{"id":45897,"date":"2020-12-14T00:38:32","date_gmt":"2020-12-14T00:38:32","guid":{"rendered":"\/us\/en\/blog\/?p=45897"},"modified":"2024-07-24T17:27:32","modified_gmt":"2024-07-25T00:27:32","slug":"what-is-a-business-continuity-plan-and-why-does-your-company-need-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/what-is-a-business-continuity-plan-and-why-does-your-company-need-it\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a business continuity plan and why does your company need it?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How would your business cope in an emergency? If you don\u2019t know the answer to this, you\u2019re putting your business at risk.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can\u2019t predict disasters, but you can do your best to minimize the damage when it happens. One way to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/how-cloud-technology-can-benefit-businesses-in-case-of-a-disaster\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reduce the impact a disaster<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> might have on your business is a continuity plan. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is a business continuity plan?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Benefits of a business continuity plan?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The challenges of business continuity<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to develop a business continuity plan<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who is responsible for a business continuity plan?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><strong>What is a business continuity plan (BCP)?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A business continuity plan (BCP) is a strategy that will allow your business to keep moving in the face of adversity. The plan is created with the goal to keep your business running during an unplanned disruption.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Business disruption can come in many forms, including:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A natural disaster<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cyberattacks<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other threats to computer systems such as malware<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">System outage\/failure<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Onsite fires or floods<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fema.gov\/media-library-data\/1441212988001-1aa7fa978c5f999ed088dcaa815cb8cd\/3a_BusinessInfographic-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">40 &#8211; 60%<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of small businesses never reopening after a disaster, it\u2019s vital to have a strategy in place to manage disruptions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Putting preventative measures in place can be the best solution. Measures like data backup checks on a cloud-based system to minimize data loss, or backup power generators to get your IT systems and other electricals up and running, can make the process easier. For example, some companies <a href=\"https:\/\/clumio.com\/platform\/aws\/amazon-s3\/\">use S3 backups<\/a> to ensure their data is safe and reduce the risk of data loss.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This may also mean you have an alternative operations site ready to use in the event you can\u2019t work from your main building. This should be organized in advance, so you know where and how you\u2019ll continue running your business, even in a crisis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Such scenarios should be included in your business continuity plan, along with how you plan to enforce them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-45898\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Business-continuity-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/micromaintenance.co.uk\/disaster-recovery\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image source<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Benefits of a business continuity plan<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A business continuity plan comes with many benefits, and if you don\u2019t have one then you\u2019re putting your business at risk of being one of 40% that close forever.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some of the main benefits of a business continuity plan:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Keeps your business operating during and after a major incident<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many businesses struggle to stay standing after a disaster without a plan in place. They may spend more of their time planning what to do about the disaster, extending their downtime. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fema.gov\/media-library-data\/1441212988001-1aa7fa978c5f999ed088dcaa815cb8cd\/3a_BusinessInfographic-1.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">90%<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of companies fail within a year unless they can resume operations within 5 days. This is much easier to accomplish when you\u2019ve already calculated your next moves.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Builds customer confidence<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re transparent about your business processes, it instills confidence in customers. If they know you\u2019ve got business continuity plans, they can feel reassured they\u2019ll be taken care of, should something happen. It also shows that you\u2019re committed to helping their business.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Has the ability to save lives<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A business continuity program isn\u2019t just about your business\u2019s success. It\u2019s also about employee wellbeing. When you plan fire drills and evacuation drills, you\u2019re showing employees exactly how a disaster should be handled.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>It ensures compliance with industry standards<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A business continuity plan can provide proof for shareholders and key stakeholders that you\u2019re running your business responsibly.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Helps mitigate your financial risk<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By putting certain procedures in place, you\u2019re preventing some disasters e.g. a cyber attack, from occurring. The financial losses this could incur can be avoided with an effective business continuity plan.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you don\u2019t have a business continuity plan, you should start by carrying out a business impact analysis. This will help you gain a deeper understanding of what your business could potentially lose, including key assets and critical IT technology. You can then identify the likelihood and potentially damaging impact if a disaster were to strike.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-45899\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/GettyImages-533699494-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1217\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@startaeteam\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Source<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>The challenges of business continuity<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a major disaster, you can lose everything. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/4-reasons-why-video-conferencing-is-critical-to-business-continuity\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Business continuity<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> during such difficult times can be tough, on both the business\u2019s bottom line and your employees fighting to keep it afloat.