Sunday, September 22, 2013

Appropriate Ways To Design Business Continuity Plan

By Mia McCall


Developing an effective Business Continuity Plan is the crucial goals of most companies and business enterprises. Since it is the most economical insurance, this is often preferred by small companies and business enterprises. This is as a result of the little cost incurred in making it. It is essential as it ensures that the employees remain at production units even in cases of emergencies or disasters.

However, a number of companies do not develop such plans. It is of great significant to ensure continued operation of the company in the act or event of disasters. This type of plan can also be closely associated with Disaster Recovery Plan due to their similar structure. However, the latter is focused on the recovery while BCP indicate the way the business should be continuing in the act until the accomplishment of the recovery. Therefore the two documents play a significant role and are usually compiled in one document.

There are distinct steps followed in the preparation of this document. The initial step is documenting internal key personnel as well as backups. That is, people to fill in essential positions which the company or the business cannot do without. You should identify some who can telecommute. These are individuals who are capable of conducting the company business from a home office. It essential for most of the key personnel to telecommute, this will limit risks posed by disasters.

You should ensure proper documentation of your external contacts. This may be a list of people who renders significant helps to the business. They may include IT consultants, key personnel, and banks, among others. Proper documentation of critical equipment is as well essential. This may entails personal computers since they may contain critical information relating to the company. Documents such as articles of incorporation as well as other legal documents should also be effectively documented.

In the plan you need to identify contingency equipment and locations. There is a need to identify places where this equipment may be relocated in case of emergency or disaster. You should establish an alternative location to be used when the primary location is unavailable.

The company should as well design (how to). This indicates the steps and procedures to be followed in case of such an occurrence. It indicates the persons or the departments charged with such roles. Accessibility of such information is also of great value to the employees.

It is essential to communicate to every member of the company or the business the content of a Business Continuity Plan. This might be done through training to the entire employee whether they have responsibility outlined in the plan or not. Before the implementation, there is need to test it. This will enable the company to gain insight on the effectiveness of the plan or whether it needs changes.

Achieving maximum profit and delivering quality services is the ultimate goals of most business enterprises. This can be done effectively by developing appropriate Business Continuity Plan. This will significantly prevent the company from risk posed by emergencies or disasters.




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