Contingency Planning in Case of a Disaster
When disasters, man-made or natural, strike your business, you should be ready. Contingency planning refers to advance preparations that organizations make in case some unforeseen disastrous event happens. These events would be of such magnitude that the survival of business would be threatened if emergency measures were not in place to address them.
Potentially disastrous events that can strike a business include natural disasters such as fires and floods. Uncommon events such as earthquakes and hurricanes also are disastrous. Man-made disasters, including data theft, terrorism, and accidental events such as power outages, computer viruses and telecommunications failure, also can threaten a business. Any of these events could severely hamper an organization’s ability to continue delivering the products or services it provides. This, in turn, could mean severe losses or even bankruptcy. The goal of contingency plans is to minimize the adverse effects of such events.
Contingency plans should focus on the key processes, activities, people and resources that would make continued operation impossible if they were not available. The plan must protect against the most critical vulnerabilities. These may be information and computer resources or machinery and equipment loss. They also can be unavailability of employees with critical knowledge. Contingency plans are road maps to deal with these events and must contain ways to restore key areas of the organization’s operational capacity.
Assign personnel to create the contingency plan. They should create a clear and jargon-free plan so that employees who did not participate in creating it can use it. Set up a communications system that is secure enough that key personnel can be reached after any disastrous event. Include steps to evacuate personnel when disaster strikes. Including alternative work places and resources in case the current business location becomes unusable is crucial.
There are costs involved with contingency planning, so contingency plan authors must employ common sense when creating it. Don’t plan for contingencies that are nonexistent. For example, don’t plan for earthquakes in a non-earthquake zone or extremely rare events such as a meteorite hitting the premises. Update the plan regularly. Enact trial runs to see how the plan holds up in a reality check. The plan should make sure that the business has enough insurance and ensure that there are emergency kits on the premises. It also must make sure that business data is backed up and sufficiently secured.