What is a business continuity plan?
A business continuity plan is a pre-planned strategy that outlines what to do after a disaster, ensuring business activities continue as usual. Anticipating potential disruptions and developing a detailed plan can enhance long-term success. A comprehensive BCP typically covers the essential aspects of a business to encourage quick recovery from a disaster. This plan can include strategies for:
- maintaining customer relationships
- ensuring ongoing communication
- running facilities, including any changes or adjustments
- protecting sensitive data and preventing security breaches
- managing suppliers and subcontractors
- controlling inventory and supplies
- handling shipping and logistics during the recovery period
- keeping employees safe and well
When to activate your business continuity plan
In extreme situations beyond standard recovery, organizations can use their business continuity plan to minimize downtime, reduce financial loss and keep services running. Some triggers to activate a BCP include:
- natural disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes that cause physical damage
- cyber breaches or IT system failures that impact business
- utility outages or water main breaks
- sudden loss of key personnel or leadership
- anything else that’s unexpected and threatens business continuity
Advantages of business continuity plans
A business continuity plan can mitigate the impact of unexpected events. A BCP also offers the following benefits:
Preserves business continuity
A business continuity plan aims to keep your business running during a crisis. By planning, you can prevent disruptions and respond to the unexpected. A detailed BCP can keep the workflow seamless so your business can keep running efficiently by:
- saving critical data and systems
- moving your operations to an alternate site (if needed)
- identifying and fixing gaps in business processes and supply chains
- providing a decision-making framework during a crisis
Protects your bottom line
Disasters can significantly impact your business, especially if you experience inventory losses or cannot meet customer demands. A business plan can minimize the effects of an emergency and enhance continuity. A solid disaster plan can proactively manage financial risks, improve your bottom line, and demonstrate sound business practices.
Safeguards your employees
In the event of a disaster, a BCP can protect the wellbeing and safety of your employees. By outlining clear protocols for emergency response, the plan enables managers to make informed decisions quickly, reducing the risk of accidents or harm to personnel. It can also enhance employee confidence and morale by providing stability.
Defends your reputation
Even when you’re not to blame, disruptions that affect customers can still tarnish your reputation. A thorough BCP can help you continue serving your clients, preserving your good standing in the industry.
Provides a competitive edge
A business continuity plan can enable prompt communication with stakeholders, including employees, customers, and suppliers. This strategy allows you to be better equipped to meet customer needs during a crisis, as competitors may struggle to recover, giving you a distinct advantage even during challenging times.
How to create a business continuity plan
The following tips can help your organization establish a business continuity plan and improve resilience through strategic preparedness and response measures.
Develop an emergency preparedness team
Assign a team to oversee emergency preparedness, led by a designated “emergency manager” with authority to make decisions. Include key stakeholders and consider the following responsibilities:
- establish alert levels, training, and cross-training
- assess the potential financial impact
- ensure adequate supplies
- perform trial runs of your BCP
- establish policies for compensation, absences, and workplace safety
- maintain good communications with all levels of staff
- educate employees on possible emergencies, and prepare timely information for dissemination
- evaluate and maintain communication channels to ensure adequate emergency response
List your indispensable processes and services
An impact analysis can help you learn the importance of your processes and services to better maintain the essential ones during an emergency. These may include those that:
- impact employee health and safety
- are critical to regulatory compliance
- have a significant financial impact
Consider rating the criticality of each service by its impact on financials, employees, customers, and technology. You can list them as Priority A (critical), B (can be suspended for a short period), or C (can be suspended for an extended period). Outline the implications of potential reductions, changes, or elimination of essential services or functions and document the following:
- Identify all foreseeable issues.
- Develop action plans for each issue.
- Assign individual responsibilities for each essential service or function.
Gather the necessary resources
If your business continuity plan involves temporarily changing suppliers or rebuilding facilities post-disaster, create a list of backup suppliers and secure insurance to cover repair expenses. Consider developing manual alternatives for automated processes as needed.
Determine skill sets and reassign staff accordingly
Identifying the personnel and expertise to deliver and sustain critical services and functions during emergencies can help you develop a successful BCP. Consider any unique qualifications or certifications necessary for job roles, such as operating heavy machinery. List the specialized tasks and skills required during emergencies and assign them to designated personnel, including crisis management, employee support, IT restoration, and security measures. Prepare a disaster recovery plan for each essential service or function, outlining strategies and insights, including:
- description of the services or function
- those responsible and backup personnel
- business impact considerations
- notification and communication methods
- staff relocation procedures
- alternative resource identification
- technology hardware, software, and data inventories
- list of technical personnel
- data backup strategies
- a recovery priority list
- resource requirements
Discuss your plan with your emergency preparedness team
Present a preliminary version of your BCP to your emergency preparedness team for feedback. Given their understanding of corporate impacts during emergencies, invite their review to ensure the plan maintains consistency across all business units and departments and covers all essential components thoroughly. You might also encourage the committee to oversee the initiative’s progress to enhance its effectiveness.
Keep your plan up to date
Regularly reviewing, testing, and updating your plan can help uncover gaps or vulnerabilities and ensure ongoing relevance by updating personnel, supplier contacts, and technology systems.
Sample of a business continuity plan
Below is an example of a business continuity plan:
- Business Name: Wavewood Solutions
- Department: Operations
- Prepared by: Chuck Ferris
- Date prepared: July 1, 2024
- Location: 500 Main Street, Vancouver, BC
- Introduction: Outlines the BCP’s purpose and how to use it.
- Organizational structure: This section identifies and clarifies your business continuity team members’ roles. It also includes details about the departmental support teams that will collaborate with the business continuity team during actual disasters.
- Scope of the plan: Defines the scope of your continuity plan, specifying the departments covered and the specific risks addressed.
- Disaster response process: This process outlines your organization’s response to a disaster. It covers identifying disaster conditions, initiating plan procedures, managing public relations related to the disaster, and assessing damage.
- Recovery process: Details restoring normal operations following a disaster. It may include contingency plans for scenarios like transitioning to different suppliers, relocating to another facility, or using backup networks.
- Preparation and training: This section lists routine actions to maintain disaster readiness. It includes schedules for updating emergency contacts and performing annual testing and training.
- Notification list: Provides current contact details for anyone needing notification during a disaster.
- Timeline for action: This detailed timeline assigns deadlines for tasks within 24 hours, one week, and one month after a disaster so you can manage response and recovery effectively.
- Additional information: Includes supplementary details such as your suppliers’ disaster recovery procedures, forms for tracking disaster-related expenses, and reference documents for implementing your continuity plan.
Implementing a BCP can safeguard your operations against unforeseen disruptions. By anticipating and preparing for potential crises, organizations can maintain essential services, protect employees and assets, and sustain customer trust even during challenging circumstances.