Business continuity management

Could your business survive in the face of an unplanned disaster? Have you thought about what you would do if the worst happens? If not, now's the time to put some thought into business continuity management.

Business Continuity Management ensures your essential business functions can continue during a disruption and helps you get back to a normal level of operation as quickly as possible.

Whatever the size of your business you could benefit from considering what you would do if the unthinkable or unplanned happened  eg the loss of access to premises, loss of a main supplier or a sudden increase in work load.

The British Standards Institute Code of Practice (BS25999-1 2006) defines Business Continuity Management as

'a business-owned, business-driven process that establishes a fit-for-purpose strategic and operational framework that:

• proactively improves an organisation's resilience against the disruption of its ability to achieve its key objectives;
• provides a rehearsed method of restoring an organisation's ability to supply its critical products and services to an agreed level within an agreed time after disruption;
• delivers a proven capability to manage a business disruption and protect the organisation's reputation and brand.

While the individual processes of business continuity management can change with an organisation's size, structures and responsibilities, the basic principles remain the same for voluntary, private or public sector organisations, regardless of size, scope or complexity.'

Benefits

An effective Business Continuity Management programme ensures the organisation:

• Maintains an ability to manage risks - expected and unexpected
• Could gain advantage by maintaining service or product delivery
• Has in place an effective response to disruptions to minimise impact
• Could enhance its reputation
• Encourages cross team working
• Practices the plan and processes to ensure it is effective in a crisis

As well as providing significant advantages during an emergency, continuity planning is also helpful in cases where a business needs to respond quickly to an unanticipated increases in work demands ie through unexpected success.

What to do

There are six basic steps to safeguarding your business:

• Decide on a Business Continuity Management Programme relevant to the size and complexity of your organisation 
• Understand your business - how long could your business survive without carry out its main business activities? What are the specific impacts and threats?
• Decide on realistic continuity strategies - what methods of resilience can you put in place to limit any unexpected impacts?
• Write a plan to help you identify in advance, as far as is possible, the actions and resources needed to help you immediately manage any interruption to your business objectives.
• Exercise, maintain and review - rehearse your continuity arrangements to highlight weakness in plans and assumptions. Don't be afraid to ask suppliers/partners what they are doing to reduce potential negative impacts to your business.
• Embed Business Continuity Management into your organisation's culture - raise awareness and keep plans up to date.

Quick assessment

Look at the 10 minute assessment (PDF, opens in a new window) to see what arrangements you may already have in place.