Bord Gáis builds, owns and operates the natural gas networks in Ireland.
The company is also a major energy supplier, serving almost 600,000 gas and electricity customers on a fully regulated basis.
Challenge
Utility companies need to be sure that they have robust contingency plans in place for any eventuality or crisis. Bord Gáis has a set of operational response procedures in place to manage the gas networks. The company has also developed detailed business continuity plans in the event that office accommodation or regular working processes or systems are unavailable. Communicating with staff during such a disruption is vital to invoking the business continuity plans, ensuring key processes are maintained and that all staff are aware of the event status.
Bord Gáis has 850 staff working around Ireland. The company needed a solution that could ensure all the employees were able to access the information from anywhere at any time. Reliability was a key component; Bord Gáis wanted to ensure that the communication systems could cope with a large number of people accessing the information.
Solution
Premiere Global Services was able to work with Bord Gáis to integrate the latest technology into their business continuity plans so that they can quickly and easily keep employees informed during a crisis. Using Premiere Global ‘s Crisis Management application, a freephone information line was set up for the exclusive use of Bord Gáis employees – they can dial in and listen to messages and recorded information put out by the communication team. The information line can be updated at anytime by the appropriate people in the communications department, ensuring the latest and up-to-date information is available. Employees were each given a card with the employee information line number, which can be accessed from anywhere in Ireland or beyond.
Premiere Global’s service is able to provide Bord Gáis with a dedicated point of contact. There are checks made to test the system and ensure that it works smoothly. The employee information line has been load tested and is designed to allow access by hundreds of callers at the same time.
Results
Mike Flynn, Business Continuity Coordinator of Bord Gáis says "During a crisis, we need to ensure that our employees are kept abreast of what is happening and alerted on any news such as when a site may reopen. Premiere Global Services has provided us with a reliable and effective service that helps us communicate effectively with our employees."
"Through rigorous testing by us and PGS, we have seen the information line in action and are secure in the knowledge that it works to full capacity. We are fully prepared to help our staff during any crises, although we do hope we will never have to use it!"
