The business continuity plan is one of the most straightforward though effective items you will draw up for your company. Incredible to think, then, that many people who run their own enterprises have no idea where to begin. This guide will help, highlighting the main important areas when putting this item together.
The first thing to clarify is exactly what a BCP does and is. The reason you need one is to plan out what happens and what everybody in the organisation does when a disaster or problem strikes that stops you from operating at normal productivity. The problems that can, potentially, hit you out of the blue are numerous and can come from anywhere. Do not assume that you know them all from past experience.
The primary step is to draw up a list of the people who make your company run. Then systematically go through your list and whittle it down to the people who are most important, then to the people who are genuinely essential. This is your key personnel, the backbone of a solid BCP.
If you have staff who can telecommute this is great as it means even if your location is inaccessible, employees can still operate. If not you will have to think about how else you get the job done or, at least, some of the job done with the staff inaccessible. This is central to a good BCP.
Equally important to your company are those people not on the payroll that provide services essential to how you work day to day. Accountants, lawyers, IT specialists - the list will differ from organisation to organisation. Make your own list and think about how a large scale problem that shuts down business in your area makes it hard for these people to deliver the service you require from them to go forward.
Office and work equipment is the next step. It is difficult to imagine how a day of work can be done nowadays with no electrical equipment to hand but if a disaster strikes this may be exactly the situation you find yourselves in. If printing is central to how your business makes money you will need to plan for its absence.
The main part of your business continuity plan is going to be your what-to-do section. This is where everybody in the company is instructed in terms of how they react when a disaster strikes. Detailing this effectively and understandably will mean the business survives even large scale events that knock you off balance.
The first thing to clarify is exactly what a BCP does and is. The reason you need one is to plan out what happens and what everybody in the organisation does when a disaster or problem strikes that stops you from operating at normal productivity. The problems that can, potentially, hit you out of the blue are numerous and can come from anywhere. Do not assume that you know them all from past experience.
The primary step is to draw up a list of the people who make your company run. Then systematically go through your list and whittle it down to the people who are most important, then to the people who are genuinely essential. This is your key personnel, the backbone of a solid BCP.
If you have staff who can telecommute this is great as it means even if your location is inaccessible, employees can still operate. If not you will have to think about how else you get the job done or, at least, some of the job done with the staff inaccessible. This is central to a good BCP.
Equally important to your company are those people not on the payroll that provide services essential to how you work day to day. Accountants, lawyers, IT specialists - the list will differ from organisation to organisation. Make your own list and think about how a large scale problem that shuts down business in your area makes it hard for these people to deliver the service you require from them to go forward.
Office and work equipment is the next step. It is difficult to imagine how a day of work can be done nowadays with no electrical equipment to hand but if a disaster strikes this may be exactly the situation you find yourselves in. If printing is central to how your business makes money you will need to plan for its absence.
The main part of your business continuity plan is going to be your what-to-do section. This is where everybody in the company is instructed in terms of how they react when a disaster strikes. Detailing this effectively and understandably will mean the business survives even large scale events that knock you off balance.
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If you are in need of a good business continuity plan take a look at Evergreen Data Continuity. We offer business continuity software for many purposes and more info is at the home page.
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