The week a volcano brought Europe to a halt (and what we can learn from it)
 The recent volcanic activity in Iceland brought much of Northern Europe's airspace to a halt. It was considered too dangerous for airliners to fly through the ash that was being thrown into the atmosphere, resulting in hundreds of thousands of people being stranded right across the globe. For almost a week people were caught in the wrong part of the world, with the impact on business being measurable.
This problem is likely to arise again. Eyjafjallajokull is continuing to erupt and may well throw more ash into the atmosphere. Even if this volcano settles there are plenty of others around the world that may explode, and again air traffic could be brought to a halt. The question is whether we can learn anything from this recent episode we can apply to our business continuity plans.
What I saw were some interesting reactions that underlined the human dimension to business continuity planning that can so often be forgotten. Several people I know, who found themselves on the wrong side of the continent, decided to drive several thousands of miles to get themselves home. These were journeys that took a couple of days and then placed company assets - cars - in the wrong part of the world. The mitigant against this was for the cars to be deposited with people who were also in the wrong place, who then drove them back. The pull of "home" was so strong that people who were otherwise comfortable and able to work effectively wasted time on unproductive and unnecessary activity.
A second reaction was for people to assume their colleagues were always available and accessible on eMail and Blackberrys. Some frustration started to appear when it was taking a few hours to get replies, forgetting, of course, that either connections were poor or the person they were trying to contact had other priorities to deal with.
My final observation was the willingness to try alternative means of communication. Instead of face-to-face meetings instant messaging chats, conference calls and video conferences popped up as a means of bringing people together. I wonder how many people are going to be willing to retain this more dynamic and ad hoc means of working together when things settle down.
There are lessons to bring out of the recent problems. A greater understanding of, and allowance for, human nature may be one, as well as challenging some assumptions about how easy communications may be. The key thing is to learn those lessons and be ready for the next time it happens.
Previously on this blog...
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Setting up shop in a new country: beyond the website
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Why call centre staff deserve your respect
If call centre staff set the first impression for your business, why do we treat them so badly?
Becoming a Specialist? A hard decision to make ...
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The quest for quality in Agile Software Development
Why quality assurance remains a central part of project management, regardless of the use of Agile methods
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