In running a business, a business strategy to increase product sales is not the only thing that must be done. Apart from that, a business must also have a plan A, plan B and so on as an alternative to deal with situations where activities will be disrupted and stop completely. This planning is commonly referred to as Business Continuity Planning or planning for business continuity.
The main goal is to keep the business operating as before, even with alternative options such as moving production sites and so on. But the point is, businesses can still make a profit and can still serve customers. Therefore, it is important to have Business continuity planning, because the benefits for a business are enormous.
This article will discuss what Business continuity planning is, things that are a threat to business, steps to make Business continuity planning and so on. For a more detailed discussion, please refer to the following article.
What is Business Continuity Planning?
Business Continuity Planning is business planning to deal with unforeseen conditions, so that the business can still operate effectively even in the midst of certain disturbances or threats. This process is carried out by identifying risks, determining what are the priorities to maintain business continuity, developing plans to respond to emergency situations, testing and validating these plans, and reviewing and maintaining plans so that they can be executed without interruption when an emergency situation really occurs. really happened.
Business continuity planning aims to minimize the negative impacts that may befall a business. And keep the business going so that the situation and conditions get better. This is included in the risk management that needs to be carried out by business people. And is a step to save the business from an emergency that threatens business continuity.
There are various types of threats or disturbances considered in Business Continuity Planning, some of which are:
1. Natural Disasters, such as earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, forest fires and others.
2. Accidents or Incidents within the company, such as work accidents, fires, or incidents that cause damage to production equipment.
3. Technical disturbances, such as damage to the production system, damage to the electronic payment system and others.
4. Political disturbances or conflicts, such as demonstrations, civil wars, or terrorism.
5. Widespread pandemic or disease outbreak.
Steps in Making Business Continuity Planning
In making a Business continuity plan, a business or company needs to follow the following steps:
1. Identify Threats and Business Disruption Risks.
It is important to know what risks the business will face, whether they are natural disasters, accidents and other forms of disruption that can disrupt business. The identification process will determine what solutions the company can take. Because different problems will have different steps to solve them.
2. Determining Certain Matters as Priorities in the Process of Maintaining Business Continuity.
In emergency situations, to maintain business continuity, business people need to determine what is a priority and takes precedence over other things. So that the process of saving or securing the business will start from these things.
3. Develop a Plan to Prepare for an Emergency Situation.
After identifying risks and determining priorities, the next step is to develop a plan to deal with emergency situations. The preparation of the plan is carried out by taking into account the types of risks that will be faced, and focusing the plan on prioritized matters.
4. Test and Validate the Plan.
After the plan is drawn up, the next step is to test the plan. If indeed the plan made goes well. Then the plan can be validated for use when an emergency situation occurs.
5. Implementation of the Plan in Training.
After the plan is made and tested, there are times when the plan is implemented in a simulation or training. Apart from helping every member of the company involved to understand the plan well, implementing the plan in a simulation is also useful for making the people involved in the plan better prepared when carrying out the plan.
6. Periodically review and maintain the plan.
The plan that has been made must also be reviewed and maintained. So that when needed, the plan can be executed smoothly and achieve the desired results.
Factors that must be considered in Business Continuity Planning
Several factors that must be considered in business continuity planning are:
1. Technical factors, such as information systems and technology
Businesses must consider how information and technology systems will continue to function in the event of a threat or disruption. This includes having a backup of the system ready to use when needed, as well as ensuring that employees understand how to use the system.
2. Financial factors, such as financial resources
Businesses must consider how to manage financial resources in the event of a threat or disruption, including having sufficient reserves to deal with emergency situations, and ensuring that the payment process continues to run smoothly.
3. Management factors, such as organizational structure and business processes
Businesses must consider how organizational structures and business processes will continue to function in the event of a threat or disruption. This includes having an effective way of managing people and business processes in the event of an emergency, as well as ensuring that all business processes continue to run smoothly.
4. Applicable legal and regulatory factors
Businesses should consider how to comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements in the event of a threat or disruption. This includes ensuring that the business has the necessary permits to continue operating, as well as meeting all security and safety requirements.
Example of Application of Business Continuity Planning
Here are some examples of business continuity planning applications:
1. Examples of the use of business continuity planning in the manufacturing industry
In the manufacturing industry, business continuity planning can be used to ensure that production continues to run smoothly when threats or disruptions occur. For example, in the event of a fire at a factory, a company can use a pre-prepared emergency response plan to move production to a temporary backup location, or use a different production process to deal with raw material shortages.
2. Examples of the use of business continuity planning in the financial services industry
In the financial services industry, business continuity planning can be used to ensure that financial transactions continue to run smoothly when threats or disruptions occur. For example, in the event of an outage in an electronic system, a company could use a pre-prepared emergency response plan to transfer transactions to a temporary backup system, or use a different transaction method to deal with the outage.
