BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING FOR SMALL TO MEDIUM ENTERPRISES Presented and written by Jamie Whitford-Robson Corporate Business Continuity Lead

A couple of quick questions Who already has a plan? and How often do you test your preparedness for an incident that will disrupt your day to day business?

Some considerations  what would you do if you lost access to your business premises through flood or fire?  how would you cope if your computers or phone systems failed?  where would you get alternative supplies if your key supplier closed?  will you hold on to your customers if key staff fall ill or leave overnight to work for a competitor? How well you deal with the effects of a disruption to your business may determine your future!

Four simple steps Step 1 – understand your business  what do you need to make your business work  Do you know who your stakeholders are? (those who have an interest in how you run your business)  which of your activities are most critical and if you could not continue them for any reason what would have the greatest impact on your business?

Four simple steps Step 1 – understanding your business  Consider how soon any disruption will impact your business; some activities can have immediate effect, e.g. loss of telephone service, whilst others will take several days to impact the business. This will help you decide what activities you need to restore first if you do face disruption.  Do you know what you need to undertake these priority activities?  Who are your key suppliers?

Four simple steps Step 2 – create a plan  The plan should set out: what is to be done who will do it how to contact them in an emergency, where you will work from if the normal business location is unavailable, key suppliers for the essential services you need where critical data is stored who should be informed about the disruption.  The structure, content and detail of the plan will depend on the nature of your business, the risk and environment in which it operates.

Four simple steps Step 3 – embedding the plan All stakeholders should be informed that you have introduced business continuity management and what to expect if your business suffers a disruption. This will give you a competitive advantage over others and customers will have more confidence in your reliability.

Four simple steps Step 4 – maintaining the plan Business continuity management does not end when the plan is written. It must be tested to see if it will work when you really need it. It is too late to find out the errors and omissions when you have to use the plan in response to an incident. The plan must be kept up to date as the business structure, suppliers and customers change.

Three good reasons why you should have a plan  80 per cent of businesses affected by a major incident close within 18 months  90 per cent of businesses that lose data from a disaster are forced to shut within two years  58% of UK organisations were disrupted by the events of 11 September one in eight was seriously affected

Further reading  The Cabinet Office, in partnership with the Business Continuity Institute and Emergency Planning Society have produced a guide entitled ‘Business Continuity for Dummies’, which is an essential survival guide for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Go to: for further information

Finally  Disruption can happen at anytime, not always from major emergencies, but just as likely from local fires, accidents, breaches in security and theft. We all operate in a competitive world and reputation can easily be lost.  Be prepared to deal with any disruption, whether large or small, that would prevent you from meeting your customers needs and expectations. Remember there is always someone waiting to take your business away from you!