Planning for and Surviving Unpredictable Events<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your company may\nencounter many types of unplanned disruptions where your resources could be\nsignificantly strained or rendered unusable. Things like fires,\nstorm damage, utility failures, chemical spills, floods, or destructive or\ncriminal attacks. And often overlooked are the medical pandemic crisis like\nwhat we face today with COVID-19. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
No matter the\ncrisis, there are critical impacts to business. More often than not we consider\nthings like loss of life, lost or damaged assets, destruction of files or documentation\nor even complete facilities. But things we often realize, sometimes too late,\ninclude degraded employee morale, impaired customer and supplier trust, and market\ninterruptions to the community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although the\nabove risks and their impacts can occur at any moment, by following a\nstructured plan, their short- and long-term effects can be mitigated. And\nthat\u2019s where having a robust, well planned, tested and executable Business\nContinuance Plan can prove to be one of the most valuable tools you possess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A few years ago, I found myself at the epicentre of a disaster where we experienced a major fire that destroyed everything but the workshop of one of our dealership facilities. Fortunately, we had been recently tasked to develop a Business Continuance Plan for our company. As a result, our teams were fully trained and confident with a well-structured plan at the ready. In record time of less than 12 hours, we recovered to having the full capability of serving our customers as if we hadn\u2019t skipped a beat. I believe to this day that without this plan we would not have been so successful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Business\nContinuance Plan (BCP) outlines risks and impacts of varying disruptions and\nprovides the essential steps to ensure your business units are able to\nimmediately continue functioning, and then be restored to full operational\ncapacity following the event. A few key elements went into our plan that I will\nshare:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TEAMS &\nSTRUCTURE:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Your plan should\nbe designed as a manageable and structured process to organize activities\nduring and following a disruption with the intention to bring about order from\nchaos. It should include a designated Recovery Team Leader and key team leads\nassigned to specific areas of the operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the event\nyour BCP needs to be initiated, your Recovery Team Leader should quickly review\nthe required information set out in your plan and activate the necessary teams.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n At a minimum,\nyou should consider having teams dedicated to General clean-up and grounds\naccess and directions, Internal and External Communications, Facilities and\nReplacement Resources, Technical and IT, Transportation and Logistics, and Sustained\nDepartment Operations. This ensures you have focused coverage of all major\nareas of your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PRIORITIES:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For\nthe purpose of organizing, prioritizing and focusing resources, an example of priority\ncategorization might look like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Immediate<\/em><\/strong>:\nReserved for steps that must be taken within 12 hours of interruption. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Same Day<\/em><\/strong>:\nApplies to steps that must be taken within 24 hours <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Secondary<\/em><\/strong>:\nThese are steps that must be taken within 1 week <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Non-critical<\/em><\/strong>: Those steps that could be delayed for\n2 weeks or longer<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n COMMUNICATION:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is also\nimportant to clearly define and communicate how your teams are set up, who the\nleaders are, and what their areas of responsibility are so that there is no\nconfusion during an event. The last thing we want is more chaos! <\/p>\n\n\n\n There should be as\nmany relevant tasks outlined with steps to take, who to work with and how to\nensure their progress is updated regularly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The appearance of\norganized activity is settling and breeds confidence with your employees,\ncustomers, and anyone else impacted by the event. A few things that should fit\ninto your communications plan are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, the media\nmay be interested in your story so you should have a well-prepared message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LEADERSHIP:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most\nimportant aspects of your Business Continuance Plan is having competent\nleadership who understand how critical it is to respond to the personal\nreactions and stresses of those involved. People will experience events very\ndifferently from one another and will act and react accordingly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Your leaders need\nto be well equipped to guide and mentor their people and be able to lead the\nbusiness through successfully. Here are some tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are all facing\na large crisis at the moment. If you don\u2019t already have a Business Continuance\nPlan, it is never too late to start building one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I sincerely hope this article provides you with some good thoughts and ideas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019d like to discuss how we can assist you and your business, get in touch with Jack Riley, the author of this article, at jriley@scpg.ca<\/em> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"