You may need a combination of all three – think about your workforce and the kind of support you’d need to keep critical (and non-critical) teams working. Dynamic gives you a functioning, private office space within a business day – we recommend this for 20% of your team. Reserve gives you a permanently reserved workspace – ideal for the 1% of roles. Rapid provides ad hoc, emergency workspace to any member of your team who needs it.

Business interruption insurance is not an answer to disaster – it may help limit financial loss, but it cannot return service to the customer, nor restore a lost reputation. Your business is most vulnerable when an unpredictable disaster strikes. Without a proper plan that considers every available solution, the chance of failure is greatly increased.

The best plans will strike a balance between:
– Dedicated workplace recovery for critical staff needing specialist equipment
– Predesignated office space for staff dealing with confidential information
– Non-critical staff working at home during a recovery period
– Facilitated flexible office spaces to maintain a team approach and allow access to facilities.

The best prepared businesses know what matters and what is needed to keep working. They also pay attention to the needs of employees during a disaster recovery operation. These needs might include:
– Family commitments
– The desire to work within a team
– Access to support networks
– Secure communications
– Modern facilities.

Consider the transport connections or parking facilities. If you’re planning for the threat of power cuts or regional evacuations, be sure to choose a location far enough away from the existing office not to be impacted by the same event. And consider your staff’s response to a new location – is it as accessible for your team and will they be happy to travel there?

The idea of working from home may initially seem like an attractive one and may indeed be the best option for employees who already practice it, but when used only as an emergency option, it makes many assumptions and is rarely sustainable in the longer term. There is an assumption that all employees have sufficiently fast, reliable, and secure connections and communication networks. And disasters are not confined to commercial property alone – residential areas can also be hit, and often with far greater consequences. Also, it’s important to remember that staff working at home can quickly feel isolated, with a lack of interaction with colleagues.