As businesses have been given the green light to resume activity, do you believe that your business is in a viable position to reopen?
This of course follows the Governments easing of restrictions and the recent relaxation of the public health guidance across many sectors – yet still applying social distancing measures.
According to a recent Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey, 51% of the workforce was still working remotely instead of at their normal place of work.
In some industries, this number is even higher, such as in professional services, where 79% of staff are working remotely. Whereas, in other industries fewer than half of workers were doing so, such as in distribution (49%) and manufacturing (30%). In addition, the prevalence of remote working varies by region, from 57% in London to 35% in the West Midlands.
According to data from audits run by the Risk Dashboard’s most recent FREE edition for SME’s entitled – Survival, Resilience and Growth, businesses are taking a cautious approach to returning to their offices:
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- Health concerns are fundamental – businesses want to ensure they are putting the health of their people and the wider public first, particularly concerns about a second wave
- Using public transport and managing childcare responsibilities are the top concerns for employers and employees alike
- Following social distancing rules in the workplace is, in most cases, only possible by taking a measured and staggered approach. How to manage pinch points within offices (e.g. canteens and toilets) is a top concern for employers
- Where firms have been eager to return staff to offices, concerns around isolation and employees’ mental health are prevalent.
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What about the office itself? Can you viably operate if social distancing of 1.5 metres is still enforced, these measures alone are going to have a negative impact on your operating capacity.
As a result we are seeing many businesses are now reviewing their office space requirements going forward, with 47% of submitted audits indicating that businesses require much less space than they currently have.
Why is all this RELEVANT?
Because you are now having to manage ALL your operating RISKS!
Risk management should be integrated throughout every organisation, no matter its type and size. Everyone, regardless of role and seniority, needs to be able to manage and take risk.
Ultimately, effective decision making, and successful performance is the mark of excellence in risk management.
One certainty for the coming months will be the adoption of risk management strategies, by companies and organisations such as; Accountants, Chambers of Commerce and the Insurance sector, who have recognised the need to provide risk management and mitigation to enhance relationships and to offer a service differentiator.
If you’re and SME, ‘Don’t worry – help is at hand’
I would suggest a FREE audit on your business to determine its post COVID-19 preparedness.
This FREE audit would allow you to work on any COVID-19 risks and threats that the audit uncovers.
The Risk Dashboard’s 6 steps to risk management, allows you to complete a COVID-19 secure audit, using it’s unique compliance technology;
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- You undertake a business audit of your organisation
- The audit interface identifies vulnerabilities, gaps and growth opportunities
- The task management function allows you to work through quantifiable risks
- Our weighted algorithm prioritises the actions that need your attention first
- Our partner programme connects you to subject matter experts for support
- Together, we create a risk-based framework to reduce COVID-19 threats and costs
Our latest FREE to deploy solution entitled – ‘ Survival, Resilience and Growth’, has proven to be a great success for SME’s and the management of their businesses throughout the pandemic.
Risk Dashboard is easy to use, agile and dynamic, meaning that it is able to grow and develop with your post COVID-19 secure business needs.
You need to ask yourself this simple question – can I afford NOT to undertake a FREE audit of your business?
If you would like to download your FREE edition to assist you in your grant application, whilst developing your post COVID-19 resilience strategy for survival, please see your local Growth Hub, Accountant of Business Advisor for a FREE to use licence, or contact the Risk Dashboard using: https://www.riskdashboard.co.uk/SRG/ using voucher code: NCBA3 or contact Neil Campbell, Commercial Director at Risk Dashboard on info@riskdashboard.co.uk.
We look forward to hearing from you.