Survey finds it took firms an average of 18 months to get ready for The Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
Survey finds it took firms an average of 18 months to get ready for The Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
With less than 20 months to go before the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games begin, the time left for retailers to prepare for the onslaught of visitors not just to London, but to Britain as a whole, is rapidly running out according to BT.
A survey released this week has found those in Vancouver – the city that hosted the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games – allowed themselves an average of almost 18 months to get everything they thought they would need – from extra network capacity to new working practices – in place. A further 13% started preparing three years or more in advance. Even so, 47% of those contacted said their firms had failed to take full advantage of the opportunities on offer.
Conducted for BT Global Services by Vanson Bourne, the survey also highlighted the benefits of being well-prepared and the consequences of inadequate planning.
Long-lasting benefits
The majority (80%) of respondents said their firms had benefited from the Games. Nearly half (40%) reported increases in sales of between 10 and 25% during the Games themselves. And while demand obviously fell once the event was over, 73% of those surveyed said their firms were continuing to enjoy higher sales. Of these, 27% attributed this to an increase in business from overseas.
In all, 60% of respondents reported lasting benefits resulting from investments made in the run up to the Games. One in five (20%) said their organisations were more efficient, 27% were still benefiting from flexible working arrangements introduced to help staff avoid congestion caused by the influx of visitors and 13% reported enduring performance improvements resulting from upgrades to networks and IT systems.
Emer Timmons, BT Global Services UK president, said: “This is excellent news, but the results of the survey make it clear that the benefits many firms gained could have been even greater. Half those contacted felt their organisations should have equipped themselves better in advance. Four per cent state that their firms missed out altogether.
“The survey’s findings have big implications for ‘UK plc’ as well as for individual firms. The next few years are going to be tough for us all. London 2012 shines out as an opportunity for Britain’s retailers to show the world what they can do and win the new business UK plc needs. It would be tragic if the opportunity were to be missed as a result of a lack of planning and investment.”
Preparation proves vital
The survey also highlighted the particular importance of having sufficient resources and infrastructure in place. One third of organisations experienced shortages of network capacity as a result of surges in demand from employees and/or customers during Vancouver 2010. One in five (20%) wished their firms had increased the capacity of their contact centres in the run up to the Games, while 33% said more should have been done to improve the flexible working facilities available to staff.
“The lessons from Vancouver are clear,” added Timmons. “To gain from the opportunities that increased visitor numbers will create, retailers need to prepare well in advance. The benefits will persist long after the Games are over, so executives should take a long-term view of any investments they are asked to make. But time is running out. The longer firms delay before taking steps to get ready for London 2012, the greater the chance they’ll miss out.”
