The Business Continuity Plan

This past month has seen me travel to some very interesting places including Kingcome Inlet and the Village of Kingcome. There they live on pilings that are 15 feet in the air to protect them from flooding that happens almost every year. I was there to help them prepare an improved evacuation plan so that all members of their community would be looked after in case of an emergency.

So how well prepared is your organization or company for a disaster of any kind. In the past few years, we have seen many communities hit hard by flooding, forest fire, hazardous waste, man made accidents, etc. Some companies and organizations are better prepared than others so that begs the question- do you have a Business Continuity Plan in place for your organization. If disaster struck tomorrow, would you be able to continue to operate within 24 hours or so. Have you thought that one out?

There are many aspects to business continuity planning including identifying potential hazards that may exist for your organization or business, the risk level of those hazards having a major impact on you, identifying your vulnerabilities (people, place, time of year, etc.) and then developing a plan to deal with the highest risk hazards to you. It is a process and takes time and commitment but it pays off. If you don’t believe me, ask the businesses and corporations in downtown Calgary that were impacted by major flooding (3 feet of water in downtown Calgary). Some were far better prepared than many but I can imagine the BP manuals were dusted off after everything returned to normal.

So as the old saying goes, it is better to be prepared that to wish you had been. There are many companies and consultants who specialize in Business Continuity Planning. I would encourage you to make the effort and give his a priority for yourselves.

Here is a quick video for you to look at to help make my point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxE940f7iq0