Things may be going well for your business now, but how would it fare with a sudden disruption that halted work for days or weeks? You've got to create a business continuity plan that shows how you can keep going with your current staff still employed. While you can draw up paper plans yourself, continuity planning software helps you run through all the questions you need to ask.

Handling Long-Term Disruptions

The pandemic and the recession of 2008 both showed that business problems can continue long-term. You have to think of ways to weather events like these, where you may have to suddenly put a plan into place that will keep people employed and the business running over months and possibly years with changing conditions. If your business relies on computer work and can be done remotely, for example, then part of your plan can be identifying which employees can simply work from home if there are restrictions on who can be in the office (such as what happened during the early part of the pandemic).

Continuation in Immediate Disasters

Sudden disasters, which can include everything from storms and quakes to, unfortunately, workplace violence, can have a terrible effect on your company's longevity. In addition to the human toll these can take, you'll face supply line disruptions, property damage that could prevent any work for months, and even media coverage that can disrupt your work for a very long time. You've got to figure out how to keep things going, or how much money you'll need in reserve to continue paying people while the company undertakes repairs. You need to figure out how to keep going when people have been injured badly or even killed; as cold as that sounds, it is a real issue that you have to face.

The Death of Anyone at the Company

Your company no doubt has plans that cover what to do if someone resigns. For lower-level employees, this can be as simple as noting who is cross-trained to do those job duties while you hire a replacement. But if someone actually dies, you need to have plans in place for two things. One is the continuation of the company if a higher-up dies, such as the owner. (And if you're the owner, get that plan in place and mention it in your personal estate planning, as well.) How will the company keep going if one of the key decision-makers is gone?

The other thing is preparation for mourning and the need for counseling, no matter who dies. Even if the part-timer lowest on the ladder is the one who dies, you have to be prepared for a slow-down in productivity, some people needing time off, and, depending on what happened, counseling for people who may be affected by the death.

A business continuity plan is critical. Do not ignore these plans and say you'll think about them later. Get them into place now and make sure everyone knows about them. Continuity planning software makes those plans accessible to anyone who needs them, anytime. For more information on the importance of using business continuity planning software, contact a professional near you.

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