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A good Business Continuity plan can be the difference between a business floundering or surviving in a crisis . James Butland , VP Global Banking , Airwallex , a global digital payment network for businesses working across countries , outlines the three key pillars considered the core framework for building a robust continuity plan .

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Business Continuity is a business ’ ability to continue to operate , functioning as effectively or ‘ normally ’ as it can during and after an unusual or disruptive event . It ’ s the ability to plan for and manage a disruption so the business can keep operating – keep serving customers , keep working , keep paying staff . Having a plan gives the organisation a canonical process to manage during panicked times .

Depending on the nature of the business and the specific challenges it might be expected to meet perhaps every few years – from burglary to flood – specific plans are a good idea . But a great Business Continuity plan actually sits at a higher level of planning than for any specific event instance . The best planning provides the framework for the business to continue to operate as a variety of crises hit and provides procedures to follow to ensure your business is managed successfully during these times .

The plan , when understood , practiced and carried out , goes a long way to reducing confusion , to ‘ failing safe ’ – or not failing at all . It helps all members of staff know what to do , even if the nature of the crisis is not fully known . It stops people from acting in counterproductive or even dangerous ways .

The Business Continuity plan should act as a framework . It provides the overarching structure for any response . How your business responds to specific disruptions can be detailed in individual incident response

How your business responds to specific disruptions can be detailed in individual incident response elements within the plan .