The increasing amount of breaches, the globalization of supply chains, and greater dependence on technology all increase the likelihood of business interruption. This makes contingency planning more essential than ever..
Consider these findings on disruptive events:
Natural disasters can cause massive damage to public and private infrastructure, resulting in days of downtime. It is no wonder that many small businesses that suffer a major disaster — an earthquake or a hurricane — lose more than orders, contracts, and key employees; almost 40% of small businesses permanently close following a natural disaster.
A business needs a business continuity plan (BCP) to prevent the debilitating impact of disasters. A BCP contains all the processes and procedures to mitigate disruptive incidents and quickly get the business up and running following a disaster.
Here are key business areas that benefit from a BCP.
Stakeholder trust and confidence
With a BCP in place, you get the assurance that critical activities and operations can go back to normal, which helps restore various stakeholders, employees, and customers' trust and loyalty.
Employees can rest easy knowing that they can go back to doing their jobs, while customers can have peace of mind knowing that your business has the necessary contingency measures in place to continue providing the services they depend on.
Public perception and crisis communication
Public perception can make or break a company. A BCP not only sets procedures that help minimize damage to reputation but it also covers how your organization communicates with employees and the general public about the status of your business when disaster strikes.
An ideal BCP must contain guidelines on public relations crisis management during and after incidents. This should cover notifying clients, employees, and stakeholders of incidents in a timely manner, and outlining what your company is doing to recover from the incident.
Crisis roles and responsibilities
A BCP ensures that your employees know how to respond during a crisis and have access to emergency procedures. Knowing who can deal with issues will save members from frantically looking around for solutions. Confusion creates panic, and panic exacerbates risks.
Asset management
A BCP covers procedures that minimize damage to all sorts of business assets and must include:
IT management
Data backup and disaster recovery plans are two basic components of a BCP. These processes ensure the survival and restoration of your organization’s most critical IT systems, particularly business-critical data. Having these processes in place improves the odds of being able to restore business-critical IT, thereby saving your business a lot of money.
Facilities management
Office space, warehouses, manufacturing plants, and other facilities all have vulnerabilities to fire and other physical threats. A BCP takes into consideration designing facilities in a way that allows an organization to recover from damage.
Supply chain management
Every point in your supply chain presents a potential for disaster, labor-related issues, and other disruptions. A BCP ensures the continuation of product distribution in case of any disruptions to the supply chain.
Knowledge management
If critical employees become unavailable due to medical emergencies and other causes, other staff should have access to the necessary information to continue business operations. This aspect of a BCP must cover trade secrets, passwords, and other pertinent information so that the business is not solely reliant on any one particular team member.
Your business needs to be prepared and covered against the impact of natural and man-made disasters. At Netquest, we customize a BCP based on your needs. Say goodbye to old-fashioned manual backup systems and disruptions, and get back to business fast. Talk to us about protecting your business.