Business, like life, is often unpredictable.
Events arise that must be dealt with, from staff and material shortages to technical issues. Whether it be internal or a sector wide problem, regional or national, an accident or a fault, it can often catch us unawares, disrupting or delaying operations and having a significant effect on any set deadlines.
However, some disruptions can be without any precedent whatsoever, making it much harder to deal with from the beginning, motivating contingency planning meetings and continuous research into HM Government and HMRC guidelines and leave a great deal of confusion amongst the employees and placing your business at risk. These delays and unfortunate outcome could potentially be even more catastrophic if you have not prepared for these types of emergencies.
Business Continuity Planning helps soften the blow in these events by preparing you in advance on the correct processes and procedures to follow to deal with the unexpected.
Please see below ten positive points about Business Continuity Planning:
- Preparing in advance can reduces the risk of staff incapacitation, or in the worst-case scenario, fatalities, occurring within the business. Taking the time to put in place emergency contingencies and evacuation plans which prepare people in advance can save a great deal of time and allow business to proceed with only a minor disruption. This can reduce staff incapacitation and in extreme cases potentially save lives whilst also showing you care about your staff’s wellbeing.
- Having a Continuity Plan set and in place gives companies a certain transparency that customers develop confidence with. It reassures them that the company can quickly recover or continue to function with little to no disruption from a disaster.
- As well as companies being open to customers about ongoing business continuity plans, having these contingencies and instructions in place can also reassure the employees and instruct them on how to proceed if a crisis should arise. This can save a great deal of time in terms of planning for the employees and allocating them time to learn these new procedures. They will automatically become more aware and start to adapt to the new situation themselves, without needing too much instruction.
- Implementing Business Continuity planning can ensure that you are compliant with existing industry mandates. If there are not regulations for your business to comply with, compliance with these standards proves that you are running your business in a responsible manner and keeping a safe working space.
- Companies who do not prepare for potential risks within the work environment can be penalized for not taking into consideration the safety and wellbeing of both their employees and their business. Your company’s Business Continuity Plan is a guaranteed smooth recovery plan, saving the brand that you have created and built a reputation for.
- After being made aware that Business Continuity Plans have been put in place, employees can subconsciously apply the same concepts when either developing a new product or providing a different service. They become quicker to adapt to the system’s implementation. It becomes second nature especially if it is put forward in advance and they are trained on it by a strong management team.
- Implementing the Business Continuity Plan creates a lot of valuable data that can be used to stimulate business growth and expand knowledge. It can provide recovery time objectives, projected financial impacts (due to the disruption) and identify critical tasks to be completed in order to re-establish normal function. If the data is referred to often, it can work as an advantage.
- The data accumulated can be used for progression and as a prediction as to what may happen, therefore enabling a business to put strategic plans in place to reduce loss.
- If a disruption is to occur, Business Continuity planning will ensure that each connection in your production network will be secured in case of the disturbance, authorizing you to keep providing merchandise or services as guaranteed.
- Having a solid business continuity program, in most cases may give you an advantage as rival companies may not. Nowadays being able to recover and respond efficiently to disasters is a vital necessity for a business to keep its success and to be able to continue to grow.
The learn more about our Business Continuity Plan, click here.
For HR and Health and Safety advice, check out our partners, Peninsula.
