It’s safe to say that the COVID-19 pandemic caught a lot of businesses out. Only those with the most robust business continuity plans managed something like a smooth transition during the lockdown period. Even then, nothing was guaranteed.
Going forward, businesses need to learn the lessons of being so unprepared in a crisis, and insurance companies are going to insist that these measures are in place before they will even consider incurring businesses at all.
Business continuity planning should be high on your agenda. It’s one of those things that you hope you’ll never need. Here are some top tips on developing yours.
What Exactly Is A Business Continuity Plan?
A company’s business continuity plan sets out the risks of potential situations (such as a disaster or pandemic), their likely impact on the business, and the policies in place to help adapt and recover quickly.
These potential situations could be anything thing from a natural disaster, political upheaval, cyber attack, employee accident or a flood or fire affecting your business premises. In today’s world, it could even be something such as the comments of a key member of your team on social media.
The term business continuity is often used interchangeably with disaster recovery.
What To Include In Your Business Continuity Plan
There is no ‘one size fits all’ plan so you will need to tailor it to your business. You may live in a country that is more prone to destructive weather patterns, or work in the industry at greater risk of a cyber attack.
- Objectives and goals
- Key personnel and their individual responsibilities
- Plans to reduce or mitigate these risks
- Minimum requirements to keep core business areas functioning
- Employee training on what to do during an emergency
- IT consulting and support services, security, backups and remote working procedures
- Contact information for key personnel, management and other stakeholders
- Key message and crisis communications plans
Does My Business Need A Business Continuity Plan?
The short answer is ‘yes’. Dealing well with a crisis could be the difference between your company succeeding or failing. Business insurance won’t cover every eventuality and most supplier will insist on you having a plan in place before they will even insure you at all.
If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that disaster can strike in many ways, when we least expect it. The US economy is expected to decline by around 6% this year but decline by a total of 40% in the second quarter before picking back up. Who could have predicted a year like this? Political and social upheaval, wildfires and a global health crisis? If 2020 hasn’t convinced you of the need for a business continuity plan, then nothing will.
Don’t wait for another disaster to strike before you do something. Yes, it takes some planning and effort but it is the best chance for your company to survive should something happen. If this is something you don’t think that you can deal with internally, there are many specialist businesses or freelance consultants who will be able to advise you on the best route for your business.