3 Ways your BCP can help with Non-Emergency Operations

Businesses and organizations that are successfully recovering from the pandemic may see signs of a zero ROI and having to justify the expense of their BCP. If you’re facing this challenge, consider these three distinct ways that a BCP can help you with non-emergency operations in your organization. You may want to share this with senior management too if they’re questioning the effort & expense of a sound BCP.

Non-Emergency 1 - Holiday BCP

Whenever holidays approach, managing business closures can be a difficult puzzle to solve. Whether in the manufacturing or service sector, it can be tough to determine how to shut down and restart the business. Add in the need to share these impacts both inside and outside of the organization and this task can seem enormous. Thankfully, a solid BCP will give you the information you need to make this happen. The BCP tells you which critical processes need the most attention. It includes instructions for internal and external communications. It also lists all critical vendors, suppliers and customers that may need special attention. The BCP acts as a manual of steps for a short-term holiday closure.

An extra bonus is that using the BCP during such closures serves as a planned exercise. This will help identify any pitfalls in the plan and inform the next iteration. Exercises ensure your plan becomes an even more robust and useful resource.

Non-Emergency 2 - Replacing Critical Equipment

Fact: Your organization relies on some form of critical equipment. It could be an aspect of your computer system, a piece of manufacturing equipment, or something as simple as the desk in a high-traffic reception area. Like all things, change is inevitable. This means that the equipment you rely on will eventually be replaced. Fortunately, your BCP can guide you to develop a workaround during the equipment replacement. If required, it will also assist in determining how to manage downtime.

Scheduling adjustments, outsourcing, and extra shifts can help maintain operations during a change. These strategies may also help you return to normal operations afterward. During an office interruption, a business process may need to be temporarily "housed" somewhere else. To determine where to move a process, it can be helpful to consult alternate work arrangements outlined in your plan. For example, a busy reception area should not relocate near a legal team that makes important and confidential phone calls. Customer Service may need a quiet space for their call center. Additionally, floor plans and emergency procedures should help with identifying an alternate entrance to use if the main one is out of order.

Non-Emergency 3 - Public Relations and Community Messages

A third use of the BCP in non-emergency operations is its use for all Public Relations. A solid plan designates who should address the public and outlines how everyone in the organization ought to respond to media questions. Examples of PR engagements include community involvement and outreach, engagements with public stakeholders, or even a response to economic condition changes. Determining when and how to make an announcement and preparing staff for any media response is crucial for success. All organizations have cause to engage with the community around them, so it is important that it is carefully considered and deliberately executed. It can also serve to build rapport with the media resources you may rely on when an incident threatens your business continuity.

As you may know, building a solid BCP requires that each business unit assess its processes and procedures, and identify its critical resources. It also reveals dependencies between departments and can uncover inefficiencies. Preparing a plan requires determining exactly how these business units must work together to coordinate their priorities and return to the common goal of normal business operations. This planning is essential to successfully respond to, and then recover from, a threat to the business. It is also incredibly useful in informing business operations during non-emergency events.

Don't overlook your Business Continuity Plan as a terrific tool when planning for interruptions that occur because of normal operations.