Business That Didn t Have a Business Continuity Plan
In a recent LinkedIn post, Kalaari Capital MD Vani Kola emphasised the need for every business to create a business continuity plan.
Referencing a recent Mercer survey that said 51 per cent of companies worldwide had no business continuity plan (in place) to meet the threat of a global emergency such as a pandemic, Kola wrote, "That's an astonishing number, and it would be tragic for society if many businesses fail with the resulting job loss and desperation."
She added: "Leaders must put in place the people, processes, and technologies that demonstrate the resiliency of business operations in the wake of serious interruptions, never mind if the plans have to change to adapt to constant uncertainty."
What are business continuity plans and how can they help? A business continuity plan is a set of procedures for maintaining business functions or quickly getting them back up and running in the event of some sort of major disruption — a natural disaster, loss of power, cyber attack or a pandemic. Without a business continuity plan, it could take longer than necessary to recover or the business might not recover at all.
How To Create An Effective Business Continuity Plan
Business continuity planning is crucial for any entrepreneur. If you don't have one in place, here are a few tips to get you started:
ThinkStock Photos Now is still a good time to create a business continuity plan.
Start with a business impact analysis
A business impact analysis identifies key business areas within an organisation and their critical functions to devise a plan that outlines how each will operate in the event of a major disruption. During this initial phase, you need to understand all the exposure risks for your company and identify potential losses that you might face.(financial, legal, regulatory)and what impact those losses could have on your company over different lengths of time. The analysis should provide you with critical information, such as who your stakeholders are, your supply chain gaps, and your levels of resilience.
Draft a business continuity plan
The business continuity plan is essentially the answer to questions about how your business can continue with operations should there be any crisis or disaster. It should be comprehensive and cover everything from data recovery to client communication.
Based on the business impact analysis, predict what resources would be needed to keep core business functions operational and determine optimal recovery objectives. What is the optimal recovery time for each key department? How long it is acceptable for your key business areas to be out of action during a disruption?
Assemble a core team
Once you have a plan in place, set up a core team to execute the business continuity plan. The core team will have an important role to play when it comes to getting core operations back online after a disruption and communicating with important clients and stakeholders. If your business is large enough, set up secondary teams to oversee specific operations like IT.
Test and re-test
Evaluate your business continuity plan several times over the course of the year to make sure it's not outdated or unrealistic. Disaster walk-throughs are great as they give your team a chance to think through different scenarios and identify weak points.
Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
Source: https://m.economictimes.com/magazines/panache/51-of-companies-globally-dont-have-a-business-continuity-plan-vani-kola-shares-tips-to-get-started/articleshow/76130154.cms
0 Response to "Business That Didn t Have a Business Continuity Plan"
Post a Comment