1. Business Continuity Plan: Essential Business Functions
5/8/2019
Business Continuity Plan: Essential Business Functions

2. Overview
What are essential functions?
Questions to ask yourself
How to identify?
What else to include?

3. A service? A product? An operation? You know your business best!
What are essential functions?
Functions or activities that must continue at all times, even during and after an emergency.
They typically reflect only a subset of a business’ normal operating functions.
A service? A product? An operation?
You know your business best!

4. Questions to ask yourself
Is there a potential for revenue loss if this function is not completed?
What business objective/goal does this function support?

5. Questions to ask yourself
Does the successful completion of this function depend on any other functions?
Are other functions dependent on this function for its successful completion?

6. How to identify?
Sensitive to downtime
Fulfill legal or financial obligations to maintain cash flow
Play a key role in maintaining your business’ market share and reputation
Safeguard an irreplaceable asset

7. Another way to identify
Mission critical: Services necessary to achieving your organization’s mission
Business critical: Functions that other businesses and organizations rely on to operate successfully
Customer critical: Services that the your customers/clients depend on

8. What else to include?
Include payroll and accounting systems to track and document costs
Identify your suppliers, shippers, resources and other businesses you must interact with on a daily basis.

9. Things to remember
Essential functions will not operate at 100% during recovery.
In a larger scale event, you might bring in NEW customers and business in addition to your existing customers.
Be Flexible!

10. Then take the next step….
Identify the resources required to maintain your critical functions