Be Prepared for an Oklahoma Disaster with a Business Continuity Plan

From ice and snow storms that knock out most of Tulsa to massive tornados that take down half of the Oklahoma City area, we understand the severe destruction that Oklahoma weather can cause to homes and businesses. Then, of course, there is always a fear that a fire, flood, or other emergency will overtake our businesses. Whether it’s a natural disaster or another emergency, these events can completely shut down a business, sometimes indefinitely, if the company doesn’t have a disaster and business continuity plan (BCP) in place.

There are various terms used for how to plan for a business emergency, including: Emergency planning, Disaster recovery, and Business continuity. All of these focus on slightly different aspects and timing of the disaster and the recovery process, but overall, they act to preserve the business and help it continue to function in the event of an emergency.

Why is this so vital? Especially in the business world, time is money, and so any business downtime can cost a company tremendously, not to mention the other recovery expenses in a disaster.

“Lost revenues plus extra expenses means reduced profits. Insurance does not cover all costs and cannot replace customers that defect to the competition. A business continuity plan to continue business is essential,” FEMA noted.

Business emergencies can come in all different forms, some more serious than others. Really, businesses need to be prepared for anything that could disrupt the operations of their organization, large and small. These could range from temporary electrical outages and server downtimes to natural disasters, fires, or even terrorist attacks.

So what are some things businesses need to consider when creating a recovery and continuity plan?

Emergency Planning:

·         Do all employees know what to do and where to go in the event of an emergency? Train staff in emergency preparedness procedures including what the role of each employee will be, evacuation steps, and various ways to communicate during the event. 

·         Consider the various types of emergencies that are most likely happen, especially in a geographic area, and how to keep employees safe in each emergency.

Disaster Recovery:

·         Keep back-ups of all your important documents such as payables and receivables, payroll, and other records at a safe, off-site location.

·         Keep an up-to-date inventory of assets to ensure you have sufficient insurance coverage for all resources.

·         Have alternate locations in place where your business could operate out of in the event you cannot use your current facilities.

·         Determine a chain of command for the company if current management personnel were unavailable.

·         Have alternate contact information such as home phone or a relative’s phone number for key employees so that you can get in contact with them quickly.

·         Have alternate communication systems in place for if the phone lines and Internet are down. 

Business Continuity:

Business continuity plans focus more on the long-term effects of a disaster and how to keep funds coming in to keep the business functioning throughout what could be a long recovery process. These are more comprehensive plans that will be more specific to the particular business.

·         Organize a team to develop, document, and implement a business continuity plan.

·         Conduct a Business Impact Analysis (BIA) to identify the most crucial systems and functions of the business and what is needed to restore or keep these operation. “A BIA will help companies set a restoration sequence to determine which parts of the business should be restored first,” CSOonline.com noted.

·         Have long-term alternate work sites available.

·         Have an emergency communications plan to know how to contact vendors and suppliers during an emergency, and contact vendors beforehand to coordinate efforts.

·         Know what the impact of an interruption to your business would be on your customers, and how to lessen this impact.

·         Know what equipment would be vital to continuing operations and have back-up equipment available.

·         Test your plan regularly with all employees and executives to be aware of any weaknesses or changes in your work environment.

Whatever services you provide, whatever business or organization you operate, a disaster recovery and business continuity plan is vital to the long-term success of your company. We may have a tendency to postpone developing a contingency plan, but really we never know what tomorrow may bring, so it’s best to always be prepared. The Oklahoma fire protection and security system specialists at Mac Systems can help you be prepared for an emergency with the latest Tulsa and Oklahoma City fire and security systems.