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HAVING A PLAN

GIVES THE ORGANISATION A CANONICAL

PROCESS TO MANAGE DURING PANICKED TIMES . elements within the plan . This can include planning for :

• Natural disasters such as bad storms , fires , or floods

• Global pandemics , trade wars , or immigration bans

• IT events such as cyberattacks , network failures , etc .

• Financial crises like recessions or a run on the banks

• Issues at any point along the supply chain

• Health and safety , such as what to do in the event of workplace injury or illness

Does every business need a continuity plan ?

James Butland , VP Global Banking , Airwallex

Yes . There are no ifs or buts . If you wouldn ’ t drive without a destination in mind , knowing the rules of the road to get there safely , or a SatNav to help when a route is blocked , then don ’ t run a business without preparing for managing the downs – life is not all ups after

It ’ s worth brainstorming with a variety of your people from all levels and looking at best practices of plans from other businesses . Consider all kinds of incidents , from power loss to data loss , cyberattacks , to a vehicle crashing through the door . Go beyond the business site too . Ask , what if an event puts the management team out of action – unable to communicate ? Who takes over ? Even a small business is empowered by such planning .

Create the Business Continuity plan

Start simple and create the core framework and then build out the specific elements of the overall plan from there . There are three key pillars to the core framework for the plan .

Plan for risks AKA a business impact analysis , it ’ s the starting line from which you can map out the business-critical activities that must be protected . all . Business managers should be prepared for all the eventualities listed above that apply to them , their business , their premises – and likely a lot more items specific to where they are sited and what they handle .

1 . Start by outlining the critical business activities that need to occur in order for your business to continue .

2 . Identify any potential risks that may impact these activities .

3 . Analyse the likelihood that these may happen .

4 . Evaluate the consequence of this disruption occurring . What will the impact be on your business ? What will happen