Geography: other sites and transport links
It's probably fair to say that central London is going to be worst affected in terms of traffic but there are a number of locations outside of the M25 which will also be holding events. Consideration needs to be given to where spectators will be travelling from and by what means. Spectators from other countries may not spend their entire time at the games, so tourist areas around the country, particularly in the South East will see an increase in visitors. If you're doing business in areas of interest to tourists in general, have you considered the potential impact?
Timeline: when does your plan start and end?
What timeframe do you use when planning for any disruption? Do you start and end at the opening and closing ceremonies or consider inclusion of related events such as the Olympic torch relay and the Paralympics? From the torch relay arriving in the UK on 18th May to the closing ceremony of the Paralympics on 9th September is over 100 days. If you've only planned for three weeks then maybe it's time to rethink?
Suppliers and Customers: secondary and tertiary elements
Your business may not be based in central London or even have a significant presence in and around the capital. What about your suppliers and other third parties on which you rely? Having dealt with the primary consideration of your own business, you then need to consider the secondary impact of your suppliers not being able to fulfil their obligations to you. I've discussed previously about the issues of companies relying on trains and the tube to get their staff into work. These are third parties over which you have no control and no agreed levels of service. It is important to make sure therefore, that those third parties with which you do hold such contracts have considered how they are going the continue to provide the required levels of service throughout the games. The tertiary elements are the suppliers to your suppliers. For key third-parties, it's one thing to have them guarantee a level of service to you but can you be sure that they have undergone the same level of due diligence for their suppliers? The secondary consideration is ensuring your suppliers can still provide services to you, the tertiary consideration is ensuring that they are also considering the same risks to their businesses.
Your customers are the other group with whom you have contracts and to whom you have committed an agreed level of service. As well as making appropriate plans during 2012 for your own benefit, customers will want to see that you are also considering the continued provision of service to them. Where that service relies on infrastructure that will be under increasing demand and pressure during the Olympics, the basis of this requirement is well-founded.
Staff attendance: has everyone got tickets?
How many of your employees successfully obtained tickets for an Olympic event? How many have tickets for the same event? You may not get an idea until the opportunity to book time-off for 2012 comes around, but even then you will have people who wait until closer to the time to book their holiday even though they've had their tickets booked and the dates known for over a year.
Minimum notification periods, the ability of management to reject holiday requests and the threat of disciplinary action for taking time off without approval may not seem as important to some individuals as the seemingly once in a lifetime opportunity to be at the London Olympics. You may know how many staff have requested leave on a particular day but how can you be sure until the day arrives and people turn up (or not)? Being ready for staff shortages during key events is important. You may feel comfortable in the knowledge you can discipline or even dismiss those who deliberately do not turn up for critical duties, but that doesn't help you on the day.
Other events in 2012
The olympics, in isolation, is going to be disruptive enough but don't forget all the regular and special events that happen throughout London that might just add an additional level of complexity and concern to an already busy summer. The Queen's Diamond Jubilee earns us an extra bank holiday in June and will include a number of events around the capital and Wimbledon attracts plenty of crowds and will do the same again across June and July. The Notting Hill carnival promises to once again be bigger and better in 2012 than previous years and there are plenty of festivals and other events across the capital which will help contribute to the mayhem.
Now is the time to act!
Don't leave it until the last minute to prepare yourself for next summer. Act now to make sure you're ready for possible disruptions:
- Think about which of your suppliers may be affected by disruptions
- Consider which critical suppliers you want to approach to discuss their plans to deal with how any disruptions may affect their supply chain.
- Consider how disruptions in London may affect your customers
- Find out who in your company is planning to take time off, well in advance.
- Consider the timeframe you want to plan for. How does this match up to critical times in your own business processes?
Photo: xedos4
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