Marks & Spencer (M&S) is a British multinational retailer which households across the world. With an annual turnover of over £10.6 billion and global operations, keeping such a large business moving requires a balancing act of behind-the-scenes logistics and planning. To ensure they can deliver the quality items its customers expect even in the event of a business emergency like inclement weather or political unrest, M&S partners with flexible workspace provider Regus for business continuity solutions utilising their workplace recovery services.
Regus offers M&S’s critical business functions, such as payroll and logistics, the security of having somewhere to go if they couldn’t access their normal offices due to interruptions, including natural disasters, fire, flood and/or cyberthreat. M&S kicked off an international partnership with Regus in 2015, covering back office functions located worldwide, and are now expanding their business continuity partnership in the UK.
This partnership allows M&S to recover in an agile way, and test their recovery processes at their convenience – just a few of the benefits of using flexible workspace providers for such a service.
Workspace recovery: a retail necessity
Retail businesses like M&S play an important role in UK infrastructure and the day-to-day lives of people living in the country. From food to clothing, M&S deliver the necessities. What’s more, because these products often need to be delivered fresh and sold quickly, if critical business functions go down in a company like M&S, it has less than 24 hours before the delivery of these services are compromised for the general public. Nobody likes to run out of bread and milk. Workplace recovery is one way that retail businesses like M&S can make sure its operations can continue running.
Cambodia – workplace recovery in action
When union protests – unrelated to M&S – broke out near one of the company’s infrastructure support offices in Cambodia, employees felt unsafe to go into work for two weeks. Given the risk to critical business functions managed by that location, such as paying employees and managing the supply chain, M&S relocated staff to Regus centres.
Regus immediately supported M&S in secure offices, hosting 15 employees while the protests continued – just one example of the backing that Regus provides M&S with internationally.
Mindset change – finding an agile solution
While most large organisations have a workplace recovery plan in place, few have made the shift from a traditional provider to a flexible provider like Regus. Historically, workplace recovery firms operated by having empty space available, ready for the company that needs it. However, this led to long periods of buildings going vacant, and if for some reason multiple companies needed the space at once – a local flood, for instance – they would be overbooked.
Flexibility is one of M&S’ core values, so the company was looking for a more agile approach that matched its business strategy and current corporate thinking. Regus doesn’t require all client employees to reach one central location, but can accommodate staff across a city, in multiple centres, or even multiple cities and countries if required.
John Frost, Head of Business Continuity at M&S said: “For us, turning to Regus for workplace recovery was part of our whole business shift towards being more agile. The Regus approach has allowed us to support our head office “smarter working initiative” in London and our multiple-location approach fits the issues we face in the modern world. Their dynamic and fluid approach to recovery fits our purpose and our mindset, allowing our staff to be safe while at work during a crisis event and continue business as usual.”
Testing
Another benefit for M&S of this new partnership was an easy-to-use testing system. Any partnership needs checks and balances, which is why M&S and Regus work together to trial their workplace recovery process at least once a year in several locations. Tests are standard protocol, Regus provides free annual test time and makes it very simple to book through their dedicated Workplace Recovery Operations Team.
During a test, Regus provides the client private office space, laptops, and IT capabilities – just like they will have if a crisis happens. Additionally, Regus can also offer day-to-day access to business lounges so that employees can experience a Regus workspace. These services help employees to ensure they are prepared and to feel more familiar with their surroundings before they need to use it in a real-life recovery scenario.
Frost adds, “Internationally the service really worked for us and they have made the testing process genuinely enjoyable – a first for our industry! Their team knows me. I’m not just a number – I’m a customer and the service is personal. Regus have always been proactive about testing, and will check in about whether we require a service even before we’ve had to ask for an activation. In recovery scenarios, being able to work quickly in this way and have people who understand you and your business is crucial.”