Before Disaster Strikes: Developing a Business Continuity Plan Pick up a newspaper in any town around the country and you will likely read about some type of disaster happening within a business or community. Hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, blizzards, employee misconduct, product recalls, accidents or a simple community misunderstanding - all can wreak havoc on a company. Developing a business continuity plan (BCP) is as important as developing a mission statement and a business plan; and your BCP might be the key to keeping your business going in the event of a disaster situation. No company ever expects to have to deal with a crisis, but large or small, many eventually will encounter some kind of disaster. If your business is to survive in a disaster, having a business continuity plan will help the company be prepared. Effective responses to a disaster will involve all divisions of your company, so your planning should include all those divisions and be led by top management. Pull together a team of managers representing all divisions of the company. Members of this team should represent all segments of the company including senior management, operations, finance, marketing, engineering, information systems (IS) and human resources. This team will have the responsibility to make decisions on how to respond to whatever situation the disaster presents. It is important to understand that even the best business continuity plan cannot include every situation and everything the company will need to handle the situation. It is the leadership team that brings together the expertise to understand and evaluate the specific crisis and come up with solutions to help the organization cope with it. Having identified the leadership team before the disaster is the key, then trust that the team will respond effectively to the situation as it develops. Once you have your team identified, the next step is to determine what types of disasters could possibly occur at the company's location. Visualize the worst possible scenario. How will it be dealt with? If plans have been developed to handle the worst event possible, a less extreme disaster will be easier to handle. Also include secondary impacts of the disaster such as loss of utilities, computer systems and telephone service. Now you are ready to begin the next steps: identify the business functions that are crucial to your organization's survival and then identify the people, supplies, equipment and technology required to keep those functions going. Key functions should be listed in priority order chronologically as you would restore normal operations. This allows the management team to focus its energy on returning to full operations effectively. For example, a telemarketing company's crucial function would be to restore phone service as soon as possible. Of secondary importance would be cosmetic functions, such as repairing the office area. Be certain to include in your BCP a way to access the critical documents and information you will need to resume operations as quickly as possible. The following points may seem simple and obvious, but it is important to realize that many organizations neglect to prepare until it is too late. Priority lists for the retrieval of items from the office if there is time to remove equipment. Study the building layout and the location of utilities. In the event of a disaster such as a flood, knowledge of gas and electrical shut-offs is crucial. Approach shutting off this equipment with caution. Phone numbers and contact information for customers, suppliers, and contractors. Store key records and computer back-up data off-site. If your location is vulnerable to flooding, consider locating essential equipment on upper floors, rather than lower levels. Keep company vehicles fueled and preventive maintenance current. This can be useful in the event of flooding or power outages. Evaluate whether you should have specific emergency equipment on hand (generators, fuel, inventory of single-source raw materials, etc.). Record office equipment, inventory, etc. with photos if possible. Post building evacuation routes and hold practice fire drills. Record the policy numbers of insurance policies, and have contact information for your broker so you can reach him/her after hours if needed. Consider whether it makes sense to obtain business interruption insurance. Now you are ready to write your BCP. An effective plan should contain clear procedures with details giving the specifics to restore operations. Step-by-step procedures should clearly describe roles for all levels of personnel. Every employee affected by the plan should have a copy of it (or an abbreviated version, if appropriate) and management should ensure all employees stay current with the provisions of the plan. Depending on the scope of the disaster, the media may be interested and ask you for comments. If this happens, the company should speak with only one voice. A designated member of the BCP management team (and one alternate) should be chosen to communicate with the media and handle all public relations situations that may arise. Make sure both of these individuals have been trained in dealing with the media. Your marketing professionals can assist in developing a Crisis Communications Plan (CCP). This document will provide guidance in dealing with the media as well as identifying methods for contacting and communicating with your key clients, suppliers, vendors and of course your employees. The plan should also include current telephone and fax numbers for local television, radio and newspapers so you can provide them with accurate information. If the disaster involves complex or technical issues, arrange to have your internal technical experts available to advise your designated media spokesperson. For instance in a chemical spill situation, a chemist or specialist in this area can help advise your spokesperson prior to releasing information to the media. Here are some basic guidelines to keep in mind when dealing with the media: Be accessible to the media Answer questions as directly and briefly as you can, in a positive manner Provide supplemental information at hand in the form of fact sheets Understand what the media needs Do not mislead, lie or argue with reporters Avoid saying "no comment" Once your business continuity plan is written, it should be tested at least annually. Testing your BCP will identify areas that may have been missed as you were developing the plan or sections that are outdated as conditions in your operations change over time. It is better to find the gaps in your BCP during a test scenario than during a real disaster situation. Any potential disaster, no matter how it is caused, has the potential for negative impact on your company. Although many managers would like to think that they can handle anything that arises, a crisis can be very overwhelming. Having an up-to-date business continuity plan in place is smartest thing a company can do to ensure their business can recover and thrive even after the smoke clears.