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are many challenges you can face during a disaster. Business continuity management aims to minimize all damage incurred by any emergency, but there are many challenges to overcome.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Fighting against data loss<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Firstly, there\u2019s a very real risk that you could lose important data. Many companies who rely on data will back it up every 12 to 24 hours. This means that, in a crisis, that might only lose 24 hours\u2019 worth of data, at most.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take law firms, for example. They deal with time-pressured projects and can\u2019t afford any delays or setbacks, for the sake of their clients. Because they handle such sensitive information, it\u2019s vital that it\u2019s not lost. They may choose to backup their systems off-site every 12 hours to ensure as much data as possible is recovered in the event of an emergency.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Suddenly going remote<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If your team members are no longer able to work in the office, you\u2019ll need to find a way for them to work remotely. Communication can be particularly difficult in this instance, particularly if the team isn&#8217;t used to remote work. Your team probably has a lot on their plate, from reassuring clients to recovering data losses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This can lead to a lot of flicking between apps, missed communications, and frustrated employees. RingCentral is an all-in-one solution that can help.\u00a0 And, setting up the software in advance will ensure you have the right technology in place, ready to be used if your team suddenly needs to work remotely.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/online-meetings\/overview.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">video call<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, phone call, and message all in one place. What&#8217;s more, your team can work from their existing software thanks to RingCentral app integrations. You can connect your Skype, Gmail, Salesforce, Trello, and more to your RingCentral account, so your team has everything they need on one platform.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Relying on communication and project planning software isn\u2019t ideal if your team is used to in-person collaborative work. But in the end, they may find that having everything together actually helps their workflow, and they\u2019d rather jump on a <a class=\"waffle-rich-text-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/video-call.html\">video call<\/a> for an instant response then send a long-winded email.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Keeping clients happy<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You won\u2019t be the only one panicking if a disaster occurs. Your clients will be worrying about your time-bound commitments to them, and their sensitive data. If you\u2019ve spent time <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-relations\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">building customer relations<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, this will be much easier to navigate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keeping clients happy is one of the biggest challenges of business continuity. Simply having a great business continuity team can help to put your client\u2019s mind at ease, especially if you\u2019re a B2B company. If your clients know you have all the right measures in place should something happen, then they can be reassured that you\u2019ll still be able to help them reach their targets. This can avoid the knock-on effect of impacting their workflow.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>How to develop a business continuity plan<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A business program plan isn\u2019t something to be drafted overnight. It takes analysis, careful planning, and a team of people to put it together. Given that the success of your business could potentially depend on this plan, you can understand why there\u2019s a need to get it right. Critical business functions should be outlined here.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, what\u2019s included in a business continuity plan? Let\u2019s take a look at some of the essential elements.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Identify goals and objectives\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This may seem obvious. The goal is to keep your business running, right? But actually, goals can vary depending on your business.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re an IT-focused company with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/work-from-home.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">remote working<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> employees, then your main goal may be minimizing data loss. But if you\u2019re a warehouse with a huge workforce, your main goal is ensuring the safety of employees if the disaster was something life-threatening like a fire or hurricane.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ll also need to go into detail about the types of disasters you may encounter because they will affect your business differently. For example, finance firms could be at a higher risk of cyber attacks because of the information they handle, so need to be more aware of how they can prevent this.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the other hand, a business in an area prone to hurricanes like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/universalproperty.com\/united-states-where-hurricanes-hit-most\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Florida<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> may need to take physical security into account, such as equipment for boarding up windows and sandbags for preventing flooding.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Assess key business processes\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You need to develop an understanding of the business\u2019s core needs and identify which business processes would have the most damage to the company overall. Business processes such as human resources could have a differing impact to marketing, for example.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Examine each key area of the business, and assign it as either low, medium, or critical for the company. Some questions you may want to ask are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How does this process support the business objectives?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can it lead to loss of sales\/income?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can this decrease customer satisfaction and loyalty?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How often does this process occur?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What other areas of the business are dependent on this?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are there potential legal issues?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eventually, you will be able to sort your business processes according to these questions. You can then include them in your business continuity plan, from low priority to top priority. This is a good indicator of how your plan needs to be structured going forward, and what key roles and responsibilities are needed to ensure your high priority processes are secured.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. Establish a team<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensure you\u2019ve got a team of people who can contribute to your business operations after the disaster. This emergency management team should include key roles that your business can\u2019t function without. For example, employees who:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Manage sales\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lead production processes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deal with clients and their accounts<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understand most areas of the business<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Manage finances<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This team will be a key driving force in getting your business back on its feet.