Russ Timpson head of Crisisboardroom® and co-founder of Kent crisis experts Horizonscan Ltd, says: “The procession of crises that we’ve seen at the start of this year, one after the other – Brexit, storms, flooding and now Covid19 – have impacted on every aspect of life. We are helping companies who have bases across the world to develop business continuity and recovery plans.
“With every incident, after the initial impact, businesses start to deal with the practicalities. After the human tragedy of this will come the inevitable business minefield. Elements of the supply chain will be badly affected as companies go to the wall. We have already heard of city offices that have been deserted are now querying the need for very expensive city-centre office locations in London when it has just been proved that people can work effectively from home. This will impact on the estates’ sector, an
area that might not have expected to handle a serious downturn in their business.”
Russ is urging businesses to start reassessing where they stand after the emergency stage of the Coronavirus is over, including considering:
- Do you have a Business Continuity plan? Have you tested it?
- Do you have a salvage plan to reduce the effects of flood, etc?
- Have you assessed the resilience of your supply chain post-crisis?
- Have you investigated recent events that have caused delays/problems?
- Do you have access to a staff welfare programme for physiological trauma?
- Do you know what welfare facilities are available from your insurance policy?
- Do you know the name of your responding loss adjuster?
- Do you have a reliable communication system for all employees at their homes?
“Everyone should be talking about how to recover and what this crisis is going to mean for them. The smart companies will be starting to plan for this now – looking at how to reinstate business and adapt because we have to change – the world is not going to be the same after this.
“Last Autumn we launched Crisisboardroom®, a kit to help speed up business response times and establish effective crisis command structures. We never expected it to be needed in as many different scenarios so quickly. It is a mobile resource kit, providing a simple and effective command tool to visualise the status of a crisis. It contains templates and checklists for crisis command with tools and accessories that, over years of use in real situations, have been found to enhance a crisis response.
‘We have heard from clients who have used it in the current emergency and they are saying it has proved invaluable to help them focus on what needs to be done and analyse how to move forward.
For more information please visit: www.crisisboardroom.com
