Secure Tomorrow: Easy-to-Follow Business Continuity Planning Steps
When it’s your life’s work at stake, there’s no such thing as being over-prepared. 2,200 cyberattacks each day, natural disasters, insider threats—owning a business comes with risk.
Does your business have what it needs to survive expensive downtime or a data disaster? If you’re feeling unprepared, where do you start without throwing every last penny at any possible solution?
The best thing you can do today is work on your business continuity plan. It’s your cheat sheet when unexpected problems come your way. It’s also a requirement for many industries and clients, meaning it could make or break your business’s future. Here’s our detailed guide to business continuity planning steps.
What Is Business Continuity Planning?
A business continuity plan (BCP) is a roadmap to follow when facing an unexpected disruption. It’s a written document that outlines the procedures and instructions your organization should follow in response to various potential scenarios, such as natural disasters, cyberattacks, or pandemics. Business continuity planning steps give you a clear plan of action to minimize damage and get back on track as quickly as possible.
Risk Assessment: The Foundation of Your Continuity Plan
Before you can protect against a threat, it’s vital to understand them. Conducting a thorough risk assessment will pinpoint the vulnerabilities and potential disruptions that could harm your business.
Identify high-impact scenarios that could lead to a standstill and categorize the probability and severity of these events. By having these lists, you can allocate resources more effectively.
Identifying Your Critical Functions
All operations aren’t created equal, and in a crisis, some stand above others. The next crucial step is to identify which business functions and processes are absolutely essential. Often referred to as the MCA (Most Critical Activities), these should always be the first priority, ensuring that, should disruption occur, your business can maintain a level of operation necessary for customers and workflow to continue.
Communication Is Key
Clear, effective communication during an emergency can be what keeps your organization afloat. Develop a comprehensive communication plan that includes responsibilities and protocols for interacting with your employees, customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders. Utilize multiple channels and ensure a redundant system in case the primary one fails.
Emergency Response Plan
When an emergency strikes, there’s no time to second guess your next move. An Emergency Response Plan lays down step-by-step procedures for various crises, such as evacuation plans, emergency contact information, and clear instructions for employees to follow. Precision is pivotal here; a well-articulated guideline can save lives and preserve your business.
IT and Data Security Measures
Most businesses would be nonexistent without technology. How would you communicate with customers and vendors? What about processing orders and managing finances?
A cyberattack or natural disaster can wipe out your entire IT system, so data protection is a crucial aspect of your business continuity planning steps. Implementing security measures like firewalls, encryption, and off-site backups are essential.
Ensure that your IT systems are not just protected from the outside but also from internal vulnerabilities through access controls and security protocols.
Evaluating Your Supply Chain
Most businesses rely heavily on suppliers and partners to deliver products and services. It’s crucial to evaluate your supply chain for potential disruptions, such as natural disasters, supplier bankruptcy, or supply chain cyberattacks that could impact your business operations. Consider having backup plans in place and establishing relationships with multiple suppliers.
Employee Training and Involvement
Your employees can be an invaluable resource during a crisis—if they’re trained well and have skin in the game. Ensure that your employees are aware of the business continuity plan and their roles in its execution. Conduct regular training sessions so that everyone is familiar with procedures and knows what to do in case of an emergency.
Crafting Effective Remote Work Policies
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical importance of remote work policies in a BCP. Develop strategies for remote access to essential systems and data, establish communication protocols, and define roles and responsibilities to maintain operational functionality in a remote setting.
Financial Stability and Preparedness
Without financial resources, even the best-laid plans can crumble. This segment of the business continuity plan focuses on ensuring financial preparedness to cover immediate expenses, explore insurance options, and establish contingency funds that can be mobilized quickly to keep the lights on.
Regular Testing and Exercising
Theory is one thing, but practical application is another. To validate the efficacy of your BCP, you must subject it to regular testing and exercises. This will highlight areas needing improvement and familiarize employees with the plan, making it more likely to be executed well under real pressure.
What might this look like? You could send a fake virus to your employees and observe how they respond or simulate a cyberattack and evaluate the effectiveness of your IT security measures. Conducting disaster drills can also help identify any weaknesses in emergency response protocols.
Continuous Update and Review
A static plan is as good as no plan at all. Regular review of your BCP to take into account changes in your business, the marketplace, or technology is essential. Ensure that your BCP is an evolving document that reflects your business’s current state and future objectives.
Document Everything
If it’s not written down, it doesn’t exist. Documenting every aspect of your business continuity plan, from risk assessments to emergency response procedures, is critical for effective execution. This includes keeping track of any changes or updates to the plan and clearly communicating them to all stakeholders.
Legal and Regulatory Compliance
Depending on your industry and location, there may be legal or regulatory requirements for business continuity planning. Familiarize yourself with any relevant laws and regulations and ensure that your BCP meets their standards.
Like most business owners, you might be thinking, “There’s no way I’ll find the time to learn every single compliance law—where would I even start?” Thankfully, managed service providers can do the heavy lifting for you. Reach out to one in your area and chat with them about what laws should be considered in your business continuity planning steps.
Next Steps
Following these business continuity planning steps can feel like a mountain of work that you don’t have time for. When you started your business, it’s probably safe to say you weren’t planning on learning how to send fake phishing emails!
But, as we all know, being a business owner is about wearing many hats. By taking the time to create, regularly review, and test your BCP, you can protect your business from costly downtime and ensure its longevity. So don’t wait until it’s too late—start securing tomorrow today.
And if you need help getting started and executing these business continuity planning steps, reach out to Common Angle. Our team of experts can guide you through the process and give you peace of mind, knowing that your business is prepared for whatever comes its way.