Don't let the weather get you down

Small business owners hoping for a good start to 2010 following on from the difficulties of last year have been disappointed by the recent extreme weather conditions.

The snow and the ice has meant that many small firms have seen their start to the year disrupted, with many staff not making it in for several days of the first real business week of the year.

However, data has revealed that the majority of staff have made a real effort to get into work This is partly to do with feelings of staff insecurity; with many businesses being forced to make redundancies employees that are still in work are generally striving to go that extra mile.

A recent survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) revealed that the majority of companies have seen less than 10% of staff absent due to the adverse weather conditions.

The figures showed that 61% of businesses have seen less than 10% of their staff absent and 65% replied that any staff members facing poor travelling conditions are able to work from home.

"Even though three-quarters of businesses say their activities are being disrupted, they are also reporting relatively few absences, and high numbers of staff working from home. Taken together, business flexibility and employee diligence will limit the economic impact of the latest cold snap," said Adam Marshall of the BCC.

Even if staff didn't make it in work, this is not the business headache that it would have been a decade ago. Of course it is still inconvenient, but thanks to remote working it is not disastrous.

Laptops, mobile phones and remote logins now mean that staff can work from home. In some cases, this can even be more productive, as there are not distractions of colleagues and phones constantly going off.

While the start of 2010 has not been ideal for small businesses owners, it could also have been a lot worse. Businesses owners must remain optimistic, and not let the recent events damper what should be a much better year than 2009.





Post Date: January 8th, 2010