Employers unprepared for Olympics disruption

Workforce planning vital to gain full business benefit from 2012 Games

Nearly a third of UK employers have not yet made any preparations for the impact the 2012 Olympics will have on their workforce, research has found.

A survey of 1,200 businesses by BT revealed that 29 per cent did not have plans to deal with Olympic disruption – which could include a fall in staff attendance and employee transport problems – when the event takes place between the 27th of July and the 12th of August this year.

This lack of planning is surprising given that nearly all the employers surveyed (93 per cent) recognised that there would be some negative knock-on effects on their workforce capability during the London Olympics.

With less than 200 days to go, the research suggests that if organisations remain unprepared large numbers of them will “miss out” on the financial boost that the Games has to offer. In addition to employees taking time off to volunteer for the Games and to watch certain events, employers also said they expect to see supply chain and travel disruption, lower staff attendance and productivity issues.

Yet the potential business benefits were widely recognised, as 68 per cent said they expected a spike in demand for goods and services as up to a million visitors arrive in the UK for the event.

Almost half the businesses (45 per cent) predicted a rise in sales and the same number (45 per cent) expected new international business opportunities.

Previous BT research on the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games backs the idea that businesses will not profit fully if they ignore workforce planning. Research on those Games found that half of the companies in and around the Canadian city felt they could have done better from the event or that they had missed out on opportunities.

Colin Hansen, former British Columbia Minister responsible for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games, said that British companies are right to be optimistic because the Olympics had a huge economic benefit in Vancouver and across Canada as a whole.

However, he said that the scale of the event was bigger than anybody expected and many companies were “not geared up” for the size of the opportunity.

“Nobody in the UK should expect next summer to be business as usual, but with the right plans in place, such as flexible working, every business – large or small – can take advantage of the occasion and seize the long-term economic benefits,” Hansen said.

Geoffrey Mead, partner at law firm Eversheds, said: “It is not too late for HR to prepare their organisations for the Olympics.

“Clarifying the likely staffing needs of the business, refining or developing clear staff policies, especially those dealing with absence procedures, as well as ensuring they are communicated clearly to staff will go a long way towards avoiding many of the short term problems that could arise.”

Clear strategies for holiday leave must be in place, especially as some organisations will have an increase in work and may not be able to allow any holiday requests at this time, he said.

“As part of any strategy, employers need to understand the extent of likely demand for time off. Staff should therefore be asked about their plans to request leave over the Olympics well in advance so that the organisation can consider the best approach.”

Acas also has guidance available for employers on managing holiday during the event and for those who have staff volunteering for the Games to help avoid misunderstandings

Claire Churchard 11 January 2012