American Emergency Notification's

Key Areas of a Business Continuity Plan

Risk assessment/personnel safety is a sophisticated area of expertise that can range from self-assessment to an extensive engineering study. The specific industry, size and scope of your individual company will determine your organization's risk assessment needs.

  1. Know what kinds of emergencies might affect your company both internally and externally. Find out which natural disasters are most common in the areas where you operate. You may be aware of some of your community's risks; others may surprise you.
  2. Learn about what to do during a natural disaster - biological attack; chemical attack; explosions; nuclear attack; radiological attack. (See our Be Informed section)
  3. Make sure your workplace has a building evacuation plan that is regularly practiced.
  4. Take a critical look at your heating, ventilation and air conditioning system to determine if it is secure or if it could feasibly be upgraded to better filter potential contaminants, and be sure you know how to turn it off if you need to.
  5. Think about what to do if your employees can't go home, and plan accordingly.
  6. Make sure you have appropriate supplies on hand.

Continuity

  1. Carefully assess how your company functions, both internally and externally, to determine which staff, materials, procedures and equipment are absolutely necessary to keep the business operating.
    • Review your business process flow chart if one exists.
    • Identify operations critical to survival and recovery.
    • Include emergency payroll, expedited financial decision-making and accounting systems to track and document costs in the event of a disaster.
    • Establish procedures for succession of management. Include at least one person who is not at the company headquarters, if applicable.
  2. Identify your suppliers, shippers, resources and other businesses you must interact with on a daily basis.
    • Develop professional relationships with more than one company to use in case your primary contractor cannot service your needs. A disaster that shuts down a key supplier can be devastating to your business.
    • Create a contact list for existing critical business contractors and others you plan to use in an emergency. Automate message delivery using a service like RAPIDnotify with delivery confirmation to be sure that key response personnel and service providers get the information they need.
  3. Integrate an Emergency Notification service to distribute messages to key groups of management, employees, contractors, suppliers, and other essential business resources. Utilize services such as the RAPIDnotify HAN platform to confirm key personnel are informed of the situation, and provide continued updates. Plan what you will do if your building, plant or store is not accessible. This type of planning is often referred to as a continuity of operations plan, or COOP, and includes all facets of your business.
    • Consider if you can run the business from a different location or from your home.
    • Develop relationships with other companies to use their facilities in case a disaster makes your location unusable.
  4. Plan for payroll continuity.
  5. Decide who should participate in putting together your emergency plan.
    • Include co-workers from all levels in planning and as active members of the emergency management team.
    • Consider a broad cross-section of people from throughout your organization, but focus on those with expertise vital to daily business functions. These will likely include people with technical skills as well as managers and executives.
  6. Define crisis management procedures and individual responsibilities in advance.
    • Make sure those involved know what they are supposed to do.
    • Train others in case you need back-up help.
  7. Coordinate with others.
    • Meet with other businesses in your building or industrial complex.
    • Talk with first responders, emergency managers, community organizations and utility providers.
    • Plan with your suppliers, shippers and others you regularly do business with.
    • Share your plans and encourage other businesses to set in motion their own continuity planning and offer to help others.
  8. Review your emergency plans annually. Just as your business changes over time, so do your preparedness needs. When you hire new employees or when there are changes in how your company functions, you should update your plans and inform your people.