By now you've probably been inundated with news about the the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games that are fast approaching – however, according to a recent survey almost a third of British businesses have not made basic preparations.

The Olympic Games will run from July 27 to August 12; the Paralympic Games are scheduled for August 29 to September 9. During this busy time many businesses and trainers in the UK should start preparing for Olympic spectators. In order for your business to run smoothly and successfully during this time and to cater (if appropriate) to the predicted flurry of visitors both in and outside of London there are a few things you may want to consider.

You may have the best product or service out there but as a small start-up or SME you may be fighting to get your message across. As VisitBritain predicts nearly 900,000 fans could arrive for the London Olympics, not all of which are English-speaking, you will need to make sure your product or service shines – it's therefore highly important to make sure non-English speaking visitors are aware of what your company does. If your marketing or information messages are in multiple languages your business will stand out from the crowd and your business will benefit. 

 

The Olympics can be also be a great tool in your marketing and many businesses are using it to show their support and how now is a time to be proud. Communicating your marketing literature such as brochures, leaflets and websites in lots of languages shows your company welcomes visitors even though you're proud to be British.

The influx of tourists, athletes, officials, sponsors and international media offers will cause a massive surge in traffic so it's important to make sure you have put an action plan in place to ensure staff and visitors can get to their place of work or to a training event or conference during this time. It's also well worth looking into if deliveries and collections will be affected due to congestion.

London-based businesses should also be aware of the heave of traffic and the planning restrictions of the Olympic Route Network – a system designed to get athletes, officials, VIPs, sponsors and media to events on time. The Olympic Route Network will have a direct impact on some businesses. It's therefore highly important to ensure they have considered this impact if staff, deliveries and possible visitors are to reach their premises.  

If it is likely that staff may have issues accessing their place of work it may be worth exploring the option of flexible working or give staff the option to work from home. Just remember to check Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and discuss bandwidth as they are likely to have more demands on their systems due to the higher demand because of the games. You may need to consider extra bandwidth in certain locations. Remember this will also be important if you are planning on any virtual training or webinars during this time.

Although additional capacity for mobile phone coverage is being put in, during peak times you may find mobile networks to be slower than usual – worth remembering if you are using your phone for emails or social networking. You should contact your mobile network provider if you have any concerns.

If your staff are working at alternative premises during The Olympics and any stock you use for training is building up at your premises due to delivery difficulties, you must inform your business insurance to ensure you are covered. You may need to increase or amend what you already have insured or add locations where your property is kept.

 

It's highly likely that during the games some staff will be looking into taking annual leave or there will be higher levels of absence. According to research from recruitment consultants Badenoch & Clark, 79.9% of employers have yet to establish a leave policy for the games, despite the fact that many workers have already been allocated tickets. Also, with nearly one in six (15.7%) of the 1,000 office workers who took part in the research admitting that they would consider taking a 'sickie' to watch the games, employers could still face low attendance rates.

For smaller companies this may mean a dent to productivity. It's therefore important to ensure that you've considered annual leave requests fully and that staff are fully briefed about what's expected of them during this period.