Hope can be a powerful motivator for anyone looking to start their own business. But hope alone can’t protect your business from unexpected disruptions. A global pandemic, for example, can halt the operational effectiveness you’ve spent years building. That’s why having a business continuity plan is essential for any organization. Hope does, however, play a big part in the creation of a business continuity plan. Today, we’ll briefly discuss why you should never lose hope and how being prepared stems from the same notion as starting a business.
In the past, business continuity planning meant having a contingency for every analog system. Today, as the workplace has become increasingly digital, it’s critical to consider how the failure of one digital system can cascade and affect other systems. Planning ahead ensures your business can withstand disruptions and continue serving your customers.
How to Create a Business Continuity Plan
The planning process is similar to the one you used to start your business. You’ll need to assess who uses which systems, identify how downtime would impact their work, and find ways to mitigate the consequences. Unlike traditional workflows, digital systems are integrated throughout your organization. If one system goes down, it can have a widespread impact.
That’s why a backup and disaster recovery platform is a must-have. With the right platform, you can control which files are backed up, how they’re stored, and where they’re kept. This adds a critical layer of protection if a core piece of your IT infrastructure fails.
Maintaining Transparency During a Crisis
Another major point of emphasis when creating a continuity plan is how to stay transparent. Situations that arise that could alter schedules or negatively affect consumer data, could really put your company in a bind if you don’t have a plan on how to get that information to the people that need to know.
When disaster strikes, you will need to have this plan in order and ready to go. You will want to appoint strategic points of contact that will, in turn, notify their subordinates and customers if a situation dictates. This means having reliable communication options that won’t keep your people, and your customers in the dark.
The COVID-19 Pandemic: A Lesson in Preparedness
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a stark reminder of the importance of business continuity planning. If your business didn’t have a plan in place, you probably felt the impact more than those that did. The future of your business depends on having a solid, actionable plan that allows you to maintain operations even when disaster strikes.