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>4. Perform a risk assessment and business impact analysis\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The business impact analysis (BIA) can establish what impact potential threats could have on each area of the business. This can include the predicted recovery time objectives (RTO) and recovery point objectives (RPO). A risk assessment can run through all the types of risks the business may face. Risk management is key for the business.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using this information, you can put together a detailed document of what to do in each potential scenario. The team can refer back to this if disaster should strike, and confidently execute the plan without too much downtime.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>5. Include key external contacts\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your business may rely on a number of key external contacts who are essential to its operation. Although a small business may not have many external contacts, they still need to be notified. These may include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contractors\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Service providers<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IT repair team, electricians, and consultants<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Accountants<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Suppliers<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Distributors<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keep this contact information list within the disaster recovery plan, to ensure that your employees can connect with your key external contacts and keep them informed.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>6. Business recovery strategy<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This should be the most in-depth part of your business continuity plan because it will include details on how you plan to maintain operations. Agree on clear strategies and responses that you can follow in various situations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This could include recovery for the systems, stock, suppliers, resources, and equipment. Essentially anything that helps with your business operations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some key points to incorporate into your planning process:<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>1. Prevention and replication<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What measures can you put in place to prevent a disaster? Of course, some instances simply can\u2019t be controlled such as natural disasters. But, cyber attacks and ransomware can be saved in some cases. Once you\u2019ve determined this, begin a replication plan.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A replication plan is how you plan to copy and move applications from one system to another. For example, having an external, off-site copy of data that\u2019s periodically synchronized with the live version. Data centers can be a solid option for data backup.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>2. Response<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you\u2019ve established key departments, set out a response plan for each one. Include each member\u2019s responsibilities, and who they should report to in the case of an emergency. For example:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who will declare the emergency?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who will speak to the press?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who will let clients know what\u2019s happening?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Appoint a company spokesperson that can deal with possible media interest in the incident. But <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">always <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ensure that your staff and clients know first.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>3. Recovery<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s time to bounce back. After the event has been contained, you can press-on with your recovery plan. This should include guidelines for each department on how to gradually recover. Many employees expect a timeline to work around, which can be important in keeping morale and productivity high. Disaster recovery planning can help with this.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s at this stage you should ensure that employees are kept connected, no matter where they are working from. Hopefully, they will all be back in the office together soon, but until then, software like RingCentral can bring <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">facilitate <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/getting-high-tech-collaboration-right\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">collaboration<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">when they need it most.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Who is responsible for a business continuity plan?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An effective business continuity plan should be created by leaders but executed by everyone. In the disaster recovery section of the business continuity plan, there should be a list of roles and responsibilities for employees.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your coordinator and incident commander will be tasked with activating and coordinating your organization\u2019s disaster recovery plan. They should take expert advice from people on the ground who can help your business through the crisis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Employees should adhere to this at all times, and play their part in getting the business back to running and smoothly as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>It\u2019s never too early to create a business continuity plan<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your company needs a business continuity plan if you want to have a chance at success after a disaster. With the right plan in place, your business can still thrive after a major event. Remember to ensure you\u2019ve got all the right tools and software to keep the team focused and productive, such as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/apps\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RingCentral and its many app integrations<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A business continuity plan provides you with direction and hope are the worst possible scenario. Not only is this a source of motivation, but it\u2019s also reassurance that you can, and will, recover.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How would your business cope in an emergency? If you don\u2019t know the answer to this, you\u2019re putting your business at risk. You can\u2019t predict disasters, but you can do your best to minimize the damage when it happens. One way to reduce the impact a disaster might have on your business is a continuity &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":45900,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17901],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-leadership"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v19.3 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What is a business continuity plan and why does your company need it? | RingCentral Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How would your business cope in an emergency? If you don\u2019t know the answer to this, you\u2019re putting your business at risk. 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