We all deal with the unexpected at some point in our working lives, yet when faced with a crisis are you prepared for every eventuality? Kate Nowlan, Rupert Reid and Chris Larkin from CiC, discuss how to plan an effective business continuity policy.

When faced with a crisis, whatever the degree of severity, the reaction for many organisations is to do nothing. Fear of making the wrong decision leads to apprehension, but simply talking about business continuity is not enough in today’s modern working world.

Directors and managers of any organisation need to address their duty of care requirements, working for a gradual buy-in process that ensures strong policies are in place over a number of years.

Business continuity is a life support when things go wrong, and those organisations that pre-plan will have the ability to deal with the tidal wave of continuous issues that are thrown at them during any major incident.

So what can businesses do to ensure they have the best chance of survival? A communications strategy is essential. Keeping employees informed of what is happening will ensure there are no perceived hidden agendas, which might cause staff to start drawing their own conclusions.

There should also be continuous liaison between HR and directors/managers, both in implementing the business continuity policy and throughout any critical incident to ensure the HR team is properly briefed to handle any staff concerns. Overall, when planning business continuity policies, employers should take into account five key areas, or, what we call, the five ‘Ps’:

1. People:

The most important resource in an organisation:

• Staff may not only be affected physically but psychologically. Having resources available such as EAP / confidential helplines /on-site support will give staff and managers the opportunity to talk to trained counsellors about their feelings during an incident and in its aftermath.
  
• Address the issue of absenteeism by offering flexible working hours and home working. Another area to be considered may be practical support, financial or otherwise, to help staff coming into work. Incentives may cost money but it is important to weigh up the financial implication for the interim against the financial implications of staff not returning to work at all.

2. Product:

The corporate reputation of an organisation is a key factor to address:

• Risk assessment is an integral part of crisis planning, especially within the first 24 to 48 hours. Assessing departments and identifying critical posts within the organisation will enable plans to be put in place for these areas, minimising disruption to staff and clients in the event of a critical incident.




• Review policies on the financial side of the organisation with accounts/payroll. In any crisis, employees still need to be paid so directors must ensure that basic pay can be given, even if it is necessary for the organisation to relocate their payroll department.




• Managing potential job loss. The organisation should act responsibly and supportively, and pre-plan. HR must be prepared as there is likely to be an influx of calls from employees.




• Liability issues. The gestation period after any critical incident is around three to five years, therefore it is crucial that organisations plan ahead and constantly review those policies that are in place.

3. Partnerships:

An organisation will need to call on these partnerships in times of crisis:

• Ensure partnerships are strong and that key suppliers have business continuity plans of their own in place. This will help to minimise disruption to both parties in the event of an incident.




• Build external relationships. Look ahead to areas of the business that could be outsourced and put plans in place to do this.

4. Press:

It is important to plan for how an organisation will respond to the media in a crisis, both in terms of keeping them informed and handling media speculation. It is essential to have a responsible, senior and well-briefed single point of contact for all press communication. Maintaining the reputation of an organisation throughout a critical incident is crucial.

5. Property:

Organisations must review their sites and systems in any business continuity plan to know what is in their building and what supports their working infrastructure. Looking at the whole business rather than just one particular site will allow organisations to use space in unaffected buildings/sites, giving them the potential to relocate departments in the event of a critical incident.

There are also key systems beyond those covered by IT to address which allow a business to operate, for example switchboards. It may be possible to relocate the switchboard to another area but it also requires the wider infrastructure to support the telephony or else it will not be possible for the organisation to function. Pre-planning in this key area will give time for modifications to be made in some areas, and will enable organisations to evaluate what vital equipment may need to be purchased or rented in the event of an incident, to ensure the organisation keeps running.

Organisations with effective business continuity plans are those that prioritise and look after their staff. Business continuity planning takes time and is a constant cycle of planning, reviewing and modifying. Every organisation can expect to face one major crisis every five years; the question is, when will yours be?

Kate Nowlan is CEO of CiC; Rupert Reid and Chris Larkin are both business continuity consultants for CiC. For more information, please visit: www.employee-support.co.uk.