This is part two of our BCP Business Continuity Plan or Business Recovery Plan Guide

The previous episode covered more of the technical side of it all: equipment, databases, online assets. We reminded you to go back to episode 1: Gathering your assets and the worksheets linked in those episodes. This show is only 20 minutes and the entire thing is important so I'm choosing NOT to timestamp it.

Solos - how do you keep the income coming in if something happens to you or your location?

Small businesses: Where can you or your staff set up camp if your office or your home office is not available due to flooding, fire, etc.?

Physical location: What is your entire office gets flooded, power outage, etc. what is your plan? Time to create the plan:

Assemble the most pertinent human and physical resources.

Define all job duties and responsibilities for entire team - this can include strategic partners who help you on different project elements.

Workflow for your office. Accounting, management.

What if you’re staying in a hotel temporarily, do you have VPN to encrypt your data on their internet connection?

Think about it, long-term change in location - building burned down.

How many places do you have to notify with your change of address? Domain services, hosting, banks, website, business cards, associates, associations, suppliers, utility companies, loans - so many people to update. Post office can get you started with a forwarding address order.

We will have a link to an outline for a plan. The rest of the info should be in your assets worksheet from Season 2: Episode 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGcBTKJ5ejs )

Reference disaster plan for instructions.
How do they get it?
Where is it stored?
Should be accessible from any location with internet access?
Is it long-term or short-term?
Payroll, banking. Who can get to all of this and are they authorized to get changes made?

Replacing personnel even if only temporary - or is there someone that can help service your clients short-term?

Cross-training - who can pick it up if a key person leaves? You may have an amazing manager who may quit, have a child, have a family emergency - and there you are needing to have someone or four people take over their duties.

Create a checklist of instructions for all staff roles so they can be duplicated by another staff member if necessary.

If you or the business become unavailable:

Appoint a response team with redundancies. company message, core message that is consistent through everyone who is speaking.

Who is to speak to your customers, the media, the public, the banks, who is NOT to speak.

Who is the response team?

Action plan: who does what and when.

 

 

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Episode Time Stamp:

00:01:19 Types of physical disasters such as an extended power outage, flood from pipes breaking or roof issues

00:03:00 Do this to make it easier for others, and your clients, not just for yourself.

00:03:30 You can get more business by having this. You’re not just a fly-by-night company.

00:04:00 What to do if you lose your physical location.

00:05:00 The security hazard of using public/free wi-fi.

00:07:00 Long term relocation plan.

00:10:00 List of names of those to call to carry on for you.

00:12:45 Who will take over your clients?

00:16:00 Who will speak on your behalf to the public and your clients about why you are not available?

00:19:00 Download documents and spreadsheets that are fill in the blank with your continuity plan.