May 16 to 20, 2016 is Business Continuity Awareness Week. It is a time to begin thinking of developing or updating your business’ continuity plan on what to do at times when your business’ ability to operate is compromised. When a disruption occurs at work – is it business as usual or could everything stop?
Having a business continuity plan in place is a smart business practice. No plan will be able to provide all the answers or address every conceivable disruption, but having strategy in place will help to minimize the impact and consequences of a disruption. Insuring the safety of employees, equipment, work site, and customers requires planning, and any amount of planning is better than no planning at all.
Having a plan just makes ‘cents’. Benefits could include lower insurance rates, increased staff and consumer confidence and increased profits.
What is business continuity planning?
Business continuity planning is a process aimed at minimizing the impact of disruptions to normal business and allowing the service to return to an acceptable level of operation. It is focused on maintaining the most critical business functions during any kind of disruption.
Getting started on your business continuity plan involves:
· Considering all the possible disruptions to your business
· Determining how those disruptions can impact your business operations
· Rating the disruptions from highest to lowest
· Prioritizing your plan according to this rating
Who is involved in business continuity planning?
Business Continuity Planning is a collaborative process that may involve all departments within your organization. When all groups work together, it will ensure a resilient workplace in the event of disruptions.
Brampton businesses interested in learning more about business continuity and emergency preparedness, visit our website atwww.brampton.ca/prepared, emailbeminfo@brampton.ca or call 905.874.2911.