What is a Business Continuity Plan?
A business continuity plan (BCP) is a document that outlines how an organization will maintain or quickly resume critical functions in the event of an unexpected incident or disruption (https://smallbusiness.chron.com/definition-business-continuity-plan-objectives-4528.html). The purpose of a BCP is to provide a roadmap for continuing operations and recovering from potential threats.
Key elements of a BCP typically include:
- Business impact analysis – Identifying critical business functions and processes
- Recovery strategies – Plans for maintaining or restoring operations
- Response procedures – Steps to implement during a disruption
- Communication plans – Notifying staff, suppliers, customers etc.
- Testing protocols – Exercising and validating the plan
In summary, a business continuity plan is a document that outlines policies and procedures to ensure an organization can continue operating and bounce back in the face of a major disruption or disaster.
Why Have a Business Continuity Plan?
A business continuity plan is critical for protecting a business in the event of disruptions or disasters. The main goals of having a continuity plan are to:
- Protect the business in case of disruptions/disasters
- Ensure critical operations can continue
- Minimize financial losses
- Meet compliance requirements
Without a proper plan, disasters like fires, floods, cyber attacks or other events could force the company to cease operations temporarily or permanently. This can lead to significant revenue losses and reputational damage. A business continuity plan outlines strategies to maintain or quickly resume mission-critical functions during a crisis.
Having a documented plan shows regulators and auditors that the company is properly prepared for disasters. Certain industries like healthcare, financial services and public utilities are required by regulations to have business continuity plans. Additionally, investors and customers want to partner with resilient companies. So having a continuity plan is key for meeting compliance requirements, winning new business and maintaining stakeholder confidence.
In summary, a business continuity plan is an essential strategic tool for minimizing disruptions, protecting the company’s finances and reputation, meeting legal obligations, and ensuring critical operations can continue during an emergency.
Elements of a Business Continuity Plan
A business continuity plan is comprised of several key elements that work together to minimize disruption and enable the organization to recover critical operations after a disruption. The main elements of a BCP include:
Business Impact Analysis
A business impact analysis (BIA) identifies the organization’s critical business functions and processes and the resources needed to recover them in the event of a disruption. The BIA evaluates how various disruption scenarios would affect operations and aims to prioritize recovery of the most essential functions and resources first (https://www.moserit.com/blog/what-are-the-5-components-of-a-business-continuity-plan).
Recovery Strategies
The BCP outlines strategies for recovering critical systems, data, operations, and other resources based on the recovery time objectives established through the BIA. Strategies may include redundant infrastructure, offsite backups, alternative work locations, reliance on vendors, etc.
Response Procedures
Detailed response procedures are documented so personnel know how to react and who to contact when an incident occurs. Procedures outline actions to take during the initial response and subsequent phases of recovery.
Communication Plan
A communication plan specifies how to notify relevant parties (employees, customers, vendors, media, etc.) during and after a disruption. Effective communication is vital for coordinating response and recovery efforts.
Emergency Contact Lists
The BCP maintains updated contact information for employees, contractors, suppliers, customers, emergency services, and other stakeholders who must be reached during a crisis.
Testing and Exercises
Plans are periodically tested through tabletop exercises, walkthroughs, simulations, and drills. Testing helps evaluate the effectiveness of continuity strategies and procedures and identifies any gaps that need improvement (https://www.xometry.com/resources/shop-tips/the-10-components-of-a-business-continuity-plan/).
Developing a Business Continuity Plan
Developing a comprehensive and effective business continuity plan involves several key steps:
Get leadership commitment – Gaining buy-in and support from senior management is crucial for ensuring the business continuity planning process receives proper priority and resources (https://www.cio.com/article/288554/best-practices-how-to-create-an-effective-business-continuity-plan.html).
Form planning team – Assemble a cross-functional team representing IT, operations, communications, HR, legal/compliance, and other departments to collaborate on the planning process.
Assess risks – Identify potential threats to business operations through a risk assessment, considering events like natural disasters, cyber attacks, supply chain disruptions etc. This determines vulnerabilities and guides priorities for the plan (https://www.sba.gov/blog/seven-ways-start-your-business-continuity-plan).
Identify critical functions – Conduct a business impact analysis to determine the company’s most essential functions and processes that must be maintained during a disruption.
Determine resource needs – Document the financial, personnel, technology, facilities and other resources required to support critical operations in a crisis situation.
Document plan – Compile all information into a comprehensive, easy to understand document detailing response procedures and responsibilities.
Train employees – Educate staff across the organization on the plan so everyone understands their roles and responsibilities.
Test plan – Perform exercises and drills to validate the effectiveness of the plan and identify any gaps that need improvement.
Maintaining the Business Continuity Plan
A business continuity plan is a living document that needs to be regularly reviewed, updated, and tested to ensure it remains effective. Some key aspects of maintaining a business continuity plan include:
Regular reviews and updates: The plan should be reviewed at least annually to ensure all information is still accurate and relevant. Things like contact information, systems, processes, and business strategies can change over time and need to be updated in the plan (How to create an effective business continuity plan, 2022).
Additional training as needed: As changes are made to the plan, key stakeholders may need to be retrained on their roles and responsibilities during a disruption. New employees should also receive training on the plan (How to Maintain Business Continuity: 5 Key Strategies, 2022).
Routine testing and exercises: The plan should be tested regularly through exercises like walkthroughs, simulations, and drills. This helps validate that the procedures work and allows for gaps and issues to be identified and addressed (What is Business Continuity and Why is It Important?, 2022).
