Twenty-five years on, the Ealing bombing remains a powerful reminder that disruption can arrive without warning. While the immediate focus was rightly on public safety and the damage caused, the incident also tested the resilience of the many businesses operating in and around Ealing Broadway. The blast damaged nearby properties, disrupted infrastructure, and left organisations facing the challenge of maintaining operations under extraordinary circumstances.
At the time, I worked for an organisation that was affected by the incident, although I was based in one of its unaffected offices. As colleagues from the impacted site suddenly found themselves without a workplace, our office became a temporary home for many of them while recovery efforts got underway.
One memory stands out more than any other: sharing my desk with displaced colleagues. It was a simple yet powerful example of people pulling together when normal working arrangements disappeared overnight.
When Business Continuity Stops Being a Document
Most organisations have contingency plans. They sit on shelves, in folders, or today, more commonly, in cloud-based systems. However, when an incident occurs, the real test is whether those plans can be translated into action.
Almost overnight, colleagues needed somewhere to work. Communications had to be maintained. Customers required reassurance. Managers needed timely information. Established routines disappeared, and adaptability became essential.
Desks were shared. Teams were reorganised. Spare office space was quickly repurposed. People stepped in wherever support was needed.
The experience taught me that successful recovery depends as much on people and culture as it does on processes and technology.
No Smartphones, No What’s App!
One aspect of the recovery that remains particularly memorable was the use of a communication pyramid.
Before smartphones, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and mass notification systems, organisations often relied on structured calling trees. A senior manager would contact a small group of employees, each of whom would then contact several others. Information spread rapidly and systematically throughout the organisation.
Watching this process unfold demonstrated just how critical communication is during a crisis.
The advantages were clear:
- Information could be distributed quickly.
- Staff could be checked on and accounted for.
- Managers could share updates efficiently.
- Employees knew exactly who to contact for information.
Like any system, it was not perfect. Contact details could be outdated, some individuals were difficult to reach, and messages occasionally changed as they passed through multiple people.
Yet the principle remains just as relevant today as it was then: in a crisis, communication is one of the most important business processes of all.
What the Experience Taught Me
Looking back, several lessons stand out.
- Don’t Depend on a Single Location: If access to one building is lost, the organisation must still be able to function. Alternative locations and flexible working arrangements are not luxuries, they are essential resilience measures.
- Build Communication Resilience: Communication channels can fail. Having multiple ways to reach staff, customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders is critical.
- Prepare for Staff Displacement: Employees may be ready and willing to work, but their workplace may no longer be available. Plans should consider how teams can be relocated or work from alternative locations at short notice.
- Test Recovery Arrangements: A plan that has never been exercised is simply an assumption. Testing helps identify weaknesses before a real incident exposes them.
- Put People First: Equipment can be replaced. Buildings can be repaired. Supporting employees and maintaining clear communication should always be the highest priority.
- Looking Back, Looking Forward: The bombing caused significant damage and disruption, but it also demonstrated the value of preparedness, adaptability, and teamwork.
Twenty-five years later, technology has transformed the way organisations respond to crises. Cloud services, mobile communications, remote working, and real-time collaboration tools provide capabilities that were barely imaginable at the time.
Yet the fundamentals have not changed. People still need information. Leaders still need to make decisions under pressure. Organisations still need the ability to continue operating when the unexpected happens.
For me, the lasting image is not the damaged buildings or the media coverage. It is colleagues gathering around shared desks, finding practical solutions, supporting one another, and keeping the organisation running despite the disruption.
The lasting lesson is simple: Business Continuity is not about preventing every disruption. It is about ensuring that when disruption occurs, people know what to do, where to go, and how to keep moving forward.
By Anne O’Brien
This is the first of a two-part series. In Part 2, Graham explores what Business Continuity looks like in today’s increasingly uncertain and disrupted world, and how organisations can build resilience for the challenges ahead.
