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As a business owner, you are rarely going to get any notice for when disaster is going to strike. Even if you were to get some notice, there are a range of things to take care of, and all incidents are different, you are likely to not be prepared enough in the way that you need to be. However, as a business owner, being prepped and planning ahead, in case of emergency is vital. You need to have a continuity plan in place for your business so that if disaster does strike you will be able to keep the business running as things get sorted out, or at least be able to get things back up and running as quickly as possible. Without putting plans in place, it could mean that if disaster strikes, your business could go out of business, for good.
There are crisis management apps that you can download and use for this kind of planning, as well as making your own records. The key thing is to make decisions that work for your business and then make sure that it is communicated clearly to all. When everyone in the business knows what to do or what will happen, it will make much more of a difference.
Business continuity plan
One of the most common business continuity tools includes a checklist for supplies and equipment, as well as details of where backup data is held, backed up sites, and where the plan is. Think about who should know the details of the plan, and make sure that there is some contact information available for anyone who needs to access the plan and get the ball rolling with things.
A disaster recovery plan is part of the business continuity plan that you have, so taking time to develop a disaster recovery plan is vital for your business. If you have a plan already in place, then you should check it and update it regularly, as things change from people in the business, to contact details and backup details. Be realistic with the expectations that you have and make sure that it all aligns with the business needs.
One thing to consider is that when you make your plan, you should think about interviewing some key people in businesses who have had to go through a disaster and have come out the other side. They will have had to put a real business continuity plan into place, so they will be able to let you know what has worked well, as well as what really wasn’t relevant. Getting these kinds of insights can be a good thing and help you to see it from a completely different perspective, sharing things that you would never have thought of before.
Business management is key in promoting the plan to the rest, and if you don’t know what should happen in the shop if there is a flood, for example, then how do you expect your employees to know what to do? Getting management involved in the training and implementation of the plan will help to have a greater impact on employees and help to give the plan more clout.
