12 - 10 - 2020

BPTW COVID-19 Business Continuity Statement 

Last updated: 17th November 2021

BPTW would like to reassure all of our clients, colleagues and partners that we are continuing to design and deliver projects to our usual high standards during these unprecedented times.

When the lockdown first took effect we took the developing situation very seriously and our top priority has been to protect the health and safety of our staff, colleagues and partners. BPTW undertook a full-scale implementation to extend our existing remote working capability. This has enabled all our staff in both our London and Birmingham offices to work from home in line with Government advice.

Since Monday 23rd March 2020, all of our staff have been able to work remotely following our business continuity procedures to minimise disruption to the services we continue to deliver to our clients. More recently, in line with the current Government guidelines, we have instigated a ‘return to the office’ plan where most staff are adopting a hybrid working approach and returning to the office on set days a week, at the discretion of their line manager. This has also enabled us to provide all staff with the opportunity to attend the office for specific tasks, for example design workshops and to encourage collaboration while maintaining their capability to work from home.

Remote access and working capabilities
All employees and partners are equipped with a home workstation with remote access to our core systems enabling all normal services to be carried out. All of our staff have been provided with the necessary high performing IT hardware and software required to continue to deliver project work to the same speed and quality as usual.

Digital meetings
All of our staff are using Microsoft Teams for communication and video conferencing for meetings ranging from internal and external design team meetings to pre-application meetings and other formal communication. We can also facilitate access to other online software and digital communication tools should this be required. These arrangements are also in place in our offices.

Telephone and email
We will continue to be available by telephone and email. Direct dial numbers are routed directly to each member of staff. You can also contact us during normal office hours via our main switchboard on 020 8293 5175. All of our Partners, Directors, Associates and Senior Planners can be reached directly via their direct dial numbers or their mobile phones.

Post
With our Greenwich office now occupied every day  anything that you wish to send to us by post can be sent to the office. Where possible please send documents by email directly toyour contact at BPTW. Alternatively please email marketing@bptw.co.uk, stating the purpose of the communication in the subject line and we will arrange to pass your email on to a member of our team who, where appropriate, can respond to your query.

In the event of staff illness
In the event of any member of staff falling ill and being unable to work for any period of time we will let you know. Our teams are structured to enable other members of the team to take on the project requirements, ensuring efficiency and consistency of work is maintained. If the absent member is a lead project contact, this role will be taken up by an existing senior project team member and, if necessary, additional staff can be brought in to meet project requirements.

External factors
Whilst we continue to ensure our teams are working at capacity, please do bear in mind that there may still be elements of the Covid-19 situation beyond our control that may affect some of the work we do. This could include, for example, the functioning capacity of external public and private sector bodies we are working with who may be more severely impacted than us. Where there are any delays beyond our control, our team leaders will contact you to discuss any potential issues. We are following the latest Government and Public Health England guidance, and are in regular contact with our staff, so that we can remain agile as the situation changes. We will continue to update this statement in line with the developing situation and guidance but for any specific queries do please feel free to get in touch with your specific BPTW senior management contact.

With best wishes to you all and to your families during this time.

 

BPTW