Businesses need to be prepared in case of any disaster, natural or man-made, which is why they need to have a business continuity plan in place. This plan has strategic timelines addressing the periods before, during, and after any disruption. The main purpose is the identification of any possible threats affecting the operations of a business and then creating preparedness with preventative measures and actionable processes to help a business recover.
What is the Structure of a Business Continuity Plan?
73% of businesses feel like their business continuity levels are not up to the mark, and the main drivers for the same are:
- Critical application failure
- Data losses
- Data center outages
- Natural calamities
A business continuity plan should always address these concerns in the most detailed way possible. It needs to be discussed from the ground level itself and implemented across the organization. The plan should be thorough and include all aspects of business areas and threats that could be directly or indirectly associated with the business.
Points to Consider to Create an Effective Business Continuity Plan
Identify Objectives and Goals
Companies need to see the objectives and goals of the organization before they make a business continuity plan. It should cover all departments and include all expected outcomes along with a budget for the same. The objective statement should be inclusive of the entire business. The budget should consider every single aspect of the plan so that there is no lack of resources in case of a disaster. Time for research and training, the materials involved, and other costs need to be considered as well.
Create a Business Continuity Team
Companies need to create task-oriented teams for the implementation of a business continuity plan so that they can work together closely during any emergency. They also need to have backup team members. All responsibilities need to be made clear and shared after documenting them. All members need to know their responsibilities thoroughly so that there is no confusion while the plan is being implemented.
Conduct a Business Impact Analysis
This analysis is to evaluate the impact of the threats on the business and how it will affect the business objectives. It should create a better picture based on how different types of disasters can affect the business. All key areas of the business need to be considered so that if there is an emergency, resource allocation will be easy. This helps in prioritizing all resources.
Create a Plan to Maintain Operations
Around 56% of organizations do not have a proper program to help them assess the readiness of business continuity. This will affect operations in case of a disaster. This is why a plan to maintain operations is necessary because it covers all the strategies required to bring the business back into action.
There are three main strategies that companies can follow to ensure business continuity in case of a disaster. They are:
- Prevention strategy, which are different measures taken preemptively to prevent damage. This can mean having alternative vendors or power sources
- A response strategy is created to help the business when a disaster does occur. This could include preparing an evacuation plan or data protection
- A recovery strategy is made of steps that will help businesses come back to a normal routine after the disaster passes and everything is stabilized
Deliver Testing and Training Curriculum
To make sure the business continuity plan is effective even after a period of time, it needs to be tested and evaluated regularly. There need to be periodic training sessions conducted for a; employees, especially the response team and key business employees. This will help in identifying different problem areas with the plan and fixing them.
Determine Program Maintenance
The business continuity plan needs to be updated periodically and maintained in case of any changes in the industry or any new threats to the business. This can be done by conducting internal audits or by calling an outside consultant for a second opinion.
The Importance of Testing a Business Continuity Plan
A controlled testing strategy gives companies an opportunity to identify gaps in their business continuity plan and improve upon them. A rigorous and regular testing period will help the plan fulfill its purpose. The scenarios need to be created in a way that they are both realistic and challenging. All the objectives need to be measurable. Organizations should ideally test their plan at least two times a year, but some do so every quarter, depending on various factors such as:
- Type of organization
- Turnover of key personnel
- Number of business processes
- Different IT changes since the last round of testing
The different tests could be either table-top exercises, structured walk-throughs, or even disaster simulations. The teams to test out the plan are made of the recovery coordinator from the response team and different employees from each functional unit. A regular evacuation drill is also a good practice for the organization to make sure all the arrangements for evacuating staff members are in top shape.
The disaster simulation testing needs to be very involved, and it should ideally be performed at least once a year. For this, companies need to simulate an actual disaster and have all the equipment, supplies, and personnel in charge ready. The disaster simulation testing will help companies know if they can carry out all important business functions during the time of a disaster.
Review and Improve the Business Continuity Plan
There is a lot of effort that goes into making and testing a business continuity plan, which does not mean that it should be left to sit around till an actual disaster occurs. The plan can easily go stale and outdated because of different factors such as changes in the employees, technological evolution, and more. The plan should be reviewed and improved to match these changes.
Conclusion
Companies need to act early and set up their business continuity plan to put their organization and employees in the best possible scenario in case of a disaster. This is why the plan needs to be well-planned and practiced. This can only take place if the company regularly trains its employees in disaster management and business continuity to ensure the least amount of revenue loss and minimal damages.
