When an incident knocks out your usual workplace, time goes strange. One hour feels like a day, and a day can disappear in meetings that lead nowhere. People ask the same questions in different chats. Customers want reassurance, and someone is always stuck trying to find a room with decent Wi-Fi.
This is where office recovery planning earns its keep. It is not about having a glossy binder. It is about having a clear set of decisions you can make fast, so your team has somewhere safe to work, and your business can keep moving.
If you are already thinking about quick options like serviced office space as a fallback, you are in the right place, because speed and simplicity matter most in the first three days.
Key takeaways
- Define success in plain words: safe, working, and contactable.
- Decide who leads the recovery workplace choice, then keep updates consistent.
- Choose a temporary base within 24 hours, then improve it over the next 48.
- Treat connectivity and access rules as part of the office decision.
- Good disaster recovery planning reduces stress, not just downtime.
Being “back up” in 72 hours does not mean everything is perfect. It means the essentials are running, your team knows where to be, and customers can reach you through stable channels. Once that is true, you can improve the setup without the same pressure.
This guide is written for UK businesses that need a practical route back to a working routine after a disruption, whether the trigger is building damage, a local outage, a safety issue, or a cyber event that changes what systems you can safely use. The aim is calm progress, not heroics.
What “back up” really means in the first 72 hours
The fastest recoveries start with a shared definition of success. Without it, teams chase different targets at the same time, and you lose hours to debates that can wait. A good definition is also easy to repeat, so everyone makes consistent choices when new problems appear.
UK resilience guidance tends to frame this well because it focuses on outcomes through disruption rather than protecting a single building at all costs. The UK Government’s organisational resilience guidance defines resilience in terms of outcomes, which is exactly the mindset you want during the first 72 hours.
If you want to keep your options clear, it helps to have a simple view of the types of flexible office space before you are under pressure, so you are not learning the basics mid-incident.
A simple definition that stops panic
A useful starting point is: safe, working, and contactable.
Safe means people are not put at risk, including from travel risks and the stress that comes with uncertainty. Working means your critical tasks can happen, even if some work is slower than normal. Contactable means customers, suppliers and staff can reach you through known numbers, email addresses and ticketing channels.
Once you agree to this definition, it becomes easier to say “no” to distractions. You are not picking a long-term HQ on day one. You are creating a stable base so the business can operate while you work out what happens next.
The three decisions that unlock everything else
In practice, three early decisions do most of the heavy lifting.
First, decide who owns the workplace recovery call. That person does not need to be the most senior leader, but they do need authority and a clear link to IT and HR. Second, decide the minimum staffing model for the next few days, because not everyone needs to be in the same place immediately.
Third, decide how you will handle system access, because “where” and “how we connect” are the same problem in a modern business. The NCSC incident management guidance is clear that incident response should link with disaster recovery and business continuity planning, which helps you keep space and systems aligned.
Hours 0 to 24: choose a workable base and steady the team
The first 24 hours are about momentum. If people spend the day waiting for a perfect answer, you often end up with a scattered mix of home working, coffee shops, borrowed meeting rooms, and poor security habits. That looks flexible, but it usually creates more confusion and more risk.
A better approach is a controlled sprint. You triage what is blocked, you pick a temporary base that fits your work, and you give everyone a clear plan for tomorrow morning. Even if you change the plan later, the act of choosing reduces stress straight away.
If you want to speed up the “find space” part, starting from the Flexioffices homepage can help you compare flexible options across the UK without long setup times.
Triage: what happened and what’s blocked
Before you book anything, get the simplest facts you can and write them down in one place.
Is the office currently inaccessible, unsafe, or simply unreliable? Can anyone enter to collect equipment, and under what conditions? Is the issue local to your floor, your building, or the wider area? If it is a cyber incident, are there restrictions on using your normal network, devices, or phones?
Then translate those facts into constraints that matter for workspace choices. For example, “We need two private rooms for customer calls” is a constraint. “We need to be near the warehouse” is a constraint. “We must use only managed internet and company laptops” is a constraint.
