Threats to business continuity come in many forms, but they all share one common trait – their unpredictability. Still, businesses can prepare for disasters. As a broker, you can equip your clients to stay up and running in the face of the three main risks to an uninterrupted service: physical threats to brick and mortar premises, public health crises and cyber attacks. Let's delve into each aspect and explore how you can offer valuable support to your clients.
Premises: physical threats to business infrastructure
No business is immune from the potential of physical threats to its infrastructure. Whether it’s building damage through fire, flooding, natural disasters or an unexpected utility outage, the impact on business operations and continuity, and the resulting productivity outages, can be severe. Research shows that more than half of such incidents now cost firms above $100,000, indicating that it’s vital to have a contingency plan in place.
One strategy for premises recovery is to be able to relocate in a timely manner. While emergency home working is one answer, not everyone will have the equipment and set-up required to work from home. Having access to well-equipped, safe alternative workspaces provides peace of mind while lost hardware or other equipment is being replaced. With IWG’s Workplace Recovery plans, brokers enable businesses to recover and carry on as usual in times of crisis, with access to a global network of fully furnished, serviced workspaces in as little as four hours.
People: preparing for public health crises
The COVID-19 pandemic brought the potential impact of health crises sharply into focus, leaving many businesses to realise how unprepared they were to cope with the sudden sweeping changes required to combat the spread of the virus. The high cost to businesses due to staff sickness, empty office space and supply chain disruption is still impacting many, bringing home the need to better prepare for future crises.
If home-working is challenging for a business, yet their headquarters is off-limits, organising employees into smaller groups working from a network of local workspaces is a solution.
When the pandemic set in, the best solution that was universally incorporated was to provide workspaces close to the employees. This helped cut down commuting time, reduced exposure to viruses while still providing fully equipped offices that offered collaborative working and helped to lower stress levels.
Privacy - cyber threats and data security
It’s never been more important for businesses to factor in and mitigate risks to privacy as a result of cyber attacks and data loss. Statistics show that ransomware attacks can result in an average of 23 days lost, with downtime and recovery costing firms an average of $1.85m.
Having access to IWG’s powerful IT infrastructure can make your clients’ businesses more resilient in the face of cyber threats. When employees work from home, they may not have the level of security needed to maintain an appropriate level of privacy, but when they work from a shared workspace, they can do so safely in the knowledge that IWG’s secure, business-grade WiFi is regularly and vigorously tested as part of a £50m a year IT spend.
Building business resilience
The ever-present threat of premises damage, health crises and cyber attacks make a robust recovery plan essential to any business. As a broker, you can play a part in contributing to your clients’ business continuity plans by providing them with access to a global network of workspaces – and with them, a bespoke workplace recovery plan tailored to suit their needs.
Learn more about how IWG Workplace Recovery Plans can help your clients continue to thrive when trouble strikes. Contact us today to speak with one of our experts.
