There is nothing worse than your business being out of action, whether it is for a few hours, a few days or even longer. Business disruption can damage your reputation and, of course, you can lose profit in the process too. Below, we take a look at six things that can cause a disruption to your business, and what you can do to avoid them.
Plumbing problems
There is only one place to begin, and this is with plumbing issues. All businesses can experience plumbing issues, such as a blocked drain. If you work in an office, the disruption is not going to be as great as it would be if you run a restaurant. If you run any type of food establishment, you will have no other choice but to close down until the issue is fixed. After all, the last thing you want is for your customers to eat while a foul smell descends on the restaurant. The best thing to do is have reliable plumbers on hand, such as TRK Plumbing Group, and they can rectify the issue as soon as possible to ensure damage is minimal. You also need to make sure you call a plumber as soon as you notice any potential issue, as this will ensure the problem does not get worse.
A data breach
Data breaches are arguably the biggest threat to businesses today. It seems that a day does not go by without news of some sort of cyber attack. This can cause huge problems for any business, from a damaged reputation to extortionate fines. Of course, you will need to find the issue and rectify it, which takes time. The best approach to avoid a data breach is to have effective cyber security measures in place and an incident response plan ready should something go wrong.
Power outages
There is no denying that power outages are one of the most common causes of disruption to businesses, and you will need to have an appropriate strategy in place for dealing with such instances. There are numerous steps you should take, from assessing the need for an emergency generator to regularly testing your backup generator.
Health and safety incidents
Health and safety incidents can cause huge problems for any business. Proper procedures need to be followed to ensure that the issue is rectified. If someone has been injured, this could also result in bad publicity, which intensifies the dilemma you have on your hands. You need to ensure that you carry out regular risk management assessments and that you adhere to all health and safety regulations relevant to your industry.
Adverse weather
Bad weather can impact transport and stop people from getting to and from work. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do regarding adverse weather, unless there is a way for your employees to work from home, which can be the case for those in office jobs.
Technology issues
Last but not least, issues with technology can cause havoc in the current day and age, as we have such a heavy reliance on the Internet. If you have a problem with your Internet connection or software that you rely on stops working, it can seriously halt productivity. You should always have a backup connection in place, and a plan of action should any of your technology go down.
So there you have it: six of the most common disruptions to businesses. However, knowing what they are and what you can do to combat them, you should now be much better equipped if any of the above happen to you.
