If there is one thing the pandemic has taught us, it is the fact that no business is immune from force majeure. Though some of the bigger businesses were able to weather the crisis, a lot of medium and smaller businesses had to make difficult choices, including shutting down completely for some of them. Those that survive have touted qualities such as adaptability or resilience as their key to success, but one of the more underrated qualities that helped those businesses survive is their preparedness.

When a business starts asking themselves about things or events that could incapacitate their business and what they can do about them, they are taking their first steps into making a business continuity plan. A business continuity plan is a process of setting up fail-safes that will allow your business to keep on running in the event of a disaster. It protects your assets and helps your business recover quickly during times of crisis.

Why is Business Continuity Planning important?

The success of a business is not only measured by its performance during good times but also by how it handles times of crisis. Businesses are vulnerable to a multitude of disasters such as extreme weather events, fires, or floods, but it may also include events such as cyber-attacks or disease outbreaks. Anything that can disrupt your operations can put your business at risk, and being prepared for these events will help you keep your business alive and thriving.

What should be considered during a Business Continuity Plan?

As easy as it is to say that we should be prepared for all types of disasters; practically, we should really just focus on those that have the most impact, are more likely to happen, and if these events can be managed by existing or similar action plans. That being said, here’s an overview of what makes up a business continuity plan:

• Identify the risks – It starts with making a list of all the events that pose a threat to business operations. We should know what these risks are and how they can affect our operations.
• Develop safeguards – Here we can prioritize and propose plans to mitigate the risks. We should outline clear procedures on what to do during different crisis events so that our employees are guided and businesses can still continue to function.
• Test the safeguards – Very few plans ever survive first contact with the problem. Those that do are usually those that have undergone thorough testing and fine-tuning. Before an actual disaster comes up, we should test our safeguards to know that they will hold up when we need them to. This can include drills and simulations and should include assessments to figure out if the safeguards need improvement.
• Conduct an ongoing review – Business continuity planning is not something to be done once and kept away only to be pulled out during an emergency event. Continuous review and updates of the plan are crucial as there may be new potential risks that may have come up or the safeguards may not be up to date. Keeping the business continuity plan updated will only increase the chances your business will be able to keep going during the next disaster.

Who should implement the business continuity plan?

As good as a plan is on paper, it needs people to implement it successfully. That means part of the business continuity plan should include determining leaders and roles that will take effect during crises. Depending on the size of your business, you may already have a structure in place that has teams and team leaders. You can utilize the same structure to reduce confusion, but you will need to empower your leaders with the knowledge of what to do and who to contact during times of crisis. For smaller businesses, assigning roles or points of contact for different parts of the plan can make the implementation smoother. Knowing what to do and who to turn to can allay much of the panic and confusion that normally occur during disasters.

Conclusion

Considering the multiple crises that have occurred and are currently going on, we get to realize how vulnerable our lives and our way of life can be. From something as small as a power outage to something as devastating as a worldwide pandemic, we have now learned that sitting on our laurels and being complacent isn’t something we can afford to do anymore. Having a business continuity plan not only ensures our business can stay afloat but also protects the jobs of our employees and allows us to continue to deliver our services to our clients.

For help in creating YOUR business continuity plans, contact Synergy Advantage at 1-855-534-6273 or fill out the form below!