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Be Prepared for World Cup Disruption!
As you are probably aware, the World Cup is
starting in just over two months; but are
you ready to deal with the potential
difficulties and take advantage of the
potential benefits? We have taken a look at
the two biggest issues that could affect
your business during the tournament to help
you keep your business prepared!
 1.
Employees
Businesses of all types often find that the
number of employees that are too ill to come
to work mysteriously increases during the
world cup season! This can make it difficult
to complete tasks or cover all necessary
jobs.
It is difficult to prevent and deal with
this issue during an event that holds a lot
of importance to most people.
You could make sure that your employees know
that taking time off work to watch the
football is not allowed; no matter how
important the game, it is not an excuse to
fake illness. The problem with this is that
you risk angering or upsetting staff by
potentially forcing them to miss vital games
or watch them when they get home; especially
as it can be particularly difficult to go a
whole day without overhearing such an
important result.
A better way to prevent absenteeism during
the tournament is to actively show that you
care about your staff being able to watch an
event that is important to them. Here are a
few things you could do to help:
-
If your employees work shifts, why not
try to operate on a smaller number of
workers on important match days; after
all, the odds are that many of your
customers could also be at home!
-
Similarly, a number of employees will be
likely to ask for holiday days during
important games; you could try and
accommodate as many of these requests as
possible.
-
If you cannot avoid needing employees to
work during important matches, why not
provide them with a television or radio
in the office to allow them to monitor
the game as it happens. It is better to
have your employees distracted by the
game than not at work at all!
-
Why not allow as many employees as
possible to have an extended lunch break
while the game is on?
-
If the game starts late in the workday,
why not let your staff leave an hour
early so they can get home in time to
watch the game?
While these measures could cause a little
interruption to your business, your staff
will certainly appreciate the goodwill and
thought involved to allow them to see the
games.
2. Promotions
It is tempting for businesses to bulk buy
flags and other patriotic themed items ready
for the inevitable World Cup excitement in
the summer. Many businesses will be holding
World Cup related sales or promotional
events, particularly businesses involved in
sports goods or services.
It is vital to remember however that the
progress of the England team is not
guaranteed; after all, the champions went
out in the first round last time! You might
ask what relevance this has to your
business, and the answer is fairly simple:
If we go out in the first round, will you be
left with a pile of unsold and worthless
stock? Could you be left promoting a World
Cup related sale after your customers have
lost interest?
Even if we do well in the tournament, if the
weather during the cup is wet and rainy,
your potential customers might just stay at
home; and if it is sunny, they may all be in
the pub!
A well timed and organised promotion can be
an effective way of boosting short term
sales; but like all promotions, you need to
plan carefully and be ready for any
unexpected circumstances. It is better to
spend a little time planning than to risk
losing money if things do not go as
expected.
We all want our team to do well, but make
sure that support and related promotions do
not come at the expense of business sense!
Find out more about dealing with staff in
our Employment and Personal Development
portal here.
Find out more about promoting your business
effectively in our Marketing and Sales
portal.
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