Olympic plans still not robust

04 July 2012

Research* reveals that 64% of service managers are still unsure of how business will stand up to the challenges the Games will bring.

For service organisations that aren’t sure how the Olympics will affect their service performance Cognito has compiled a list of 100 business tips, which will help them to be prepared in advance of the events.

The Olympic celebrations are likely to pose a challenge for businesses not prepared. Organisations should endeavour to demonstrate a ‘business as usual approach’ to ensure they differentiate themselves from the competition and to keep customers happy. If they don’t perform in line with customer expectations they could be faced with a dissatisfied customer base, and not only does this mean they are likely to take their service elsewhere but recent research with You Gov showed 82% of consumers would share a bad experience with others.

Cognito has long been championing the need for organisations to value customer service. Its recently developed service calculator highlights this need by showing service managers and directors the overall improvement in profits that service excellence can drive.

With less than 30 days until the start of the Olympics, organisations that have remote workforces and rely on seamless logistics and fleet/service management will need to put into practice plans to ensure service continuity this summer.

The tips are categorised in to the following sections:
· Congestion
· Crisis Management
· Customer expectations & SLAs
· Data
· Equipment, materials & stock
· Lessons learned
· Mobile
· Security
· Staff
Obviously, organisations face an immediate difficulty in planning when it comes to London 2012 as for many UK organisations it is a never before experienced event. Even those who have tried to draw comparisons from Beijing and Sydney cannot prepare entirely as all circumstances are different and each Games is unique. At the end of the day all you can do is prepare as best as you can and these tips are a place to start.

Download 100 Service Continuity Tips for the Olympics here

*The survey commissioned by Cognito was carried out online by Redshift Research between 30/05/2012 and 6/06/2012 and was conducted among 203 mobility solutions decision makers in UK organisations with 500+ staff.