With much of Britain braced for more snow this weekend, some of the lessons learned preparing for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games could be just as useful now, according to Deloitte's resilience team.

Commenting on the need for businesses to be prepared when facing extreme weather, Rick Cudworth, lead partner for resilience and preparedness at Deloitte, says: “With severe weather having the potential to disrupt business, employers are becoming ever more reliant on staff working from home. The benefit of this flexible working is clear, so companies should test their IT systems to make sure they can cope with a sudden spike in users.

“Companies should also review how their severe weather plans will be communicated to staff and test these systems to make sure they still work. It is no use having plans in place if they cannot be effectively implemented. After London 2012 many firms said they had benefited from testing their plans ahead of the Games as this helped raise awareness – the same principles could apply to severe weather planning.

Businesses can benefit from following this winter checklist to minimise the effects of severe weather:

•Monitor severe weather warnings and transport updates and identify those departments/operations/locations most likely to be affected

•Review how severe weather plans are going to be communicated to staff

•Consider testing these communications to ensure information will reach all necessary staff

•Confirm employee contact details

•Make sure staff know how to access remote working and ensure IT systems can cope.

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