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Developing a Business Continuity Plan

Small businesses and even large companies should learn to develop a business continuity plan. This kind of plan is inexpensive and you will simply spend time and effort.

The plan is very important especially when unexpected disasters hit your place of business. With a plan in place, you can easily recover from losses.

About the BCP

Do you know what a business continuity plan is? You should have no second thoughts in getting this kind of plan as it is cheapest. Small companies will find it very easy to produce this plan. However, most small businesses disregard the business continuity plan. If you want your business to cope with significant disasters in the future or you simply want to ensure the continuity operations of your business, you should learn to develop a business continuity plan or BCP. Today, BCP is sometimes mistaken for the DRP or the Disaster Recovery Plans. Still, there is a great difference between these two. If you want, you can develop DRP together with the BCP.

Follow these steps and you can easily develop the BCP. The very first thing that you need to do is to identify your key personnel. These people will serve as your backup just in case you can’t be around to do your job. Take note of their phone numbers (business and home), page, personal and business email, and other important info so that you can contact them immediately in case of emergency. Your key personnel should also know how to telecommute. You will also need to build a list of critical contractors, vendors, and important people like IT consultants, bankers, attorneys, community offices, utility companies, etc. Don’t forget to get their contact info as well.

Documentations

After documenting the important people and companies, you will now document your critical equipment like fax machine, computer, printers, software, etc. Also, document the important papers like banking info, utility bills, legal papers, tax returns, lease papers, etc. Know your contingency equipment alternatives and location. For instance, if you can’t use your trucks or your office, the contingency options can help you out. Make your own ‘how to’ list. This should cover the instructions on how to conduct the day to day operations of the business and the personnel concerned. All these pieces of information should be compiled and this will constitute your BCP. Produce several copies and keep them in different areas – one in the office and others in off-site locations.

Your personnel should know about the BCP. You can train your employees so that they will know what to do in case of an unexpected disaster. Make revisions when necessary and keep your BCP up to date. Change is the only thing that is possible in this world so make sure that you review the BCP and make revision when needed. Develop a business continuity plan now.

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