The gravest threat to UK business

Imagine this scenario - it's 10am, the phones in your office are ringing, but an emergency has emptied your office of staff and no one is answering the phones.

What impact could this have on your business?  And what contingencies do you have in place if it happened?

The common standby is to divert calls to other locations but in practice the congestion caused actually exacerbates the situation.  You risk losing even more calls and business, and are prevented from transferring callers to relevant employees.  This often means that callers are tempted to take an alternative course of action - and call your competitors!

Loss of voice telephony is one of the highest recurring causes of business interruption, and a far greater threat than terrorism or loss of utilities.  It is often caused by damage to cables or through barring of entry to workplaces via police exclusion zones or health pandemics, but recent figures indicate only 5% of UK enterprise is protected*.

With most phone carrier solutions costing around £20,000 per annum it's no surprise that protection becomes a matter of budget rather that prudence.  However, as a Director, failing to protect your business from a foreseeable disaster that harms a stakeholder (i.e. employee or customer) could give rise to personal liability claims against you and not your limited company.

Spiral has discovered a solution at a fraction of the normal cost - a product called CONTINUITYCall offered by a supplier called REMEDi. It's a solution already being utilised by NHS Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities which provides a permanently connected 24/7 phone number at a remarkably competitive price.

The product incorporates as standard a number of free service benefits and in the event of an emergency your normal calls are simply routed to home based workers who become your virtual receptionists.

Incoming calls are identified when answered, to flag up that they are business related, and the callers can then be put on hold or transferred onwards in the usual way.  All of this can be provided via the employees normal home line, requiring no extra equipment and without adding any costs to the employee's home phone bill.

The Financial Services sector has for some time been required to look at continuity issues, and in July 2007 the Solicitors new Code of Conduct (rule 5) placed this same requirement on firms of Lawyers. 

The Civil Contingencies Act, 2004 means that if businesses in the supply chain to most local Authorities do not have regularly tested continuity plans in place, their supply contracts are in risk of cancellation.  In these instances, CONTINUITYCall offers an affordable solution.

A downloadable benefits guide on CONTINUITYCall is available by clicking here.

With 3 versions to choose from covering 10 to 5,000 employees, there will be one that is guaranteed to fit your specific needs.

If you would like further information on CONTINUITYCall then contact us here at Spiral.

*Source:  Business Continuity Institute 2005 Survey