Harsh winter weather top cause for U.K. business disruption, many companies unprepared: survey

Bad weather, particularly in winter, is the leading cause of disruption to businesses in the United Kingdom, notes a new report from the Chartered Management Institute there.

Over the last 12 months, 77% of the organizations included in a survey said they were affected by winter snow, suggests the report, titled “Weathering the Storm,” produced in part by the British Standards Institution, the Business Continuity Institute and the Cabinets office.

Travel and childcare issues were among the top reasons why staff couldn’t make it to work because of bad weather, causing three in five organizations to suffer financially, says the report, which is based on a survey of 637 managers within CMI’s membership base in January and February.

Managers included in the survey estimated the average cost to their organization to be around £52,000. (At print time, £1 was equal to $1.55). Some estimated the cost to be as high as more than £1 million, the report notes.

The disruption can also have impacts such as reduced revenue, reputational damage and lost opportunities for new business, the report says.

Extreme weather is increasingly disrupting business, the report suggests. Ten years ago, weather interfered with 15% of businesses over a year, the report says. Five years ago, that rose to 29% and last year, to 49%.

Still, weather barely makes the top 10 in the list of threat that business managers say are most likely to disrupt them, the report says. However, 90% of organizations who have business continuity plans said they were ready for this winter’s snowfall, the report notes.

The report describes such management plans as “a framework for identifying potential threats to an organisation and building organisational capability to respond to such threats, in order to safeguard the interests of key stakeholders, reputation, brand and value-adding activities.”

Sixty-three percent of businesses in the survey said they have such plans in place, up from 61% last year and 58% in 2011, the report adds.

Other highlights from the survey results include:

• 86% of managers believe planning improves business resilience
• 74%  agree it protects reputation
• 87% of those activating their business continuity arrangements said it effectively reduced disruption
• 81% say any cost of developing plans is justified by the benefits it brings

“Today there is an even greater need for good business continuity practices to alleviate the negative impacts of unpredictable scenarios, such as adverse weather conditions or supply chain issues,” Anne Hayes, head of market development at BSI Standard commented in a statement on the report.

“Having an agile approach in response to such circumstances is crucial so that reputations remain intact, disruptions are minimized and risk is reduced. Adopting a business continuity management (BCM) standard such as ISO 22301 helps organisations to safeguard their business by taking a proactive and preventative attitude.”

The report, available online, includes tips for businesses to be prepared for disruptions to their organization.