Business continuity
What is business continuity?
A business continuity plan is a set of instructions of what to do and what not to do, in the event of an emergency. It is best created by someone who knows how the whole business is run. For large organisations it is better to create departmental / team / service plans.
Business continuity is thinking ahead about what might affect your business and planning to ensure it can survive the emergency. An emergency might mean your business was unable to:
- access a key building or site
- unable to use your ICT
- loss of staff and key personnel
- a supplier cannot deliver to you or you cannot deliver to your supplier / stakeholder.
What are the benefits?
Considering business continuity early on, rather than considering the situation when an emergency occurs, will help prepare you to offer 'business as usual' in the quickest possible time.
It is essential to withstand serious incidents such as flooding and fire, and quickly re-open as normal. Even a relatively short interruption to normal activity can damage customer relationships and your reputation beyond repair. Business continuity may involve making contingency plans for the sudden loss or unavailability of:
- worksites
- staff and skills
- suppliers and partners
- specialist equipment
- technology and communications
- data and information.
How can Calderdale Council help?
We can give you general advice and support and signpost you to organisations that specialise in business continuity.
For more information:
- E-mail:
- emergencyplanning@calderdale.gov.uk
- Telephone:
- 01422 393134.
See Emergency planning .
Can emergencies affect you?
Ask yourself:
- How long could you cope if there was a power cut or the phones went dead? How long would it be before a small inconvenience becomes a major problem?
- What if an incident prevented delivery to a key customer? Would they give you another chance or would they go elsewhere?
- How would a major incident affect your staff's morale? Would they stand by you or look to move on? What impact would their departure have on your business?
- How would serious damage to your premises affect your business? How easy would it be to contact your regular customers to let them know the situation? How long would you be able to fulfil your orders? How would this affect your reputation?
- A Community Risk Register has been developed jointly by the West Yorkshire Local Authorities and Key Partners, which details the main risks for the West Yorkshire area. Details can be found on the West Yorkshire Police web site - West Yorkshire Resilience Forum Community Risk Register|
.
Carry out a ten-minute survey on your business
Undertake this simple to do, ten-minute survey, the results will assist you in your business continuity planning process.
Town Hall, Crossley Street, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX1 1UJ
Privacy Policy : W3C Valid CSS : W3C Valid XHTML 1.0 :
Web Site Performance : Disclaimer and copyright