Almost 60 percent of small and medium sized businesses in the UK lack any continuity plan to respond to natural and man-made disruptions affecting their business, according to research.
A survey of 500 firms, commissioned by Citrix Online, found that 58 percent of firms had no continuity plan and 56 percent reported that staff were late into work or did not make it at all during the heavy snow in December and January.
In addition, 24 percent had to cancel or postpone meetings. A quarter (26 percent) however said more staff worked from home during the period of disruption, and 12 percent held more meetings online.
But a number of businesses said they were making improvements. The survey found that 29 percent claimed to be "very prepared" to cope with such problems, and 25 percent felt that they were "much better" or "a little better" prepared to deal with snow and wintry weather than the previous year.
"The good news is that the trend towards more flexible working is heading in the right direction," said Andrew Millard, director of marketing and eCommerce at Citrix Online.
"However, many small businesses have a long way to go before they have the right tools and processes in place to ensure effective business continuity in the face of such disruptions."