BCP 101
Business continuity planning should be an integral part of every
business -- large and small, public and private, for-profit and non-profit.
Every business should plan for how it would continue to operate in
the face of interruption from a variety of natural or man-made
hazards.
It may seem to be daunting, but business continuity planning doesn't
have to be complex. At the basic level, the planning process follows a
logical progression of steps:
- Identify what hazards apply to your business. These can be natural hazards
(e.g. severe weather, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc.) or man-made
hazards (e.g. computer viruses, vandalism, theft, etc.).
- Determine the risk that these hazards pose to your business. Probability,
severity and length of impact involving these hazards will
help determine how much and what kind of risk each poses.
- Develop plans and procedures to help your business prepare for, respond to and recover
from interruptions. For example, you may determine that a power failure would
cause you to lose access to your critical accounting records. You may implement
a plan to provide backup power by purchasing a generator and ensure your records
are backed up to tape or other media.
- Continue to refine your plans through exercises and evaluation
of how they performed in real events.
In an effort to build awareness across the business community, the ACP Corporate
Board of Directors and ACP Chapter Presidents have created a strategic initiative
to assist small and medium-sized businesses. These areas traditionally receive the
brunt of impact from natural hazards and business owners rarely have the resources
to hire full time business continuity planners or experienced consultants.
IBHS - Open for Business® Resources for Small & Medium Size Businesses
ACP has teamed up with long-term partner the
Institute for Business and Home
Safety (IBHS) to utilize their Open for Business® Toolkit in an effort
to educate and encourage small to mid-sized businesses to
develop comprehensive property protection and business
continuity plans.
ACP and IBHS invite small and mid-sized business owners to
review and implement the planning tools that are provided
below.
For additional information, please contact a local ACP Chapter or IBHS at (813) 675-1051.
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