What should be in a Business Disaster Plan
A business continuity plan is exactly what it sounds like: a plan, prepared before a disaster strikes, that will quickly and efficiently get the business back on its feet and resume services after the disaster strikes.At a minimum, the following information should be included:
- Company’s Policy on Implementation: should describe what scenarios will trigger implementation of the plan, who is responsible for implementing the plan, and who will communicate with employees, vendors, customers and business partners.
- Assets available after a Disaster: what offices will coordinate efforts to get the business back up and running, whether temporary space is available, methods of communication, insurance policies and coverage, employee assistance programs, and emergency fund availability.
- Communications: Identify emergency contact information for key personnel, “call trees” for all employees, role of various offices in a disaster, customer and client contact lists, and what forms of communication should be available after a disaster.
- List of Mission Critical Systems: This is the “meat and potatoes” of your business continuity plan, and should identify operational, financial, administrative and regulatory systems and processes that are needed to run your business, and who will be responsible for bringing those systems “on-line”.
- Data Backup and recovery. At a minimum, identify which systems should be backed up, how often they will be backed up, where the backups will be stored, and who has access to backups after a disaster.
- Unique Industry or business concerns. Different industries may require special details - particularly professional and financial service industries. Also, single member entities (single member LLC, sole proprietorships) may require additional information in the event that the disaster affects the business owner’s ability to work. You should consult with a specialist or legal advisor to determine any unique areas that cover your industry or business organization.
- Review and Update: Should include a timeline for regular review, testing of the plan, and updating of the plan as weaknesses/flaws are discovered.
Many business owners procrastinate on sitting down and assembling a business continuity plan. Often, a business owner/operator with no systems for the backup and restoration of critical data and processes will procrastinate in developing a plan to get those systems back on line after a disaster or disruption in business. These are probably the businesses that collapse when disaster strikes.
By sitting down with a small business attorney now to develop a business continuity plan, the small business owner/operator will get a much clearer picture of what he or she can do today to keep from going under when disaster strikes.
The Attig Law Firm provides Business Continuity plans on a fixed fee basis: contact us today for a consultation.
