Extreme weather, with blizzards and heavy snowfall, has a major impact on the economy as a whole. As insurance giant RSA revealed, bad weather costs the UK economy as much as half a billion pounds a day, much of which is borne by individual businesses. With the snowy period behind us, now is the perfect time to consider employing the services of gritting contractors, so your business doesn’t get caught out again this winter.
The 2012/13 long period of snow and ice impacted on many businesses in the UK, with arguably the hardest hit being small firms, the hospitality trade, the retail industry, and those businesses reliant on domestic and overseas flights to attend meetings, promote their firm abroad and secure contracts.
However, the cost to the economy caused by the 2012/13 snowy spell could have been higher had it not been for the action taken by councils and local authorities to grit and clear roads and who were generally better prepared this year, helping to minimise disruption.
Certainly private businesses owners and their staff benefitted from local authorities’ advance planning in terms of gaining access to the major roads; however, this didn’t help when it came to their own premises as non-gritted car parks, pathways, private roads and delivery yards were rendered impossible to gain access.
If businesses want to minimise their own costs, they need to invest in precautions such as hiring private gritting contractors.
Gritting Contractors – click here for full information on how we can help.
Spring is the perfect time for businesses to review how the weather affected them over last six months. To consider an accurate cost to their business, it is advisable for company directors to do a thorough cost analysis while the impact of the bad weather is still fresh in the mind.
The cost analysis needs to include the following:
Loss of Work Days
If staff are unable to access work premises (due to blocked driveways, hazardous car parking areas, or walkways that pose a danger to pedestrians) this can have a major affect on productivity. Reduced hours or lost work days will impact on businesses, especially small firms who suffer the most from staff absences. Even if some people are able to get into work having a firm running at a reduced capacity has a knock on effect as it is difficult to make up the lost hours. Unfortunately, this year many businesses ran behind on deadlines as a direct result of bad weather.
Deliveries Missed
Bad weather not only affects orders going out, but incoming deliveries too. Missed deliveries can affect a host of companies, from those in the retail or hospitality trade, to factories and offices. In the case of retail outlets and online stores, for example, if the products are not in stock, they cannot be sold or dispatched to the customer, and this may ultimately drive customers away. The same is true of factories too; if they are not able to take in the raw materials (because the drivers cannot get into the delivery bay safely) this will have a major impact on production and lead to delays, or worse, cancellations.
Lost Sales
Snowy weather impacts on sales as some businesses such as pubs, shops and restaurants may have to turn away customers during the worst of the weather (due to staff shortages, inaccessible driveways etc). Not only this but customers will be put off using a business premises if they see that the car parks or walkways are either icy, or covered in snow. Consumers are likely to avoid shops and restaurants that they can’t gain safe entry to and instead may use the services of a rival company that does have cleared access.
Loss of Reputation
If delivery times aren’t met, orders are cancelled, or customer service isn’t up to scratch (because a business is running on reduced staff) this can all impact on a company’s reputation. In a factory situation, for example, lost work days mean that a company falls behind on its product output, and orders are not fulfilled. Once a reputation is lost, it is very hard to regain a customer’s trust and they are likely to go elsewhere. However, far more damaging is the cost of a potential court case if a customer or worker sustains an injury by slipping or falling on ice or snow on your premises.
Business Meetings Cancelled
If executives are forced to cancel important business meetings as a result of bad weather, the effects can be devastating. It could potentially lead to the loss of a new contract and therefore impact on future opportunities (and jobs). Company directors should weigh up the cost of arranging gritting contractors against the resulting impact bad weather will have on their business, well in advance of the winter period.
Installations Not Carried Out
Most businesses depend on the use of outside services to keep the business ticking over. Most companies, for example, are heavily reliant on computers and there are additional things to take into account such as lighting, heating etc. While larger firms often have in-house computer departments, if you are a smaller firm and a computer breaks down, you will have to rely on outside services to fix it. If these outside services don’t have access to your premises (as a result of hazardous pathways and slippery walkways for instance) they will not be able to gain entry to your premises to carry out these important repairs.
In-House Gritting
If you are providing your own in-house gritting service, it is important to take all the costs into account. This includes time and money spent on procuring grit and gritting equipment, plus the training costs, lost work time, as well as any overtime expenses as you would have to pay staff to attend premises in the early hours. All of these expenses need to be weighed up against the actual cost of hiring a gritting contractor.
Why Use Gritting Contractors
By planning ahead and arranging gritting contractors in advance of the winter period, this will save you considerable costs in the long run. You will avoid not just the monetary costs, but also the overall stress, hassle and disruption caused by premises that have not been gritted. Contact Ice Watch today for a free no-obligation visit or click on the link below to find out more.
Gritting Contractors – click here for full information on how we can help.
