Business continuity management
How would your business cope in a crisis? Do you have a business continuity management plan to guide your recovery? Or are you just leaving it to luck?
It is a common misconception that business continuity management merely encompasses backup and recovery plans, and that external consultants are needed to make these. But business continuity management is actually a lot more than that, and provided you know your business environment it can be inexpensive and relatively easy to implement.
What is business continuity planning?
Business continuity planning is a process of identifying and evaluating the risks to your business and then planning to enable the business to continue operating (and recover) if the worst happens.
Around the world regulators and governments are putting great emphasis on the need for organisations to have effective business continuity management in place. Some insurance companies are setting the level of business interruption premiums according to the speed at which an organisation is able to resume business. Several large businesses are starting to insist on suppliers having robust business continuity management processes in place before they will trade with them.
Despite recent high-profile threats to business hitting the news - from terrorist attacks, extreme weather, petrol blockades, fires and trade disputes - research has found that the UK's small and medium-sized enterprises are gambling on their futures.
Useful resources
Below are links to a number of useful documents and templates which can assist you with business continuity planning in your organisation.
Template provided by Lambeth council's Emergency Response Planning Team.
This document specifies the process that is involved for each type of rehearsal, the techniques and the required participants.
Source: London Prepared: useful documents
Example of 'To do' instructions immediately after an incident.
Source: London Prepared: useful documents
One of the most useful actions that you can take to cope in an emergency is to have prepared an 'Emergency Pack' or 'Battle Box' in advance. This document lists the type of items you may wish to include.
Source: London Prepared: useful documents
You can create an effective business continuity plan easily, in a relatively short space of time and for little outlay. This is a five-step guide to help small to medium-sized enterprises get started on business continuity planning.
Source: London Prepared: 10 to 50 staff
Simple example of a risk assessment flow diagram.
Source: London Prepared: useful documents
Annex 4F to ‘Emergency Preparedness’- Guidance on Part 1 of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, its associated Regulations and non-statutory arrangements.
Source: UKResilience
The staff contact tree is a document containing the contact number for the employees. The tree provides the hierarchy of call cascade, starting with the most senior in the team or departments.
Source: London Prepared: useful documents
A quick assessment to see how far your organisation has got with business continuity management.
Source: London Prepared: useful documents
Who to contact
Emergency Response Planning Team
Room 212
Lambeth Town Hall
Brixton Hill
London
SW2 1RW
Tel: 020 7926 1000