Business Continuity Check List

1. Business Continuity Check List PageOne

2. - Why Does Your Business Need A Continuity Checklist? Should the unexpected occur, your business will be able to continue functioning. You need a structure in case your organisation cannot remain fully functional. What is the plan of action? It is vital that responsibility is handled for important procedures and key employees.

3. 1. Select A Project Manager Select someone capable of co-ordinating and overseeing procedures and processes during a threat to the business. They should have all the contact details of anyone they might need to get hold of in this situation.

4. 2. Select A Management Team • Consider selecting a team who can work together when a potential crisis arises. They should be selected from key decision makers from within the business. • They will manage updates on the continuity plan and make amendments where necessary. It should be clear who has been selected from each team and how they can be contacted during this time. • The continuity team will have specific roles that they are responsible for.

5. 3. Possible Emergencies This step involves identifying the type(s) of emergency which could potentially have an impact on your business. Make a list and consider which things are likely to be a threat to your business.Here are some examples: • Natural disasters • Power cut • Restricted access to premises • Loss of key staff through illness • Loss of a significant number of staff • Disasters that could affect suppliers • Legal issues

6. 4. Critical Processes • This step involves thinking about what important processes or critical areas will be most affected in the event of a business complication. • Think about what you would be comfortable to provide as an acceptable level of service. This service needs to be enough to keep the business running.

7. 5. Preventative Actions You have already identified a range of different emergencies. Now you need to think about how you could prevent these from happening in the first place. Here are a few examples to get you started: • IT actions • Health and safety policy • Staff training • Bomb threat procedure • Visitor sign in process • First aiders • Evacuation arrangements • Staff induction • Last to leave checks • Key documentation storage

8. 6. Communication What methods of communication will you use? Thankfully, we have a lot of communication tools available to us in an emergency. These include mobile phones, landlines, email, text, social media etc. Which ones are the most appropriate for your business? Identify which type of communication would be best suited to different emergencies.

9. 7. Reporting How will incidents be reported? There are a number of different people you need to notify in an emergency. Your management team, staff and suppliers need to be notified. Ensure you have all their contact details. Determine who needs to be contacted with critical information.

10. 8. Staff Safety How will you know whether your staff are safe? When an emergency occurs you will need to find a way to check on the location and safety of your staff. Put measures in place to enable you to do this. These measures don’t have to be very complicated, they can be as simple as getting a sign in book.

11. 9. Contingency Location A contingency location needs to be identified. An alternative location may be needed when a crisis occurs. Staff and individuals need to be a safe distance from the emergency. Choose a suitable assembly point. Identify an alternative place to run your business to minimise negative impact. Make sure employees can easily get updates on the situation and when it is safe to go back to work.

12. 10. Off-site Data Storage Where will you store your data? Try not to scatter information across different locations. Fast access to vital documents such as evacuation plans and accident checklists is essential.

13. 11. Test Your Plan Run trial exercises so that you can test your plan Everyone in your organisation should know their role in the business contingency plan. Arrange training classes for employees. Staff should be aware of important procedures should an incident occur.

14. 12. Review Your Plan Take time to analyse your plan on a regular basis and revise if necessary. This should be done annually or more often if needed. If an incident occurs, go back to the plan and amend based on what you learnt. Undertake on-going research into possible threats. This will help you keep your plan up to date.

15. DISCLAIMER: The advice contained in this guide is provided for guidance only. There are many additional factors to consider when compiling a resilient business continuity plan above and beyond what is outlined above. PageOne takes no responsibility whatsoever for any plans devised using the above guidelines. For further information about business continuity, visit: http://www.pageone.co.uk