Business Continuity - Preparing for the Next Event

Whether it be a pandemic, extreme weather, or dependence on technology, the mandate to transact business without interruption is as high as ever. Every firm, organization, business, or agency must be able to continue doing business in adverse circumstances. This is the role of Business Continuity. 

Business Continuity is a five-step process to helping your organization strategize, plan, design, and execute during adverse situations. 

·        The first step is a Business Impact Analysis (BIA). The BIA should help your organization identify the core business processes and the key supporting business processes.

·        The next step is a thorough risk assessment to identify the most likely and impactful events to plan for in the Business Continuity Plans.

·        The Business Continuity Plans (BC Plans) should be comprehensive and include the loss of people, location, and technology. The BC Plans document how to recover from these types of loss. In addition, aspects like activation, communication, dependencies, and the role of vendors should be included in the BC Plans. The BC Plans should address the riskiest events identified in the risk assessments.

·        Once the BC Plans are completed and vetted, staff needs to be trained. This can happen in a variety of ways but must include ways for future staff to be trained so that they are prepared for an event. 

·        Lastly, testing must occur at regular intervals. There are several ways to test, from tabletop to full relocation of staff in a live test. No matter how the testing occurs, two things are vital: lessons learned are turned into updates for the BC Plans and the test includes at least one high-risk scenario identified in the risk assessment.

Even after this #covid19 Pandemic is over, new events, vulnerabilities, or hazards will appear very soon. We are entering hurricane and tornado seasons. The cybersecurity threats are never-ending. The risks to your organization change often. Your Vendors and Service Providers are always changing. Same with personnel. Your Business Continuity Plan should remain current just to keep up with all the change.

If your organization is ill-prepared for this or the next event, Service Management Leadership can help. We have helped a variety of organizations prepare for disruptive events. We can do the same for you. If you are concerned about a pandemic, now is the time to contact us today.