Buy SSL Certificate Technology to beat swine flu | Digital Transcription from Document Direct

Technology to beat swine flu

Posted by Jayne Smith on July 27, 2009 · Go on - leave a comment below
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With swine flu predicted to affect 30 per cent of the population and cost the UK economy up to £50bn, experts are urging businesses to utilise technology to help prepare for the outbreak.

The first wave of swine flu is likely to occur between August and November - peaking late August to late September.  Peak weeks could see employee absence rates for illness reach 12 per cent of the workforce - in addition to normal holiday absence.

Document Direct is receiving a large number of enquiries as firms consider implementation of contingency plans for secretarial cover.  Those companies who already have digital dictation systems installed are now looking at how their systems can be integrated with outsourcing partners. 

Innovative technology such as BlackBerry dictation means it’s easy for professionals to continue working from home or away from their offices but further business interruption occurs when secretaries can’t make it into the office to do the typing. 

The virus is spreading rapidly through the UK, with 55,000 new cases reported last week and experts predicting that 30 per cent of the public will be eventually infected.

Companies need to start preparing for soaring absentee rates before the peak of the virus hits the UK’s business community.   Phil Bird, Managing Director for the PC Support Group says:

Swine flu can vary in seriousness and in a number of cases, particularly towards the end of the illness, sufferers will be able to work although due to being contagious may still not be able to return to the workplace, extending their absence.

For many smaller companies this loss could even lead to them going out of business if they don’t plan ahead.

With such potentially serious consequences it is crucial for employers to start planning and implementing emergency strategies now. As a priority, they need to make arrangements for staff to work from home in the event of high levels of infection, in order to minimise disruption to their businesses.

Document Direct has solutions to provide temporary secretarial cover to help during holidays and sickness absenses that are very easy to implement. If a firm already uses a dictation system it is simply a case of re-routing the destination of the author’s dictation.  If a firm does not have any dictation system in place then our software is available at no charge.  

Contact us for more information about digital dictation systems and outsourcing.

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