Perfecting My Business

In a perfect world, your business would never get disrupted. Every business owner knows that the unexpected does and will happen and that the only defense is to be prepared for every situation. That's where business continuity planning consulting can come into play. This type of planning will ensure that you and your team have a plan to keep the business moving forward no matter what happens. If you've never put together a plan like this before, here are some tips that might help.

Figure Out Who Your Team Is

If you want your business to react quickly when something goes wrong, you need to have a team of people who already know exactly what to do so they can immediately start implementing your plan. A good business recovery team might include some of your more senior leaders, but remember that you will still need others to lead the day to day business while others step up to deal with the special problem. It could also be helpful to have an outside consultant who has dealt with your emergency before. Such a consultant might even be able to help you put your plan together, before disaster strikes.

Identify Essential Business Functions

If a crisis breaks out and you have to pare back your business in some way, what would you be left with? What are the bare minimum daily functions you still have to maintain to keep the lights on and sales coming in? Your continuity team may be able to help brainstorm or identify what these specific functions are.

If you for some reason lost access to your regular workspace, do you have an alternative method you could use to keep core functions like sales going? For example, many businesses today now have a continuity plan in place for what they would do if there was a COVID-19 outbreak among employees. Who would still come into the office, would you be able to conduct any business over the phone instead, and so on.

Use Software to Stay Organized

Business continuity planning software can help you be more prepared for any situation. Different emergencies could occur—ranging from a natural disaster to a pandemic and more. With software to plan things out and stay organized, you can be ready for any situation. With a couple of keystrokes, you can quickly be reminded of who is to run point whenever a problem does occur and have the initial plan written down and stored for the future.