Guides and Whitepapers

Preparing Your Department for Winter Weather You probably don't want your staff taking too many risks commuting to the office during the worst winter weather conditions, but you probably do want to keep serving the other parts of your organization counting on your support and your customers. The office itself may be unusable during power outages, floods due to burst pipes, or similar problems caused by snow, ice or cold and travel to the office might be risky or impossible – but that doesn't mean you have to close the doors until Spring arrives. Many workers can remain productive working from home or a remote location, with a telework, mobile work or flexible work program, but only if you prepare them and your department for continuing operations during winter weather and other such events. Ask if your agency or business has a COOP (continuity of operations), a business continuity or a telework program. If so, pull together the resources and determine if there is organizational support for keeping your part of the business resilient during weather events, natural or manmade disasters. If not, try these ideas to prepare your people and your group or department for smooth performance and service delivery even in the face of severe winter weather or similar situations. Check for existing COOP plan or person Look for an existing program, plan or even just a person within your organization that is responsible for continuity of operations, business resiliency or disaster response. Ask if there is specific policy covering winter weather or telework, if there is support for COOP, and what training or resources are available to get your staff ready. With any luck, you'll find a program or a champion ready to help with pre-existing plans and procedures. Get management support If there is no standing business continuity plan or no existing telework policy that covers workers staying at home to avoid serve weather, then seek an executive or management supporter who understands the need for your department or function to operate day in and day out, regardless of the weather conditions. Enlist their help in providing support and priority as you assemble a plan and practice executing on the steps to keep your workers safe without interruption of your service, function or business. Identify customer and business requirements You will likely run into limitations on resources or funding, so you should be prepared with a clear business case for creating and maintaining a program. You'll need to point out what is lost on each day that your department cannot operate normally due to inclement weather or other location-centric issues. ©2015 AgilQuest Corporation. All rights reserved. 1

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