With this week’s cold weather forecast, businesses need to ensure that their employees are not left outside in the cold. Contributor Rufus Grig, CTO – Maintel.

While the “beast from the east” is not set to return just yet, attempting to journey into the workplace early in the morning is a slippery slope that could lead to serious consequences. 

Not only does this weather disrupt business continuity and efficiency, but, businesses must also consider the days they lose to this weather – be it staff not working, or staff working reduced hours. In the calm before the storm, businesses ought to be thinking about how they can reap the benefits of flexible working and ensuring a policy is in place that prepares employees for these eventualities.

Ultimately, companies need to consider individual employees’ circumstances to truly maximise their efficiency. As many employees face the challenges of school closures and travel disruption this week, businesses will need to be more flexible to allow employees to work where they are most able and productive.

The quiet revolution is already taking place in many organisations up and down the country, transforming the way many of us work. So rather than engaging in a drawn-out, frozen commute, workers can be online and productive. Equipping employees with the right solutions to successfully work remotely and keep company data safe is critical. This enables effective employee performance, recruitment and retention, delivering a good ROI in technology investments.

Let these plummeting temperatures prompt companies to review their flexible working policies. By getting the tools in place needed for employees to work from home securely, disruption to workplace activities can be minimised both now and in the future. Long live flexible working and encouraging everybody to use communication and collaboration tools – whether you are in the office or not!