Business continuity planning
Business continuity planning or plans (BCP) are an area that Alimenti can help with. Databarracks reported in 2016 that 33% of businesses do not have a BCP. Of the 67% that have BCP in place, many will fail to test or review their plans on a regular basis. BCP are not just about Information Technology (IT) systems. BCP are designed to get your business trading at an acceptable, reduced level, as soon as possible. Business continuity management systems are the way that you will do it in your business.
Scenarios can include:
- loss of use of buildings,
- loss of key members of staff, even temporarily due to sickness.
- interruption of services such as water or electricity
- an important supplier going bankrupt or suffering a BCP incident.
- National emergencies such as pandemics or terrorist attacks.
By planning and reviewing the BCP, exercising them, and training all of your team members, your business will be in a better place if interrupted.
What can I do now?
Simple ways to improve the resilience of your business are:
- Ensure that security for your IT is robust and used by everyone, including secure passwords and regular updates.
- Ensure that computer back ups are performed regularly
- Make sure that team members know how to report that they are unable to come into work due to sickness or other emergency.
- Make sure that contact lists are up to date.
- Test your systems, by having audits of information and systems. Audits must be documented and any corrective actions implemented. These can be done on a frequency that suits your business, but should be the responsibility of a senior member of your team.
Louise Roberts holds the BCS Practitioner certificate in Business Continuity. I have successfully written, tested and implemented BCP which are accredited to ISO 22 301.
