
Those with business continuity plans should have noticed virtually zero disruption to their operations. And they will realise similar benefits when the Test and Trace regime begins to kick in.
As Kimbley IT client Ivan Skidmore at Power Minerals said;
“We knew we were capable of working remotely and many of us already did who travel frequently, but we were able to swiftly shift to stay home and able to work closely together with G Suite by Kimbley IT.”
Business continuity and remote working tools are not reserved for enterprise-class organisations. With G Suite by Kimbley IT, even the smallest SME can be prepared for home working and social isolation.
As you consider re-opening offices do not get caught up in planning for business as usual. Instead, you must focus your efforts on maintaining business as usual when your office closes again. You can, and must, prepare because there is no excuse at all for failing to plan for staff being forced into self-isolation.
What is your next step?
To learn more about G Suite by Kimbley IT and how we can prepare you for the next wave of lockdowns, book a video call.