Incorporate lessons learned: Each test or actual disruption will provide lessons learned that can be used to improve the plan. Identify areas for improvement and update the plan accordingly.
Keeping the business continuity plan current and making sure it is ready to implement requires ongoing commitment and maintenance. But the investment of time and resources is well worth it to ensure organizational resilience.
Implementing the Business Continuity Plan
An effective business continuity plan must outline the criteria for activating the plan and identify who will execute it. Clear activation criteria help ensure appropriate and timely activation of the plan. The criteria should define specific events or scenarios that warrant plan invocation. Common activation criteria include natural disasters, cyber attacks, acts of terrorism, critical system failures or data loss, supply chain disruptions, and other business disruptions.
The business continuity plan should designate roles and responsibilities for all teams and personnel involved in executing the plan. It should identify a response team and chain of command, define each team member’s duties, specify who has authority to activate the plan, and outline communication protocols. Defined roles and responsibilities help coordinate an organized response during high-stress situations.
Communication protocols must enable rapid information sharing with employees, customers, partners, vendors, and other stakeholders during a disruption. The plan should specify communication channels, contact lists, status update procedures, and protocols for communicating with the media, government, shareholders and the public.
Access to resources is critical for business continuity. The plan should identify accessible facilities, equipment, systems, vital records, financial resources, human resources, and other assets required to recover operations. It may need to outline processes for procuring additional resources as needed.
Close coordination with external partners such as suppliers, vendors, banks, insurance providers, utilities, and travel companies will also facilitate response and recovery efforts. The business continuity plan should clearly define how and when to contact these external organizations.
With defined activation protocols, roles and responsibilities, communication procedures, access to resources, and coordination with partners, an organization can effectively implement its business continuity plan when disaster strikes.
Challenges of Business Continuity Planning
Developing and implementing an effective business continuity plan can be challenging. Some of the most common obstacles organizations face include:
Gaining leadership support – Without buy-in from senior leadership, business continuity planning efforts may be under-prioritized and underfunded. Strong executive sponsorship is key to driving organizational commitment.1
Securing adequate budget – Effective business continuity planning requires sufficient financial resources for activities like business impact analysis, plan development, testing, training, and maintenance. Lack of budget allocation can limit the scope and quality of BCP efforts.2
Complexity of supply chains – Modern supply chains are highly complex, with interdependencies between internal and external providers. Mapping and accounting for all potential failure points across supply networks can be enormously challenging.3
Keeping the plan updated – Business continuity plans cannot remain static. Changes to business processes, systems, locations, suppliers and other elements require plans to be continuously reviewed and refreshed.
Complacency after time without disruptions – During periods of stability, interest and urgency around business continuity planning naturally declines. This complacency can lead to inadequate investment and preparedness over time.
Best Practices for Business Continuity
Some key best practices for developing an effective business continuity plan include:
Top-down commitment to BCP – Gaining buy-in and support from leadership is crucial for providing the necessary resources and authority for business continuity planning. Executive sponsorship helps drive participation across the organization. As noted in an article on continuity2.com, “Support from the C-suite and stakeholders provides momentum and budget allocation for robust continuity.”
Cross-department collaboration – Business continuity planning requires input and coordination across multiple departments and functions. As explained on cio.com, “The CIO or IT department head can’t do it alone. A business continuity plan requires the collaboration of leaders from across the enterprise.” Engaging stakeholders from IT, operations, communications, HR, facilities, risk management, and other areas ensures a comprehensive plan.
Regular testing and reviews – It’s essential to test business continuity plans regularly through exercises and drills. This helps validate that procedures work as intended. As a best practice, organizations should review and update plans at least annually. One article listed on continuitycentral.com recommends integrating mobility as a core element of testing business continuity capabilities.
Using BIA to guide priorities – Conducting a business impact analysis helps determine critical systems, processes, and resources to prioritize for recovery. As noted on cio.com, BIA results “enable the business continuity planning team to focus on mission-critical applications and processes.” This data-driven approach focuses efforts on the most vital business functions.
Clear emergency communication plan – Having a way to quickly notify employees, customers, vendors, and other stakeholders is imperative during a disruption. This may involve mass notification systems, call trees, automated alerts, social media, and other channels. Procedures and contact information should be documented and readily accessible.
Business Continuity Plan Templates
There are many standard business continuity plan templates available that businesses can use and customize for their specific needs. These templates contain the key sections that a comprehensive business continuity plan should have, such as:
– Risk assessment to identify potential threats
– Procedures to respond to disruptions
– Contact information for employees and vendors
– Strategies for maintaining operations
The templates are structured so that businesses can easily add in their details to create a tailored plan. Most templates include sample text and instructions so businesses know what type of information to include in each section. There are industry-specific templates available for industries like healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, and more that have customized sections relevant for those sectors.
Some excellent business continuity plan template resources come from FEMA and Smartsheet. The templates are available in various formats like Word, Excel, PDF, and PowerPoint. Businesses can use these templates as a starting point and edit them to suit their specific continuity planning needs.
Business Continuity Resources
There are many resources available to help organizations develop effective business continuity plans. Some key resources include:
Professional Associations: Groups like the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) and the Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRII) provide standards, certification, training, conferences and other resources related to business continuity.
Government Agencies: FEMA and Ready.gov offer guidance, templates and tools for business continuity planning.
Consulting Firms: Many IT consulting and risk management firms like KPMG and Deloitte provide business continuity services and thought leadership.
Software: Solutions like Continuity Logic and Fusion Risk Management help organizations manage business continuity programs.
Training: Many providers like ICAROL offer business continuity training and certification courses.
