Business Continuity Planning: A Refresher
Business continuity refers to maintaining business functions or quickly resuming them in the event of a major disruption. A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is a plan-of-action a company puts in place that can be relied upon in the event of an emergency, when tension and stakes run high. It outlines the policies, procedures, and instructions an organization must follow in the face of such disasters, covering items such as business processes, assets, human resources, business partners, and more. While the final product will be different for every company, a typical BCP might include evacuation plans, communication protocols, contact lists, key asset inventories, and anything else that would be important for employees in a crisis.
BCP, Data Protection and COVID 19
Covid-19 has the potential to really affect a firm's operating environment. The Government is estimating that at its worst, one fifth of the working population could be off sick.
Together with the potential for lower headcount, quarantining for organisations and the absence of parents whose children’s' schools are closed could result in the closure of departments, offices, call centres, technology/platform providers and an increase in customers defaulting to other forms of communicating with the organisation and the regulators.
Another area of concern should be that of data protection. An increase in enforced home working has the potential to amplify exposure to data breaches. We would urge all firms to remind their workforce of their information security obligations and ensure that data protection compliance remains front of mind, even at home.
This risk will see business continuity professionals all over globe reviewing their business continuity plans and their data protection policies to assess whether they are able to cope with the impact of such a crisis.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) for Workplaces
In January 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of a new coronavirus disease in Hubei Province, China to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. WHO stated there is a high risk of the 2019 CORONAVIRUS disease (COVID-19) spreading to other countries around the world.
WHO and public health authorities around the world are taking action to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. However, long term success cannot be taken for granted. All sections of our society – including businesses and employers – must play a role if we are to stop the spread of this disease.
Further information is available from the World Health Organization.
https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/getting-workplace-ready-for-covid-19.pdf
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019