Civil emergencies - business continuity advice
How would your business cope in a crisis? Do
you have a Business Continuity Management (BCM) plan to guide your
recovery? Or are you just leaving it to luck?
A common misconception is that
BCM
merely encompasses
backup and recovery plans and that external consultants are needed
to do this. However, provided you know your business
environment, it can in fact actually be inexpensive and relatively
easy to implement.
Business continuity planning
Business continuity planning is a process of
identifying and evaluating the risks to your business and then
planning to enable the business to continue operating (and recover)
if the worst happens.
Around the world regulators and governments
are putting great emphasis on the need for organisations to have
effective
BCM
in
place. Some insurance companies are setting the level of business
interruption premiums according to the speed at which an
organisation is able to resume business. Several large businesses
are starting to insist on suppliers having robust
BCM
processes in place before
they will trade with them.
According to
AXA
research, three quarters of small and medium sized
enterprises (SMEs) are risking it all through lack of survival
planning. One third admits to relying on luck to make important
business decisions. Despite recent high-profile threats to business
hitting the news, from terrorist attacks, extreme weather, petrol
blockades, fires and trade disputes, research has found that the
UK's SMEs are gambling on their futures.
The ten authorities in Greater
Manchester have worked together to compile a booklet which
provides detailed information and advice on how to plan and
implement BCM in your business or organisation.
For advice see the attached documents
Pandemic
Influenza Checklists for Businesses (130kb); and
Promoting Business
Continuity (136kb)