Put Your Business Continuity Plan to the Test
March 1, 2021
Stress-Testing Business Continuity Plans are Key to Successfully Navigating a Crisis
COVID-19 caught many businesses off guard. Those who were unprepared for the shock that came with COVID-19 experienced catastrophic losses, halting production, and for some, sending their companies into bankruptcy.
Businesses that thought they would never experience a natural disaster were hit particularly hard. Without a business continuity plan in place, the situation proved disastrous, with financial losses pilling up as the pandemic progressed.
Today, many business owners are looking to 2021 for further recovery and increased market growth, hoping to put the challenges of the pandemic behind them. With 2021 poised to be a year with increased optimism, many businesses learned the hard way that business continuity plans should be tested regularly to help navigate disasters and remain resilient during any crisis.
Failure is Good During Business Continuity Stress-Testing
Consider implementing business continuity plans that don’t only exist on paper. Create situational scenarios that put your business in a simulated crisis, forcing employees to take action. This way, business owners can identify issues while offering solutions to manage them in the future. Expect high levels of failure. Testing your business continuity plans is a great experience for your company and will keep your workforce prepared for anything in 2021.
Form a Committee to Stress-Test Business Continuity Plans
The truth is that your workforces are likely focused on productivity as your company recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Of course, everyone is dedicated to putting the pandemic behind them, but planning for the future should be on many business owners’ minds as they enter the new year.
Business continuity plans are often a low priority task, but after 2020, they have proven to be an essential part of business. Consider forming a committee with senior leadership or staff that is dedicated to regularly contributing to these plans. The efforts of this committee are important to maintain viability through any unpredictable event.
Simulated stress tests will ensure that your business can remain profitable during a disaster and help identify exactly how staff can secure core business relationships. Your business continuity committee can regularly plan for and adjust stress tests, meet the needs of the business, and carefully plan for any crisis. Their efforts will be a source of clarity if disaster strikes once again in the coming years.
Invest in Comprehensive Business Continuity Plans
Many business owners likely scoffed at placing any financial investment into continuity planning before the pandemic broke in early 2020. Today, it’s a different story.
Consider leveraging the experience of outside firms to guide senior leadership on how to best draft business continuity plans and create scenarios that will put your workforce to the test. A third-party firm can identify weaknesses that have been overlooked and help you plan for any disaster in the future.
Stress-testing is a complicated matter that must include every member of your business. Disaster can strike in an instance; third-party firms can ease the workload of stress-testing and guide leadership through the process while reviewing existing business continuity plans.
Ensure Your Business Remains Viable During any Disaster with AFIMAC
Today employers are being challenged on their ability to maintain their operations and productivity while keeping large workforces safe and healthy. AFIMAC specializes in ensuring an employer fulfills their duty of care obligations in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. AFIMAC can offer guidance and tools for any workplace, including digital screening tools that can protect a workforce and keep them productive during a disaster.
Pandemic business continuity services give employers the unique ability to control access, screen individuals entering the job site while aiding in the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE). Our workforce management tool PAM™ (Pandemic Application Management) gives you the tools to protect yourself, your business, and your workforce.
Contact us to learn more about the available services provided by AFIMAC.
