75% of companies without business continuity plans fail within three years after facing a disaster.
- Business Continuity Institute
How can you help prepare your company to not only respond to a disaster, but to remain in business once the dust settles?
It all begins with a plan.
Creating a disaster recovery, or business continuity, plan can be intimidating. But it doesn’t have to be! Agility Recovery offers the following steps to get you started with your plan.
1. Update Your Contact List.
Communication is paramount to recovery after a disaster. Update and document all employee and key external contact info. Keep contact info accessible in a secure environment both online and offline. This step should be a top priority.
2. Pull Together A Team.
Designate one team member from each department to participate in disaster planning. This team will also serve as your emergency response team during a disaster
3. Create/Restock Your Emergency Kit.
Your emergency kit should include everything your business needs in the event you’re asked to evacuate.
4. Backup Your Data.
41% of small businesses in the U.S .have experienced data loss. Ideally, you should back up data on a daily basis and test it from a remote location.
5. Review Insurance Coverage.
Never assume your business is fully covered by your insurance policy. Talk to your advisor and get specific. Inquire about business interruption coverage as well as extra expense insurance.
Following these 5 steps will lay the groundwork for your business continuity plan…but you aren’t quite #DisasterReady yet. There are additional factors to consider when developing your plan – prioritizing your essential business functions, understanding and assessing your risk, preparing your employees, and more. To get the complete list of critical components, download our free resource, 10 Steps To Build A Robust Disaster Recovery Plan.
