How a Business Continuity Plan Can Protect Your Company

Business disruptions can happen at any time, and they often happen without any advance notice. Unplanned events can take different forms which include natural disasters, economic turns, cyber attacks and more. These unplanned events can slow your business down or even stop all the business operations.

No matter the size of your business, it can still be at risk. Many businesses that experience a disaster never recover. As a business owner, you need to know exactly what to do to get your business back up and running quickly if something bad happens. This is where a business continuity plan comes in.

What Is a Business Continuity Plan?

A business continuity plan outlines the steps that you will take in your business to recover from disasters that may occur. In some cases, the plan will help prevent them as well. The goal is to analyze potential threats, identify essential areas of the business that need to be focused on first, and clearly outline what should happen to avoid lost revenue or sustained business disruption.

The following information should be included in an effective business continuity plan:

  • A summary of the most critical business processes and functions
  • A through analysis of potential threats that could disrupt business operations
  • A listing of both onsite and offsite emergency contact information
  • Clear instructions for accessing and restoring offsite recovery data
  • Identification of temporary business offices or locations

No matter large or small, every company should take the time to create a business continuity plan. The complexity of your plan is dependent on the size, type, and location of your business but if you are operating a business, you need to have a plan that outlines what you will do if something threatens your operations.

If your business faces a disruption, and you don't have a business continuity plan to mitigate the damage, you may lose revenue, essential personnel, competitiveness in the industry and even your positive public reputation.

Tips for Creating and Using Your Business Continuity Plan

Now that we have covered the importance of a business continuity plan, it is time to get started on creating one. Use the following tips below to help you create an effective continuity plan.

  • Use a template: all business continuity plans have similar information so you can save yourself time by downloading a business continuity template and then customizing it for your business.
  • Make it easy to execute: make it easy to understand and execute by including clear instructions or checklists that outline what you need to be done.
  • Estimate recovery time: ensure that you have enough time to get the business back on track by adding extra recovery time.
  • Test it: avoid creating your business continuity plan and just hoping for the best. You should test it and plan several run throughs to make sure everything is planned adequately.
  • Make regular updates: update the information at least every six months.
  • Share it with key personnel: everyone who has responsibilities in the business continuity plan should be aware of them and have a clear understanding of the roles they play in the execution of the plan.
  • Provide training to support the plan: train each employee so that they know what to do and that there is not a knowledge gap if the plan needs to be put into action.