As the threat of colder and more severe winters becomes a distinct possibility, experts at PwC in the Midlands are warning of damage to reputation and competitiveness for organisations that do not have business continuity plans.

Matthew Hammond, partner, business recovery services, at PwC in the Midlands, said:

"Extreme weather looks set to increase and businesses that fail to prepare don't know what they need to do in order to keep their businesses running through the disruption. Once the snow has fallen, it is too late. The exceptional snow fall and prolonged period of cold at both the start and end of 2010 demonstrates the need to take this seriously.

"Businesses operate within complex supply-chains and it could take the failure of just one supplier or product to cause chaos. If demand for products and services reduces, then scaling back operations is not a problem but extreme weather may increase demand, in which case they may need additional resources rather than making do with less." 

The most immediate impact of extreme winter weather is disruption to transport. Businesses need to be able to cope with large parts of their workforce and key staff being absent for days. As employees may not be able to get to work, or may be forced to stay at home to look after dependants, even small pockets of absenteeism of highly skilled or critical staff will impact normal operations.

When the period of cold weather becomes prolonged, businesses need to account for a reduced supply of consumables like energy and fuel, plus the possibility that inbound and outbound supplies may be delayed or may not even reach their destination. For companies big and small, having generic business continuity arrangements does not address many of the issues specific to severe weather.

Midlands businesses should think about the following to minimise risk and help improve their ability to cope:

·         Preparation is everything: Without preparation, organisations do not know which key products and services must keep running, what their minimum resourcing levels are and what alternative places of work and ways of working are available.

·         Assess the threat: Identify potential vulnerabilities to extreme weather, such as infrastructure that could be damaged by ice and snow, buildings liable to flooding, areas where icy conditions could present a particular hazard.

·         Assess business impact: Identify key business processes, the impact of their disruption, and key dependencies within internal and external supply-chains

·         Build business continuity plans: Develop incident, crisis, and business recovery plans to optimise their response to the threat of extreme weather, considering alternative sources of supply and distribution.

·         Rehearse: Design and facilitate exercises to rehearse plans and train teams

·         Review on a regular basis: Review plans and preparedness to respond to the threat of extreme weather.

·         Pay special attention to communication: Communicate to ensure staff, suppliers, and customers are kept in the picture as necessary. Proactive communication enhances reputation, and poor communication will lose business.