Stranded, but still productive
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010 Karen Ambrose Hickey, Editor
“I am stranded in Northern Ireland because of the volcano.”
…Did I just say that? On this occasion, rather surreally, that’s exactly what I found myself emailing into work on Monday morning. Like a large proportion of the British and indeed global population, I too have become caught up in the volcanic chaos and, as a result, currently find myself “stranded” on an extended holiday in Portrush. I use the word “stranded” very loosely here – there are worse places to be!
However amidst all the disruption, luckily for me – I have access to my laptop, phone and iPass account so the “Portrush office” is now officially open. A sigh of relief that I am productive, is in no doubt shared by a number of business people, holed up in various far flung locations around the world. And one which will be most felt by their employers – with the papers estimating postponed flights for at least another week – a large proportion of these marooned, mobile employees are ultimately redundant. And unless, like me, your employees are making their way back, slowly but surely, by another mode of transport, you are likely to feel the pinch – whether it be in terms of hotel or food costs.
However, there is a light breaking through the ash filled cloud. With enterprise mobility services like iPass, employees can remain productive and accessible without incurring any further cost to the employer. A mobility strategy, or more appropriately, a disaster contingency plan, such as this, is imperative in an age where employees are increasingly mobile. Particularly now that scientists have placed the blame at the door of global warming and perhaps unsurprisingly, have gone on to predict a rise in disasters such as this.
So whether you’re patiently waiting for a flight, trawling back home via whatever means possible, or looking to the British Navy to save the day – one thing that has been made clear by this unfortunate disaster (apart from the skies of course), is the importance of a good disaster contingency plan.
Some key points to consider when putting together an effective disaster contingency plan are:
- Identify frequent flyers and highly mobile employees
- Ensure a range of available connectivity options, as during a disaster, choice is likely to be limited
- Work out how little the employee will need to survive and maintain productivity – is a smartphone sufficient or will they need more?
- Ensure appropriate security measures are implemented on the chosen device/s
- Look into building relationships with certain hotel chains – so if/when an employee or multiple employees are stranded, can the company get a cheap tariff?
So, how did you get back?
Tags: enterprise mobility, Europe, wi-fi access
