Let’s face the truth – when running a business, crises are bound to occur, and the last thing you would want to do during such times is panic.

Crises in business come unannounced. And, while nobody starts a business expecting that it would be hit by some form of uncertainty, it is advisable to prepare for such occurrences. Any form of crisis can be costly – in terms of your reputation and money, especially if you do not have a robust business continuity plan.

So, if you are looking for business continuity in times of crises, then you better have a plan that upholds its fundamental functions.

In this guide, we explore what a business continuity plan is and give you a few steps on how you can prepare a well-rounded plan for your business’s continuity.

Key Takeaways On Business continuity

• Before developing a business continuity plan, ensure that you document the potential risks and threats likely to affect the business
• Identify the key business processes and functions, as well as the necessary resources needed to support them
• Assemble a strong team to help you restore the critical business functions and processes

Basics of a Business Continuity Plan?

Often abbreviated as BCP, a business continuity plan, refers to a document that outlines how a company would operate in case of an unplanned event.

Usually, this plan documents the critical functions of the business, highlights the processes and systems to sustain, and expresses how to keep them operational.

In most cases, a BCP will cover risks emanating from human error, natural disasters, pandemics, and cyber-attacks. With the risks facing businesses increasing almost each day, it is necessary to have a strong business continuity plan. It would come in handy in preserving your organization’s reputation and health.

Significance of Business Continuity Planning

Planning for your business’s continuity involves a careful review and an understanding of your organization’s weaknesses, vulnerabilities, and threats in times of a crisis. With such information, it becomes easy for the company leaders to act fast and efficiently in case of business disruption.

When prepared well, a BCP ensures that you continue serving your clients even in the face of a crisis, lowering the chances of losing customers to the competitors.

Such a plan decreases your business downtime significantly, since you know the necessary processes to follow and the steps to take during and after a crisis to keep the business operational.

Steps to Developing a Good Business Continuity Plan

Usually, an effective business continuity planning process involves the following steps:

1.   Business Impact Analysis

One of the critical aspects necessary when planning a business continuity plan is understanding the business’s critical processes and functions.

The first step, therefore, is to conduct a business impact analysis. In this phase, your focus should be to establish key business processes, functions, alongside critical resources needed to support them.

2.   Documentation

Identifying the key business functions, processes, and the associated resources is not enough. You need to come up with a strategy on how to deal with the potential threats and risks identified during the data collection phase.

The best business continuity plan doesn’t have to be overly complex –all you need is a step-by-step process that documents an effective response plan.

Here, your focus should be:

• Identifying the minimum resources your business will need to continue operating
• establishing areas where your business can operate in the face of a crisis
• Determining the human resources needed to achieve this
• Potential costs

3.   Implementation

Implementing a BCP follows four critical steps, including:

• Oversight: Identify the right individual who will be in charge of the plan. In most cases, it is advisable to form a BCP committee that comprises IT, security, and IT leaders.
• Analysis: A business impact analysis is necessary during the implementation of any business continuity plan. The outcome of the analysis helps you establish what processes and functions to focus more on.
• Details: Usually, implementing a business continuity will have a significant impact on your entire business’s ecosystem. Thus, you need to ensure that you have all the details captured. For instance, who is likely to be affected by a disruption or which teams are necessary in restoring key business processes?
• Take action: your business continuity plan isn’t just a piece of paper. It should outline specific actions and roles in each phase of the implementation process. The best business continuity plan should include an initial response, relocation, recovery, and restoration.

4.   BCP Testing

Often, your facilities, staff, processes, and technology change. It is advisable to test, review, and update your BCP regularly. Walk-throughs, tabletop exercises, practice crisis management communications, as well as emergency enactments are some of the approaches you can use to review your plan’s viability.

During such tests, your focus should be to identify and evaluate your executives and employees’ reactions when under stress. With regular maintenance and tests, you are able to keep your BCP accurate and updated.

How to Write a Business Continuity Plan

Now that you know what a business continuity plan is, the next step is learning how to write one. Here is a brief outline of how to write a robust business continuity plan:

1.   Identify a Business Continuity Team

• Assembling the right team to oversee its implementation
• Ensure that you bring on board a team comprising organized and detail-oriented individuals.
• Key roles to consider here include:

– Executive Manager

– Program coordinator

– Information officer

2.   Define the Key Objectives

Here are some key questions to guide you in coming up with the right objectives:

• What do you plan to achieve with the business continuity plan?
• What is your estimated budget for the entire plan?

3.   Interview Major Players in Your Business

The interview is aimed at understanding key business functions and processes as well as establish the individuals who would be needed to help restore such functions in case of a crisis.

4.   Document the Critical Business Functions and Potential Threats

• Identify areas within your business that would need the highest degree of business continuity
• Establish and prioritize business functions based on the likelihood of threats happening and the estimated loss

5.   Carry Out Risk Assessment

• Establish the amount of revenue that your business would lose in the event of a disruption
• Estimate the possible recovery time, loss in productivity
• Project the possible cost needed to resolve the crisis
• Determine the amount of money that would be needed to implement any response measures

6.   Conduct a Business Impact Analysis

• Analyze the key operations of your business
• Summarize the key findings in terms of the costs and benefits

7.   Create the Plan, Test and Revise

• Create the BCP, revise and test it regularly to keep it accurate and current
• If you detect any issues at the testing stage, correct them at the maintenance stage

Final Thoughts

Clearly, a BCP is an important document that you should have for the continuity of your business. It is advisable to create your business continuity plan beforehand, test and update it regularly. Such tests help to keep the plan more current and accurate.

Don’t wait for a disaster strike – develop your business continuity plan today!