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Your employees may already be planning to attend or watch certain events, volunteer as London Ambassadors or London 2012 ‘Games Makers’ or avoid London altogether during the Games. It is expected that London’s creaking transport infrastructure will have to accommodate an increased volume of tourists from June 2012 onwards. During the Olympic Games themselves, a further 500,000 people on each day of competition are expected to use public transport, creating huge issues for commuters travelling to work. Businesses in affected areas of London are already being asked to look at alternative plans for how their employees travel to work and enabling employees to work from home is being championed.
Start planning now
Businesses need to start preparing for the Games now. I recommend that you:
- assess what your business needs will be, especially necessary staffing levels based upon expected business activity during the Games
- undertake a staff survey to identify which staff want to take time off to attend or watch televised events, to volunteer or even stay at home or go on holiday to avoid the Games altogether
- check if your premises are in an area directly affected by travel issues
- establish how staff travel to and from work to assess how that could be affected
- develop an action plan to address any challenges the Games present
- develop a leave policy
- ensure you keep communicating with your staff
Volunteers
People have been offered the chance to volunteer in two ways:
- The Mayor of London asked people to become ‘London Ambassadors’ to welcome visitors to the city, be the face of London and show them its ‘hidden treasures’. Applicants have until next December 2012 to discover if they have been successful. If they have, they are expected to undertake 3 full training days between January 2012 and July 2012. From 20 July to 10 September 2012, they will be required to commit 5-hour shifts over 6 consecutive days as Ambassadors.
- London 2012 Games Makers will be assisting at Games events at all UK venues. Over 240,000 people have volunteered to commit to 3 days training leading up to the Games and then a minimum of 10 days during the Games (or 20 days if they have volunteered for both the Games and Paralympics).
Engagement - staff surveys
- Do you know which of your employees have tickets to Games events?
- Even if they don’t, are they planning to watch events at the public venues planned for throughout London?
- Have any of them volunteered to be either London Ambassadors or London 2012 Games Makers?
- Are they planning to book annual leave?
- Do you know how your employees get to work and if their travel plans will be affected by the Games?
I recommend that you carry out a staff survey to understand the intentions of your staff and to identify if you have any issues that you will need to consider how to address. A questionnaire would be a good starting point.
While there is potential for significant disruption next summer, the Games do present a perfect opportunity for businesses to engage with their staff and boost staff morale. Identifying their expectations and requirements is the first step in planning ahead to deal with requests for absence and address any clashes with business needs fairly, transparently and consistently.
Managing business continuity and employee expectations: developing an action plan
Once you have an understanding of your employees’ expectations and their requirements you can start to consider all the options that are available. We set out some options below.
It is more than likely that there will be clashes over annual leave – with more employees making requests than the business can accommodate. You need to consider how you are going to deal with this. Businesses in certain sectors will be facing huge demand, while others are likely to be quiet. If your business is in the later sector – how about offering unpaid leave?
A bespoke Olympic policy to deal with requests for annual leave may be advisable.
A number of high profile companies, such as PWC, are championing volunteers and giving them additional paid leave. Businesses are being urged to do this. Your business may not be in a position to be so generous – but unpaid leave should be considered.
If you are considering offering unpaid leave, you must check what impact it will have on such things as pension contributions and health insurance. We recommend that you discuss these matters with your insurance broker and pension provider before preparing a Games-dedicated leave policy.
Your business may have to make difficult decisions and potentially turn down leave requests to ensure business continuity. In establishing your leave policy, you should communicate this to staff and establish a deadline to receive requests as early as possible to be considered by the business.
Remote working
Employees may simply be unable to get to work on time or at all based on the expected strains on the transport network. Disruption to business could simply be unavoidable.
To minimise disruption to your business you should consider remote or home working while the Games are on, even if this may only be an option for certain sectors and particular employees. As set out above, this option is being championed by organisers.
While businesses need to establish whether remote working is feasible they will also need to ensure that their employer’s liability insurance will cover home working. Businesses should discuss this with their insurance broker before any decisions are made.
Flexible hours
Allowing employees to work flexible hours or swap shifts may also enable staff to attend Games events or avoiding travelling at peak times, while still carrying out their roles and ensuring business continuity.
Periods of time off during the working day could be considered for events people really want to watch and would help build goodwill.
Watching events on site
Before even considering whether employees can watch TV or in the office, businesses must ensure that they have the appropriate licences in place to broadcast these events.
Given that the vast majority of employees have smart phones that they can watch surreptitiously, you may as well enable them to watch events openly! Think of it as a team building exercise and a way of cushioning the blow for employees denied leave. If you are going to do this, I’d recommend it is highlighted in the staff survey as it may lead to fewer leave requests.
Alternative travel arrangements
Those employees that live within a reasonable distance of your premises may be able to consider alternatives to using London’s travel network. Possible alternatives could be encouraging cycling to work and introducing a cycle-to-work scheme or arranging for staff transport by minibus.
Plan ahead
However your business wishes to deal with the challenges presented by the Games, the key is to start planning now and to communicate early and clearly with staff.
The Games are an opportunity to engage with staff and boost morale if managed effectively. Through good planning and effective communication, businesses should avoid leaving employees disappointed and ensure that their business is not affected by the Games.
See also 'Email/memo to staff regarding absence during the 2012 London Olympic Games' in Policies and Documents.
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