Finally, decide your priority groups. Most businesses have a small set of roles that keep revenue, customers, compliance and operations moving. Get those people stable first, then scale the setup.
Pick your temporary workplace model
Most companies end up using one of three models during the first day.
One model is home working as the default, with bookable meeting space for the teams that must collaborate in person. This is quick, but it can fail if your work depends on privacy, stable calls, or secure handling of sensitive material.
A second model is a plug-and-play workspace, where desks, meeting rooms and internet are ready to go. This often suits teams that need to be together, need a professional setting for clients, or need predictable routines fast.
A third model is a more tailored temporary office if you expect a longer outage and want a stronger sense of “this is our base”. If that sounds like you, managed office space can be a middle ground between speed and control, especially when privacy matters.
Location is part of this decision too. If your business relies on London travel patterns, checking London office space options helps you weigh commute time, client access and how quickly people can realistically get in.
Keep people safe and information secure
A temporary workplace is still a workplace, so basic safety and wellbeing still apply. People may be tired, shaken, and running on adrenaline, increasing the risk of mistakes. The faster you create a predictable routine, the safer the situation becomes.
Security needs the same “routine first” mindset. If the incident involves cyber risk, your office decision should include rules about devices, Wi-Fi, and access. The NCSC guidance on cyber incident response processes encourages planning that supports good decisions under pressure, which is exactly what you need on the first day.
If you use a shared environment, set simple rules on day one, like clean desks, private calls in rooms, and no printing unless you have a secure process. If you use a private suite, set access controls early so you do not spend day two fixing gaps.
Hours 24 to 72: make it stable, client-ready and repeatable
By day two, most teams can do some work. The challenge is making it steady enough that you are not burning people out. This is when small details start to matter, like where calls happen, how meetings are booked, and who answers common questions.
Think of this phase as stabilisation. You are turning “somewhere to sit” into “a base we can run from”. That shift improves morale and reduces errors, which are easy to miss costs during a stressful recovery.
If you are deciding how many desks you really need for the next few weeks, the office space calculator can help you sense-check capacity and avoid paying for space you will not use.
Layout, zones and routines that reduce noise
A stable setup needs structure, but it also needs to feel fair. People handle disruption better when they know what is expected and why. The best approach is to explain the reason for each rule, because it builds buy-in when everyone is tired.
Start with a short all-hands update outlining how the temporary workplace will operate over the next two days. Keep it calm, and keep it specific. Tell people where updates will live, who to contact for problems, and what “good” looks like at the end of day three.
Then introduce the structure. A basic layout plan might include quiet zones, call zones and meeting room rules, but the key is consistency. If your team knows what happens where, they settle faster, and clients get a more professional experience.
After you set this up, do a short review at the end of day two. Ask what blocked work today, what caused noise, and what slowed client response. Fix the top two problems first, because a few targeted changes beat a long list of tweaks.
Client comms and meeting logistics
Customers do not need a full incident report. They need confidence that you are in control and that service continues. That means one clear message across phone, email, support channels and your website.
Your message should cover three points. Confirm what is still running. Explain what might be slower, if anything. Tell people the best way to reach you, including a clear route for urgent issues.
Meetings need extra care during recovery. If you cannot guarantee privacy, move meetings to video until you can. If you do host in person, use spaces with proper rooms rather than trying to squeeze into open areas where you might be overheard.
This is also the moment to assign a “front door” person for inbound client questions, because scattered messaging is one of the quickest ways to lose trust during disruption.
Cost control that doesn’t slow recovery
Recovery often creates sneaky spending. People buy cables, pay for extra travel, order kits twice, and expense meals because the usual office facilities are missing. If you wait a week to control this, you will spend months untangling it.
Put one person in charge of approvals, even if the rules are simple. Decide what staff can buy without approval, and what needs sign-off. Create one place for receipts and evidence, because insurance and audits are much easier when you gather proof as you go.
