Is Your Disaster Plan Weak?

By Guy Robertson

Are you certain that, after a disaster such as a fire, flood, or earthquake, your disaster plan (or Business Continuity Plan) will help you to get back in business? Will it support the recovery of your network and vital data? If your plan is inadequate, your organization’s recovery costs could be much higher than you expect. That is, if you can avoid bankruptcy. After a disaster, many organizations do not survive.

DR Plan Weaknesses

Inadequate disaster plans tend to have similar weaknesses. One of the most common is a lack of support from senior management. Presidents and CEOs have a lot on their minds, and they might not demonstrate an interest in disaster planning projects. They might pay lip service in support of planning goals, but they can ignore the actual components of their organizations’ plans. So what?

And as for the next tabletop exercise, it’s easy to deputize and send somebody from the mailroom or loading bay. Senior people have priorities, and to them, disaster planning might sound like a “nice-to-have” rather than a “must-have.”

Another weakness of many plans is their limited coverage of various departments, personnel, and assets. Some organizations have comprehensive plans for their IT departments, but ignore the needs of HR, Accounting, and Service Delivery. It is unwise to neglect any department.

Who’s in Charge?

Who is responsible for your organization’s disaster plan? Who will ensure that it is regularly tested and updated? Who will make sure that it is available on your organization’s network? A plan without a champion or owner is an orphan, and could fall out-of-date, or lack the components that your organization needs for operational continuity and business resumption. Ultimately, it could prove useless when it is needed most.

Tests, Training, Time

A disaster plan will remain nothing more than a dusty pile of paper or a lonely PDF unless it is tested. Will your plan be effective in dire circumstances? You won’t know unless you test it regularly. Tests should produce results or findings that indicate where a plan needs amendment. Related to testing is training. Evacuation drills and tabletop exercises are common and effective forms of training that can involve every employee in your organization. Training can support not only disaster response and business continuity, but also give employees a welcome break from routine and enhance their perspective on an organization’s key requirements during and after a disaster.

Your disaster plan should give every employee a role to play when a disaster occurs. Nobody should be left with nothing to do. It’s essential that everyone is accounted for and assigned a task. Experienced planners will tell you that, after a disaster, there are usually too many things to do, and not enough people to do them. Hence every employee can have a role in your disaster recovery.

Auditors insist that many organizations fail to spend enough time on their plans. Remember that a disaster plan is a vital process that must be ongoing if it is to protect you and your organization from the risks that prevail in your region.

Have a look at your plan, and be honest. Will it get you out of trouble?

If you’d like to comment on this article or explore these ideas further, contact me at?[email protected].

This article is reproduced from the November 2022 edition of The TMC Advisor.?advdoc.php (tmcconsulting.ca)