We all hope that we'll never suffer from a flood or a fire, but what would you do if your business premises were out of action? It may seem excessive to prepare and maintain a plan for the unexpected, but consider what would happen if today you lost your electricity supply or you couldn't access your premisis for several days or even weeks.
Business Continuity Planning is about improving the resilience of your business so that you can minimise the impact of any interruption.
There are several Business Continuity Planning methodologies, however the key principles are:
- Understanding your organisation and identifying your critical functions.
- Identifying the resources required to perform your critical functions.
- Performing a Business Impact Analysis to identify interdependencies and vulnerabilities.
- Developing specific and generic plans to address any vulnerability.
- Rehearsing and Maintaining plans to ensure they remain fit for purpose.
Advice to Local Businesses and Voluntary Organisations
Although we are not in a position to give direct help with business continuity, we can point you in the right direction and signpost some useful websites: