Preparing your Busines for Harsh Weather

Although Brampton is not in Ontario’s Snow Belt, we will get a few days when bad weather – freezing rain, heavy snowfall, or winds causing power outages – will deter customers, and employees, from coming to your business. Snow storms blow in with safety, logistical and HR challenges for every business owner. A well-thought out “severe weather policy” will balance safety, productivity and customer service issues, and combined with a strong communications plan for both customers and employees, will ensure everyone’s expectations are clear.

Write or update your inclement weather policy to explain what will happen in the event of serious weather emergencies. Are your customers local, so perhaps forgiving of weather interruptions? Does your insurance cover accidents on company property during inclement weather? Will employees struggle to make it in because of long commutes or parenting responsibilities (if schools are closed)? Your policy should include details like who determines the severity of the conditions and how closures (if decided) will be communicated. Are there Employment Standards (Ontario Ministry of Labour) that affect your operations? Address wage payment – is it vacation, lieu time or paid time? The verbiage shouldn’t be so weak that employees take the day off for a few flurries; nor should it risk life and limb.

How do you communicate a decision to close to employees and customers? In small businesses, it might be reasonable to have all employees’ home or mobile phone numbers. Texting, email, tweets or other web-based posts are other options. All employees should know where to look for messaging and must have access. If your business has a retail space or your company deals with clients on a daily basis, you'll want to identify a good way to notify customers that the business is closed. A sign on the door doesn’t help those who have trudged through the snow to get to you. Websites, outgoing phone messaging, tweets, email auto-reply could all help. Prescheduled appointments and deliveries can be contacted – if you take home these lists the night before “in case”.

Of course, working remotely is an option that is becoming more feasible so don’t forget to take home your laptop when severe weather is expected overnight. Tools like Skype and Google Docs can keep everyone connected from their home computers.

A final note - inclement weather is one of those issues that can raise strong feelings; for a small business with just a few employees, a team discussion in advance might be the best approach. Plan now to mitigate the risks and negative effects of harsh weather.