So what really should be in a Business Continuity Plan, there is a hint in the name – but simply put, anything that is likely to be required to keep the business going under adverse circumstances. There is not a one size fits all plan, an accountancy firm will need a markedly different plan from an electrical wholesale company. In truth, two very similar companies could have very different plans.
I should say that the Business Continuity Plan can be confused with a Disaster Recovery Plan, in normal circumstances – the DRP is a part of the BCP.
All very good, but what should be in my plan? The short answer is, the stuff you need to keep going when the going gets tough.
A very small business might get away with just a few pages of notes, with a few instructions on who does what, supplier contact numbers, emergency contact numbers and the like. For a larger company the plan may need to be much more comprehensive, the aim of the plan is to “continue the business”.
It is important that the staff are involved in creating the BCP, they will best understand the areas of internal risk. Any functions performed by the staff should be areas of interest, even the tasks and jobs considered low impact can lead to cascade failures in process and have a significant impact over time.
Something as simple of running out of a supply like parcel tape can have an impact, probably short lived – but it could be the first step in a cascade failure where product cannot be dispatched until the next collection which may cause a day or even three days delay in process.
If there is a just in time component in a manufacturing process, where that component doesn’t arrive just in time – is there a contingency. Is there a key person in the business, the only person who can do a specific task – is the task not being done a risk to your interaction with your customer base?
I will consider some real life examples in later blog posts.
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