As an emergency management professional, I have seen companies big and small face the same fundamental challenge over and over: how to keep operations running in the face of disruption. Disasters, cyberattacks, and pandemics—whatever the hazard and whatever the scenario—can have a significant impact on business operations, but the businesses that have survived have one thing in common, preparation. That’s why it’s crucial for organizations of all sizes to establish solid strategies for business continuity to ensure their critical business functions can continue, even in difficult circumstances. By thinking ahead, you can improve your company’s resiliency.
Here are seven tips to help companies maintain business continuity and keep operations running smoothly:
1. Conduct Risk Assessments
Conducting a thorough risk assessment is key to business continuity planning. Risk assessment is an organized thought process that involves identifying potential risks and vulnerabilities in your operations and determining their likelihood and impact. By forming a cross-functional team to gather information about facilities, systems, processes, data, employees, customers, and suppliers, you will ensure that all aspects of your operations have been considered. You can then use the results of this assessment to develop an emergency-preparedness plan, then train your staff, and obtain the assets needed to sustain your critical business functions.
Here is an example of risk evaluation in practice. While consulting with a global computer company in Europe, I found that its critical facility and key engineers were located near railway tracks carrying chemical trains. During the evaluation of the company’s emergency plan, I began looking into “what if” scenarios and discovered that the engineers were in the path of a potential chemical release from the nearby factory. This situation highlights the significance of conducting thorough risk evaluations for maintaining business continuity.
2. Develop a Comprehensive Plan
The Components of an Effective and Comprehensive Plan
Once you have a clear understanding of your risks, it is time to develop a comprehensive plan to keep critical operations running in the event of a disaster. This plan should include a detailed incident response plan, communication procedures, access to critical systems and data, and alternative work arrangements for employees.
Be sure to review and update the plan regularly, including conducting regular tabletop exercises and simulations. Additionally, gathering feedback from employees, customers, and stakeholders can greatly improve the plan’s overall effectiveness.
How to Develop a Comprehensive Plan
Business continuity planning is not just a privilege for large corporations but a necessity for businesses of all sizes. The objective is to have a strategy in place to maintain operations during times of income disruption. People often say, “We were lucky to survive those tough times.” But what seems like “luck” is usually just preparation meeting opportunity.
Let’s take a closer look at how this process would breakdown for a small pizza shop owner who decides to create a business continuity plan.
- The owner performs a comprehensive risk assessment that considers the potential impact of incidents such as power failures, natural disasters, and supply chain interruptions.
- Based on the risk assessment results, the owner creates a plan that includes backup generators, alternate food suppliers, and other delivery options for customers during emergencies.
- Additionally, the owner trains all staff on the plan, conducting periodic exercises to ensure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities. If the owner can’t get to the pizza shop, someone else knows where the key is to unlock the door and knows how to turn on the oven without starting a fire.
3. Prioritize Critical Functions
To help identify potential risks, tools such as vulnerability assessments, IT penetration testing, and disaster simulations are available. These tools can help guide the development of a robust business continuity plan. Regular training and drills for employees with nearby businesses, local emergency services, and suppliers are also crucial to help them understand their roles and responsibilities and become familiar with emergency-response procedures.
Take, for instance, the security engineer at a large digital media provider who was worried about data privacy and the protection of sensitive customer information stored on their servers. One of the ways they ensure the security of the company’s systems is by conducting periodic penetration testing to simulate potential attacks by cyber hackers. The engineer uses specialized tools to scan the target systems for vulnerabilities, such as missing patches or misconfigured servers. If any vulnerabilities are found during the scanning phase, the engineer then attempts to exploit them to see how far they can penetrate the system and what kind of information they can access.
The engineer then documents the results of their testing, including any vulnerabilities they discovered, and provides a report to the appropriate departments within the company, such as IT, compliance, legal, and management.
4. Implement Mobile or Remote Work Arrangements
Implementing mobile or remote work arrangements is an important part of business continuity planning. In the event of a disaster, employees may not be able to access the company’s physical premises. Having remote work arrangements in place can keep many critical operations running. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that remote work can be effective; many companies were able to continue operations with little interruption by increasing the capabilities of existing systems.
For example, organizations that face frequent weather emergencies have implemented an emergency messaging and voicemail system that provides employees with updates on commute conditions and instructs them to work from home if the conditions are unsafe. Likewise, an employee can simply send a text message that day to let the organization know when they will be choosing to work from their home location.
5. Invest in Technology
Backup and disaster-recovery systems, such as an off-premises, cloud-based data storage solution, are a crucial part of a comprehensive business continuity plan. These tactical backup processes can quickly restore critical systems and data in the event of a disaster, thus minimizing disruption to operations.
The use of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, can help organizations to automate key emergency-management processes, such as incident response and communication with employees and stakeholders. Additionally, the use of cloud-based technologies can help organizations to quickly restore critical systems and data in the event of a disaster, thereby reducing the impact of disrupted operations.
6. Train Your Team
Having clear and well-defined roles and responsibilities for all employees is important to ensure response activities are coordinated and everyone knows what is expected of them in the event of a disaster. Regular training and drills are an effective way of clarifying these roles and responsibilities, while simultaneously teaching employees important emergency-response procedures.
A “call tree” is a highly effective way of prioritizing employee safety. Start by creating a backup contact list of non-office phone numbers and alternate email addresses. In the event of an emergency, the call tree will be used to alert and mobilize employees. Assign someone, such a supervisor, to verify the status of every team member (a safety wellness check). Inform the supervisor that they may be asked to report information through the chain multiple times a day, particularly in longer, evolving emergencies like hurricanes or floods. Circumstances can change quickly in an emergency, so employees may be evacuating and/or in need of company assistance. A call tree will help you keep track of every one’s location and status.
7. Communicate Your Plan Effectively
Finally, it is important to maintain a culture of preparedness. You can accomplish this by regularly communicating the importance of business continuity planning and involving employees in the planning process.
Encourage employees to prepare for emergencies in their personal lives and provide them with the resources to do so. By fostering a culture of preparedness, you can ensure that everyone is prepared to respond effectively in the event of a disaster. Here are some key priorities to keep in mind when communicating your plan to employees:
- Start by determining how employees will contact each other and where they will reassemble.
- Provide employees with information regarding the company’s disaster recovery plan, including details regarding backup generators, redundant internet connections, and cloud-based data storage.
- Regularly train staff on evacuation procedures and make sure employees are equipped with the necessary equipment and supplies to work remotely.
Tailor Business Continuity Plans to Your Company
It is crucial to remember that no two organizations are the same and that each emergency-management plan should be tailored to meet your specific needs. By having well-structured business continuity processes in place, you can protect your employees, customers, and assets, and minimize the impact of an emergency.
If you’re looking to create and implement an effective emergency-management plan, reach out to us today. Our team of emergency management experts will work with you to develop a customized solution that meets your specific needs.
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