So it’s a year today to the start of the Olympic Games… and not a day too soon for businesses to start planning for the impact it will have on their day-to-day operations.
If you’re based in London (or near any of the other Olympic sites) travel is going to be by far the biggest headache. Transport for London (TfL) and London 2012 have teamed up to offer a range of support including one-to-one help with travel action plans for companies with more than 200 staff and a series of free workshops for smaller businesses.
There’s also an on-line planning tool to help businesses of all sizes think about how the Olympic Games will affect them and what preparations they may need to put in place.
But of course it’s not just about planning how your employees will get to work, how suppliers will get to you and how you will manage to deliver business as usual during the chaos. Like any major sporting event, people will want to watch.
Some (though probably not many) will have got lucky and will have tickets for their favoured events. Those (most of us) who haven’t will want be glued to the TV – especially if it looks like a medal might be in the offing.
So you may have to manage an influx of holiday and absence requests for the days in question – and you’ll certainly need to plan for the possibility that a few people might just throw a convenient sickie.
As ever, ACAS has offered sensible advice. Its urging businesses to be as flexible as possible, while at the same time giving staff a gentle reminder about policies and procedures so that they’re quite clear about expectations around attendance and performance during the 2012 Olympic Games.
Encouraging staff to get holiday requests in early to avoid dispute and/or disappointment probably isn’t a bad idea either. It means you can flag up any issues well in advance and plan for extra cover or more flexible working arrangements if you need to.
Of course if you do find yourself having to turn lots of requests down, you could always sweeten the pill by setting up a large screen so that people can cheer Team GB on alongside their colleagues. Chez Lucas, we won’t be trackside 🙁 but there will be a few teenage boys shouting at the telly while the BMX biking is on.
Cezanne HR please note, I’m following my own advice and giving you early warning there won’t be any blogging happening on that day!
Erika Lucas
Writer and Communications Consultant
Erika Lucas is a writer and communications consultant with a special interest in HR, leadership, management and personal development. Her career has spanned journalism and PR, with previous roles in regional press, BBC Radio, PR consultancy, charities and business schools.
