Darryl Paul – Head of Continuity and Resilience

With the football World Cup finals upon us, and running for a full month, employers are worried about the disruption that one of the ‘greatest shows on earth’ will bring.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has warned that employers who impose a blanket ban on providing the flexibility that allows staff to watch football during the World Cup risk de-motivating staff and losing hours through unauthorised and last minute absenteeism.

Many organisations consider staff to be their greatest asset, and some of the key risks from staff absenteeism include - lower output, weaker supply chain, and a reduction in quality and quantity of services.  This potentially can lead to a loss of income and customer trust, impacting both bottom and top line.

Even scheduled leave due to staff attending events at home or in South Africa can have surprising impact to commerce.  Let’s hope that there are not strikes or an ash cloud to delay travellers returning to work!

What should organisations do?
Organisations should be proactive and build events such as this into their business continuity and resilience plans. This will reduce risk by improving staff morale and productivity, and ensuring disruption is minimised.

Consider whether allowing World Cup games to be televised during working hours could work for your business; what rules would need to surround this.  Consider what flexibility you can provide for employees wishing to book annual leave to coincide with games. Provide clear guidelines for both staff and managers and ensure they are communicated well in advance.

You can use this as an opportunity to motivate your staff.  Perhaps an aligned competition or allowing televised games or flexible working as a reward for achieving targets.

But, do not forget that not all employees wish to watch the football. Here lies another opportunity - ask these employees to cover the absenteeism of the football fans and reward them with flexibility in their working hours.

The World Cup is just one of many scheduled and unforeseen events that have a potential impact on the continuity of your business. Our experience in working with clients in this area has shown that effective planning can add real value to a business.

Have you a holistic plan in place to ensure continuity whatever may occur?

At Atos Consulting, Business Continuity and Resilience is led through our Information Security and Compliance team.

Read more about: Information Security & Compliance