Snow Ready

Last December saw temperatures in the UK drop to almost record breaking lows, this year we seem to have started a month earlier, with 2010 recording the coldest November night in Britain since 1985. 

Travel conditions have become perilous, with road closures, rail cancellations and air disruption rife.  In Scotland, Wales and parts of Northern England, drivers are being asked to stay at home unless it is absolutely necessary to travel.  Widespread School closures are causing even more havoc up and down the country due to burst water pipes and broken boilers. 

Inevitably, this has a direct affect on day to day business, as employers can not get to work, or have to stay at home unexpectedly to look after the kids.  Today, businesses can take steps to improve their communication and information technology infrastructures to buffer the effect of an outbreak on their daily operations.  This is not necessarily as complicated or expensive as it sounds. 

One of these steps is switching to a business VoIP service, which allows employees full and secure access to the business communications network of their company from their homes. The flexibility and features of this service makes it suitable for all types of organisations, but in particular those that are multi-sited. It allows for employees to be just as efficient when they are outside of the office, as they are in the office. 

To overcome the effects of a national crisis, businesses need to make sure that they have a flexible working policy in place to avoid unexpected downtime, and ensure employees that can’t make it into work can continue working productively from home, or indeed wherever they are.

Get a grip over UK travel congestion

So far, this year’s strikes have affected the trains, the London Underground and air travel, but looking at figures out on the 3rd November, car travel is not a great option either.



According to the figures, Wednesday is the worst day for traffic jams with roads more congested in Britain than any other day of the week. Compared to other European countries we do not perform well either, with UK drivers spending more time in traffic then drivers in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Holland.


The index from traffic information company INRIX, also found that whilst Wednesday was found to be the worst overall for congestion, Monday is the worst for morning congestion. In fact, the worst commuting hour for drivers is 8am to 9am on Mondays, with Friday having the worst evening traffic. The worst traffic bottleneck is a section of the M5 heading towards the M6 at Birmingham, where on a Friday, between 5pm and 6pm, the average speed is only 8mph.


Manchester drivers suffer from jams the most, spending an average of 72 hours a year stuck in traffic, the research suggests.


Work is a core component of a healthy life, but so is a work-life balance. Whatever day you travel on, or whether you are from the North or the South, East or West, there is now technology available that can help staff achieve just that.


Talk to Adodo to find out how 0800 092 1471

Snow Ready?

December 2009 saw temperatures in the UK drop to almost record breaking lows. Travel conditions became perilous, with road closures, rail cancellations and air disruption rife. Widespread School closures caused even more havoc, which according to the Federation of Small Businesses, had a significant knock on affect for many companies through lost working days.


Before the snow became such a problem, we had the threat of the swine flu pandemic bringing the country to a stand still. The reality was far less dramatic, but businesses did see unusually high rates of employee absenteeism.


Neither one of these threats have been completely conquered, and even if they had, the truth of the matter is that there is always another potential threat around the corner. Today, businesses can take steps to improve their communication and information technology infrastructures to buffer the effect of an outbreak on their daily operations. This is not necessarily as complicated or expensive as it sounds.


One of these steps is switching to a business VoIP service, which allows employees full and secure access to the business communications network of their company from their homes. The flexibility and features of this service makes it suitable for all types of organisations, but in particular those that are mutil-sited. It allows for employees to be just as efficient when they are outside of the office, as they are in the office. This means that if they are contagious, they can work from home without the risk of spreading illnesses among their peers. Furthermore, if they are stranded due to bad weather, they can continue to work without disruption.


To overcome the effects of a national crisis, businesses need to make sure that they have a flexible working policy in place to avoid unexpeted downtime, and ensure employees that can’t make it into work can continue working productively from home, or indeed wherever they are.


Helpful Links:

VOIP Solutions and SIP Trunks
Your Business and Swine Flu
Homeworker
Mobile Working
Audio Conferencing
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