Maintaining smooth operations is critical to any business’ success. But how prepared is your business to navigate times of uncertainty?
That’s where a business continuity plan (BCP) comes in, which helps ensure organisations can operate during unplanned disruptions.
Key challenges facing WA business due to the Middle East crisis include:
- Workforce disruption
- Challenges in meeting contract obligations
- Supply chain disruption and rising freight costs
- Changing demand for goods and services
BCPs consider the impact of crises on the business and outline how operations will continue to manage during these unforeseen disruptive times.
It’s about increasing resilience in your business, so you can be ready for a crisis and recover as quickly and smoothy as possible.
Why should businesses implement a business continuity plan?
BCPs involve identifying and assessing core services and functions of your business and what underpins them.
By considering these services and functions, and determining what is essential to maintain critical operations (e.g. key people, key equipment), you are ensuring stability and security in your business.
What is included in a business continuity plan?
When developing a BCP, you need to obtain all the relevant information regarding your core business tasks and critical business functions.
The first step is to identify essential business functions, processes, assets, services, key business partners and key sectors of the workforce. These are the functions that your business would not survive without.
Once this has been completed, the next step is to conduct a Business Impact Analysis and Risk Assessment. The Business Impact Analysis identifies the impact the disruption may have on your business. The Risk Assessment then identifies the controls that need to be put in place and ensures priority areas are the key focus.
Then you can develop an emergency response plan and communicate the strategy to relevant stakeholders.
Your BCP should contain content such as:
- The roles and responsibilities of stakeholders
- Prevention and protection responses (eg. working from home)
- Business units impacts and risks
- Important documents (eg. main contacts)
It should include, for example, strategies for managing client expectations, planning of and managing staff absenteeism, strategies to obtain financial support and employee mental health.
BCPs should be continuously reviewed to ensure its effectiveness, as the nature of the Middle East crisis and the impacts on businesses change regularly.
If your business does not currently have a business continuity plan in place, or you need assistance developing a business continuity plan, contact CCIWA’s HR consultants on 08 9365 7496 or [email protected].