This is another reason plug-and-play options can help, because costs are often bundled into one bill, which simplifies tracking and reduces surprises. If you want a practical framework for response and recovery planning, the Government Cyber Security Policy Handbook principle D1 is a useful reference point for continuity of essential functions.
Building your office recovery playbook before you need it
Once you are stable again, capture what you learned while it is still fresh. If you do not, the same scramble tends to repeat next time, even if the incident is different. The aim is not to predict every scenario, it is to make sure you can take the first five steps without hesitation.
A strong playbook is short enough to use under stress. It should fit on a few pages, live somewhere accessible on mobile, and be owned by a named person. It should also be reviewed, because business continuity plans only help when they match how you work now, not how you worked two years ago.
If you want a simple way to keep your “space options” current, the How Flexioffices works page is a useful reference for building a repeatable search and shortlist process, because it mirrors what you need during a fast move.
A short checklist you can actually use
Before you add a checklist, write two or three sentences at the top of your playbook that explain the goal and the order of work. That small bit of context helps someone make smart choices when they are stressed, because it stops the checklist from becoming a box-ticking exercise.
Also, keep the checklist “decision-shaped”. In other words, it should tell you what to decide and who decides it, not just what tasks exist. That is what saves time in the first hours.
Use this as a starting point:
- Confirm incident type and current constraints, then write a one-line situation summary.
- Name a recovery workplace lead and a deputy, then set an update rhythm.
- Identify priority roles for the next 72 hours, then agree on who needs to be co-located.
- Choose a temporary workplace model and a target location area, then start shortlisting.
- Confirm device and connectivity rules with IT, then communicate what is safe to use.
- Set simple routines for calls, meetings and updates, then publish them in one place.
- Put spending rules in place, set receipt handling, and track costs from day one.
- Draft one client message and one staff message, then reuse them consistently.
Once the first 72 hours are over, add a short “what we learned” section and update the checklist. That is how it gets better each time, rather than becoming stale.
If you want a structured way to improve the programme behind your playbook, the Cabinet Office Business Continuity Management Toolkit is a practical step-by-step guide that can help you turn lessons learned into repeatable actions.
Test, learn, and keep it current
You do not need a big exercise programme to get value. A 30-minute tabletop session a couple of times a year can uncover gaps like “we do not know who holds the building access list” or “we do not have enough spare laptops for a clean restart”.
If cyber disruption is a realistic risk for your business, base your testing on guidance that links response and recovery planning. The NCSC incident management guidance highlights the need for the right people and linked plans, which is a good reminder that tools are not enough without roles and routines.
Finally, assign ownership. A plan with no owner becomes a plan nobody updates, and that is how small changes turn into big failures during the next disruption.
Conclusion
You can be operational again in 72 hours without pretending the situation is normal. The key is choosing a workable base fast, protecting safety and security, and creating routines that reduce noise. Once the essentials are steady, you can improve the setup without the same pressure.
If you take one action from this, write a short playbook that names owners, defines a decision path, and keeps a current list of realistic workspace options. If you need help finding space quickly, the Flexioffices contact team can point you towards workable options based on your timeline and constraints.
FAQs
How quickly can we secure temporary office space in the UK?
It depends on your constraints, but plug-and-play options are often the fastest because they are designed for quick occupancy. The main delay is usually decision-making, not availability, so having a shortlist approach and a named owner can save hours.
How much space do we need for a short-term setup?
Start with the roles that must be together for critical work, rather than your full headcount. Many teams use a rotation, with a smaller in-person group and others remote, then adjust after day two when you see what is actually needed.
What if the incident is cyber rather than physical?
Treat the workspace and IT rules as one decision. You may still be able to use a physical office, but you might need clean devices, controlled connectivity and tighter access control, especially if you are managing containment and recovery at the same time.
How do we avoid wasted spend during recovery?
Set one approver, agree on simple spending thresholds, and track receipts from day one. Bundled workspace costs can make tracking easier, but you still need a clear record for insurance, audits and post-incident review.
