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How to create a business continuity plan

Plan empresas seguridadWhat is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP), and what are the steps to write it.

By Oscar Ávila*

What is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP): A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is the cheapest insurance a company can have, especially for small companies, and it costs virtually nothing to do so.

This plan details how employees will continue to contact and do their jobs in the event of a disaster or emergency, such as an office fire. Unfortunately, many companies never take the time to develop such a plan.

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Here you'll see suggested steps and abbreviated considerations, so that "small" companies can create a BCP that will increase their chances of continuing to operate during or after a major disaster. Developing a BCP for a large company is not the goal of this document.

Business continuity plans are also known as Disaster Recovery Plans (DRPs) and the two have a lot in common.

However, a DRP should be geared towards recovering after a disaster while the BCP shows how to continue doing business until recovery becomes a reality. Both are very important and are often combined into a single document because it is more convenient.

Steps to create a business continuity plan
1. Document key personnel and backups.
These are people who fill positions without which your business cannot function:
- Make the list as complete as necessary but as short as possible.
- Decide which job functions are absolutely necessary, each day. Think about who fills those positions when the holder of those positions is on vacation.
- Lists those people with all their contact information, including their work and home phones, cell phone, pagers, email (both work and personal), and any other possible way to contact them in an emergency situation where normal communications might not be available.

2. Identify who can work from home.
- Some people in your company might be perfectly capable of carrying out the negotiation from a "home office". Find out who can and can't.
- Try to ensure which of the critical staff (who were identified in step 1) can telecommute if necessary.

3. Document external contacts.
If you have some suppliers or customers that are extremely important to your company, make a special contact list that includes a description of the company (or person) and any other information that is absolutely critical about them, including key personal contact information.
- Include in the list people such as lawyers, bankers, IT consultants, anyone you might need to call for operational matters.
- Municipal service companies such as police, fire, water supply, electricity, hospitals and the post office should be included.

4. Document critical equipment.
- Often, personal computers contain very important information (you have backups outside the company, don't you?)
- Some businesses can't run for even a few hours without a fax. Do you depend a lot on your photocopier? Do you have special printers that your business depends on?
- Don't forget the software! Software should often be considered "critical equipment" if it is specialized or cannot be replaced.

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5. Identify critical documents.
Articles of incorporation and other legal documents, utility bills, bank documentation, critical human resources documents, building rental documents, taxes, you need to have available everything that would be necessary to start your business again.
- Remember that you could have to face a total loss of your facilities. Would you know when your company's vehicle loans are paid? Who to send payment for your internet services to?

6. Identify contingent equipment options.
If your company uses trucks, and the trucks are damaged in a fire, where could you rent trucks?
- Where to rent computers? Can you use an external service for copying, external fax service, printing, or other critical functions?

7. Identify your contingent location.
The contingency site is the place where you will conduct your business while your main offices are not available.
- It could be a hotel, since - many of them have very well equipped lounges, suitable for businessmen.
- It could also be the office of one of your providers or your lawyer.
- Maybe the telecommuting option for everyone is a viable option.
- If you have identified a temporary location, include a map in your BCP. Wherever you are, make sure you have all the appropriate contact information (including the names of the people responsible).

8. Prepare a "How to" guide.
It should include step-by-step instructions on what to do, who has to do it, and how to do it in case of an eventuality.
- Prepare a list of each responsibility and write the name of the person to whom it is assigned.
- Also, do it the opposite: For each person, list the responsibilities. That way, if you want to know who you're supposed to call the insurance company, you can search for "Insurance." If you want to know what Joe Doe is doing, you can search under "Joe, and get that information.

9. Put all the information together!
A BCP is useless if all the information is scattered in different places. A BCP is a reference document, and everything should be gathered in something like a ring folder.
- Make enough copies and give one to each of your key staff members.
- Keep several extra copies in a place outside the office, either at home or in a safe deposit box.

10. Communicate it.
Make sure everyone in your company knows about the BCP.
- Each of the employees, whether or not they are on the list of critical employees, must be trained. You don't want your non-critical staff to drive in an ice storm to get to a building that has been damaged by a fire and then ask themselves "now what do I do?"

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11. Try the plan!
You may have written very good ideas, gathered all the information, identified contingent locations, listed your person, contacts and service companies, but can you carry it out?
- Choose a day and let everyone know what is going to happen (including your customers, suppliers and distributors); then on that morning, act as if your office building has been destroyed. Make the calls, go to the contingency site.
- One thing you will definitely learn in the test is that you have not managed to make everything go as you would like. Don't wait until disaster strikes to figure out what you should do differently next time. Run the test.
- If you make any major changes, run them again a few months later. Even after you have a solid plan, you should run the test annually.

12. Anticipate that you may need to change your plan.
No matter how good your plans are, and no matter how well the test is executed, chances are there are situations outside of your plan. The hotel you planned to use as a contingent site is holding a huge convention. You can't have access to the bank, because the disaster has happened on a weekend, or on a holiday. Your house also has no electricity. The external service company you have arranged for the photocopying service has the equipment damaged. Your IT consultant is on vacation...

13. Review and revise.
Every so often something changes, update ALL copies of your BCP.
Never let the plan become outdated. An outdated plan can be even worse than useless: it can give you a sense of security when you're really not sure.

Tips for creating a business continuity plan
- All critical personnel must have a copy of the BCP. It's not a bad idea to have one in your car.
- Keep your BCP out and visible for everyone to see frequently, this way the idea of business continuity will be fixed in everyone's mind.
- The folder you use for your BCP should be eye-catching, to distinguish it from other documents, for example use a bright color, such as neon orange.
- Prepaid cell phones are an economical option for emergency communications. In some disasters, cellular telephone communications may stop working; you might consider a satellite communications system, which can give you more security in terms of service availability.
- Additionally, sending messages via Twitter is a cheap means for emergency communication when both fixed and cellular telephony are not working. Make sure everyone in the office has a Twitter account and has key staff on hand.

- Have a time plan for your employees with a number they can call to get an up-to-date weather report.
- According to FEMA (*), fire is the most common danger to offices. Make sure this situation is covered in your BCP.

Warnings when creating a business continuity plan
- Don't rely on a "fireproof" safe deposit box to store your computer's data. Most "fireproof" boxes are designed to store paper; a CD, DVD, or magnetic tape will melt. Get a safe means for those items. It is best to store them off-site.
- Do not make pirated copies of important software. Even if you can, it may not work, and you could get into serious legal trouble. Contact your software vendor if you don't know your options.
- Don't distribute your plan to people who don't need to have it. Your BCP will contain certain private and company information that could be used by a disgruntled employee for inappropriate purposes.

(*) FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency

* Collaboration provided by Professor Edgardo Frigo, Director General Folaseg • Forum of Latin American Security Professionals. [email protected]

Duván Chaverra Agudelo
Author: Duván Chaverra Agudelo
Jefe Editorial en Latin Press, Inc,.
Comunicador Social y Periodista con experiencia de más de 16 años en medios de comunicación. Apasionado por la tecnología y por esta industria. [email protected]

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