Saturday was one to remember. England qualified for the semi-finals of the World Cup, the weather continued its ever-lasting path of glorious sunshine and the country appeared to be in a mood for celebrations. What could go wrong?
Here at Need More Time we provide a range of support services. So, you could say that unlike most, we are used to being very organised, prepared and controlled in most circumstances. However, there are always events which take you by surprise
Having enjoyed all the positivity a good British summer brings we never in our wildest dreams could have imagined the events that would unfold in the coming days. Our offices (including the wider site we are located on) experienced the most ironic turn of events; A flood in the depths of one of the longest lasting heatwaves our Country has seen for years. Upon receiving the call to advise that there is a flood we all interpret these kinds of communications in different ways. They must be exaggerating. It’s going to be a small flow of water surely! Our IT department hadn’t raised any alerts concerning our controlled systems. Security hadn’t called to advise that any alarms had been triggered. How bad could it be?
In reality it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. However, upon arriving on site on Sunday morning you immediately thought oh that doesn’t look too bad, and then you realise your wading through water. Oh! Venturing further in you suddenly reach that sobering thought. “This might be worse than I’d expected. How? It’s summer after all, you don’t get floods in summer do you?”
Once reality hits you suddenly trigger your processes which had been designed for exactly these kinds of events. You know, those kind that don’t happen to you or you think (whilst creating them) they will never happen and what a waste of time. Heads of department are called and suddenly you have a team working around you developing solutions to the multitude of challenges that are being faced. Recurring creeping thoughts of doubt are constantly pushed aside that keep saying “your never going to resolve this in time to be operational for tomorrow.” As problem after problem, solution after solution. The day pushing into the evening when you start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Power working safely, networking flowing with data, PC’s coming to life again. We’re looking good to go.
Monday morning rolled in and the Virtual PA and Medical PA Teams started to flow in for the start of their week. Customers’ calls being answered, admin tasks being assigned. Bar the odd commercial dryer, the dulcet whir of dehumidifier – no one would have known that there was any problem at all…. Except for the exposed concrete floor and pile of floor tiles sitting outside the office door!
Like everything in life, often those mundane tasks which you feel at the time are a waste of your time, make the difference between success and failure. Here at Need More Time we specialise in delivering the mundane, so you don’t have to. Let us help you plan for the unexpected… we’re clearly rather good at it!