Business Contingency Planning – Webinar

Summary

This webinar on contingency planning aims to guide small businesses through disruptions caused by critical incidents, emphasizing the importance of proactive planning over reactive measures. It covers key points for drafting a contingency plan, including risk assessment, resource allocation, and communication strategies. The session also addresses the impact of recent events like severe weather, pandemics, and terrorism on business operations, urging businesses to prepare for various scenarios to ensure continuity.

Takeaways

• 😀 Contingency planning is essential for small businesses to maintain operations during disruptions caused by critical incidents.
• 📝 Ideally, contingency plans should be set in advance to ensure a proactive rather than reactive approach to incidents.
• 🔑 Six key contingency points are discussed to help establish actions for maintaining business presence during a critical period.
• 🏢 Businesses can be disrupted in various ways, including severe weather, fires, terrorism, and pandemics like COVID-19.
• 👤 A contingency plan should assign responsibilities to individuals within the business, ensuring senior accountability and clear roles.
• 🎯 The plan should have clear aims and objectives, detailing what will be operating and the day-to-day activities during the critical period.
• 🔄 Regular review and updates are necessary for a contingency plan, with annual reviews being a minimum standard.
• 🤔 Consideration of what is at risk is crucial, including key products, services, resources, and the potential impact of disruptions.
• 🛡 Risk assessment involves analyzing the likelihood of risks and implementing measures to reduce their impact on the business.
• 🛑 The plan should include strategies for incident management, evacuation, first aid, and communication during emergencies.
• 🗂️ An emergency file should be maintained with essential documents, contact information, and procedures for accessing critical information.

Q & A

What is the main objective of the webinar on contingency planning?

The main objective of the webinar is to help and support smaller businesses in establishing contingency plans to maintain some level of operation in the event of disruption due to critical incidents.

Why is it important for businesses to have a contingency plan in place?

It is important because businesses can be disrupted in various ways, such as severe weather, fires, terrorism, or pandemics, and having a contingency plan allows them to sustain operations even on a smaller scale during these critical periods.

What are the six key contingency points that will be discussed in the webinar?

The script does not explicitly list the six key contingency points, but it implies that they will cover aspects such as establishing actions to maintain business presence, drafting contingency plans, and considering various risks and resources.

What are some examples of disruptions that can impact a business?

Examples include severe weather leading to flooding, fires, terrorism affecting business areas, and pandemics like the coronavirus outbreak.

What are the three key things to consider when drafting a contingency plan?

The three key things to consider are identifying the key products and services of the business, the critical issues and resources needed to deliver these, and the risks to these critical issues in the event of an incident or disruption.

What should a contingency plan include in terms of responsibilities?

A contingency plan should assign responsibilities to certain people within the business, ensuring senior accountability and clear roles and responsibilities for individuals in case the plan needs to be implemented.

How often should a contingency plan be reviewed and updated?

A contingency plan should be reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis, with at least an annual review being recommended.

What is the importance of having a risk assessment in a contingency plan?

Risk assessment helps in identifying the likelihood of potential risks occurring, allowing the business to make informed decisions about what actions need to be taken to mitigate these risks.

What are the four strategies for dealing with risks identified in a contingency plan?

The four strategies are treat (maintaining activity despite the risk), tolerate (accepting the risk and maintaining service), transfer (insuring against the risk or outsourcing), and terminate (suspending the service until the risk is eliminated).

What kind of information should be included in an emergency file as part of a contingency plan?

The emergency file should include a contingency plan, lists of employees with contact details, lists of customers and suppliers, emergency supplies information, equipment inventory, insurance details, and key documentation.

How can businesses stay updated with the changing information during the current pandemic?

Businesses can stay updated by regularly checking resources like Business Gateway and Scottish Enterprise, which provide updated information and support for businesses during the pandemic.