Five Easy Ways to Improve Business Survival Chances after a Disaster
Business continuity planning is not difficult. If so, then why do so many small businesses ignore business continuity planning? Perhaps the perception is that if it is so simple, we just don’t need to do it. Although simple, many business continuity planning controls must be performed in advance of a disaster or they will be largely (if not completely) ineffective.
Here are five basically simple and (for the most part) inexpensive controls that you need to have in place in advance of a disaster:
- Define Who’s In Charge. In a small business it is generally clear who is normally in-charge but often if that person is unavailable after a disaster (on vacation, ill, injured by a disaster, etc.) it may be unclear who is now in-charge. To avoid confusion with the recovery efforts and/or risk having the wrong person in-charge, the business owner needs to pre-designate an order of succession. This pre-planning idea is easy and requires no expenditure and there may be instances when it will be impossible to make this decision after a disaster.
- Avoid a Communication Breakdown. Normal communication infrastructure may be disabled after a disater, so be sure to have some communication alternatives in place for employees, customers, clients, plus key suppliers and subcontractors. At a minimum, have cellular telephone numbers, landline telephone numbers and e-mail addresses. Do not rely on archaic procedures that are prone to failure such as telephone communication trees and be sure to consider backup power needs. Also have a voicemail system in place that is supported by a vendor with communication equipment at an alternate location to ensure post-disaster availability.
- Perform Data Backups. Regularly making duplicate copies of electronic data and securing one copy of the data offsite at a secure location is easy and inexpensive. Moreover, restoring destroyed data is something that clearly cannot be accomplished (or accomplished only with great difficulty) after a disaster.
- Have a Plan B. Consider what would happen if your business facility is destroyed or access is denied by civil authorities? Can certain business operations be conducted from home or a local hotel? What steps can be taken to replace computers and retrieve data? Think about how this can be accomplished in advance and address any potential glitches.
- Have Adequate Insurance. The small business needs to examine a worst-case scenario that might reasonably be expected to occur (major fire, hurricane, etc.). In this situation, business assets are destroyed and there will be a period of downtime (zero cash flow). Your insurance needs to be sufficient to permit your business to survive this worst case scenario. Insurance clearly cannot be secured after the fact but unfortunately adequate insurance will cost you some money.
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If you need a basic Business Continuity Plan ASAP… and your company is a small office/service/retailer or manufacturer/distributor with up to 250 employees, this “fill-in-the-blanks” template with sample plans is perfect for you! Best of all, you don’t need prior business continuity experience.
Quick and Easy Business Continuity Plan for Your Small Business: Step-by-Step Template and Sample Plans
By Douglas M. Henderson
Reach for this “Quick and Easy” remedy if you’re suddenly tasked with developing a plan for disaster preparedness–and feel an impending anxiety attack because you don’t know quite where to start. This basic template is targeted to small businesses with little or no prior business continuity expertise.
You don’t need any special training or expensive consultants. You don’t need to spend weeks and weeks or empty your bank account to build a basic business continuity program.
Just go page by page to edit the Microsoft Word template; updating instructions are included as needed in the template and you can refer to the exact same page in the three completed sample plans for guidance. Doug Henderson distills his extensive experience as a business continuity consultant to give you succinct, field tested tips for what to include and why. He includes an abundance of handy forms, checklists, charts and tables for easy completion and distribution. Just completing the forms for “Who’s in Charge” and Immediate Actions will give you a satisfying sense of accomplishment and momentum.
In only a few hours you’ll create a basic, yet fully customized plan unique to your business, which is also compliant with major standards. You’ll have a plan in place to address all the fundamentals of disaster preparedness – and you can build on it later as you have the time and need.
This basic business continuity toolkit includes…
- One Microsoft Word template with color coded sections so you can customize your plan based on company size (under 100/up to 250 employees) and type (service/retail or manufacturer).
- Three sample plans for three fictitious companies – a very small service or retail business (under 100 employees); a small service or retail business (up to 250 employees); and a small manufacturing business (up to 250 employees). Sometimes companies are a mixture of service/retail/manufacturing, so you may find parts of each sample plan applicable to your situation.
- ReadMe.doc file with updating instructions to keep your plan current.
- Bonus file with assorted how-to articles, including:
- Coping With Physical Disaster
- Family Disaster Planning
- Business Survival in the 21st Century
- Facility Evacuation
…and offers you many advantages:
- Was developed by a 20-year veteran in business continuity consulting — a small business owner himself — who knows the specific needs of small businesses
- Has been extensively field tested in a variety of business environments
- Is written in Microsoft Word, designed with extensive “Fill-in-the-Blank” and “Edit-Out” text
- Requires no special training in the discipline of Business Continuity Management (BCM)
- Results in your own customized plan that addresses all the fundamentals, all within a few hours
- Is compliant with professional standards from the Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRII) and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1600 Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management, as well as industry best practices
- Can be used for student practice in corporate training classes in business continuity/disaster recovery– site licensing available.
- Provides an optional upgrade path to several more sophisticated templates and tools for whenever you’re ready to build a more comprehensive business program for your growing business.
Published by Rothstein Associates Inc.
ISBN 9781931332538
2010
Only $69.99!
TO PURCHASE: Simply click through the heading of this email and use the “Add to Cart” buttons to access our secure checkout – or, contact Rothstein Associates at info@rothstein.com, 203.740.7444 or 888.ROTHSTEin (888.768.4783).
Tags: Business Continuity, small business, smb, SME
