Member Article

Is your business ready for the Euros?

No, not a Brexit warning, but a reminder Euro 2016 starts today and with kick off times for the month-long tournament between 2pm to 8pm, organisations are gearing up for some workforce issues.

Organisations are not obliged to allow time off for employees to watch the tournament, but with so many teams involved in this expanded event, 24 teams this year for the first time, productivity problems are inevitable.

Getting the balance right between keeping employees happy and upsetting a valued workforce will be essential to good relationships long after the cup has been held aloft according to Maxine Park of ServicesNowGroup: “A blanket refusal to allow any involvement could well be counter-productive.

“With so many nations represented within UK workforces, this might be an opportunity to improve employee engagement and productivity by allowing staff to watch or listen to matches and feel part of the action during working hours.

“There are likely to be a few last-minute holiday requests and even a few sick-days, but organisations should remember there are many ways to accommodate employee requests. Allow the holiday requests, even unpaid leave and maybe let those who love their football swap shifts with those that don’t, the answer is to be flexible.

“However, organisations cannot accept a drop in quality of the service they deliver to their clients, whatever the sporting event. So if an organisation plans to allow early starts, early finishes and even late finishes, they should ensure they have sufficient temporary cover to maintain optimum service levels.

“Outsourcing can address these issues, but preparation in advance of any likely disruption is the key. Every organisation should be constantly choosing and evaluating service providers that can immediately deliver the functions required to ensure it can maintain operational effectiveness.

“A comprehensive range of services are available to fill in the gaps in an organisation’s service to its clients caused by the football. Reception services, from call-handling to appointment making and message taking to typing are all available on a pay as you go basis, with no minimum contract.

“The same is true for time-sensitive activities like transcription of digital dictation, which will typically be required before a game finishes. When there is a risk of disruption from events like the Euros and of course the Olympics later in the year, the benefits of having tested and evaluated outsourced service providers will prove invaluable.

“Once the service has been evaluated, its worth as an efficient, cost-effective solution will be recognised and it can then be used regularly to cope with backlogs, busy periods and to remove the need for temporary staff to cover illness, holiday and maternity leave.

“Many service providers like the ServicesNowGroup have huge UK-based resources available on demand at short-notice, ready to supply cover for 90 minutes, an afternoon or the entire length of the tournament.

“Outsourcing support is a good way to maintain cover and even extend office hours to deal with clients that may work longer hours to make up for a little afternoon football.

“But it’s worth trialling a service with a reputable provider, with all the necessary ISO certification before England win the tournament and offices are sparsely populated for days afterwards, when demand for support services will be high.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by ServicesNowGroup .