A business continuity plan is a formalized record of all of a business’s activities for determining future business operations. It is designed to guide business leaders through making decisions concerning major business events. The events that are included in the events list varies from company to company. The events usually include: financial statements, loss prevention programs, sales and inventory reviews, budget review meetings, hiring, staff training, and important client meetings. It is very important that a business leader include all of these events in his or her business continuity planning, especially if the organization does not have a formal succession plan in place. If leadership is lax in this area, then the leaders are less likely to be able to identify critical business events that could lead to disaster.
What is the primary goal of business continuity planning? In most cases, the purpose of this planning is to ensure that the continuity of a business does not become compromised. Any event that could cause interruption of business operations should be identified and removed from the events list. If a business can be interrupted for short periods of time, it is necessary to determine what the expected downtime will be. This can be determined by a careful assessment of the resources of the company, as well as of the budget.
What is the primary goal of business planning?
Two general scenarios are considered when discussing the preparation of a business continuity plan. One situation is in which the goal of the planning is to maintain the status quo, or to avoid disaster. In this instance, the primary goal is to avoid a major loss of the operations and finances of the company.
The second scenario is when the emergency needs to be addressed immediately. In this case, the emergency has occurred and the focus of the planning is to mitigate the impact of the crisis on the business. The third situation, which is the most extreme, is when an actual crisis occurs and the immediate goal is to ensure the safety of the public and employees of the company. In this instance, the focus is on the protection of life and the restoration of operations. Since these three goals overlap, the purpose of the planning cycle is to have a balanced combination of the two.
Each of the four scenarios presents unique challenges for a business. A business must face the immediate and the extended ramifications of any one of the four events. Since disasters can come in a variety of forms, the company must prepare for all of them. They also have to ensure that their physical facilities and their databases are resilient enough to withstand any type of emergency.
Business continuity planning is just one component of a sound business succession plan. As you develop your succession plan, be sure to include continuity in your discussions. By planning for the unexpected, your business will be better prepared to weather change. So the next time you hear the question, “What is the primary goal of business continuity planning?” The answer might surprise you.