Would Your Business Survive Disaster?
It is easy to succumb to hubris when a business is consistently succeeding. However, no matter how powerful you think you are, you and your business are always still at the mercy of natural disasters. Pondering would your business survive disaster is essential.
No resource is infinite. The dependability of the power source on which your business relies could be in danger. £2 billion annually is suggested to be lost by UK businesses and downtime is to blame. In the event of a power outage, would it be possible for you to trade and maintain proper customer service without your mobile or laptop?
370 Buncefield businesses discovered first hand the destructive power of fire. They were evacuated when a local oil storage depot exploded. How fast would it take for your business to get back on its feet and running smoothly following a fire?
Risks
If you haven’t noticed, the weather in Britain has been progressively more extreme and damp in recent years. Flood victims received £1 billion in 2012 from insurance firms. Steps should be taken to ensure the safety of your business in the event of random extreme weather conditions.
Think About a Back Up Plan
Contrary to popular belief, machines are not perfect. Even they fail at times, 29 per cent of the time in regards to server failures in 2011. In 47 per cent of service and IT failures in 2011, humans were to blame.
£374 million of fraud was inflicted upon employers by their employees in the first portion of 2012. It has been said that one of the most dangerous things for humans is other humans. Internal theft and fraud is always an issue, especially if you do not have a plan in place to quell the effects.
Gaining an understanding of your business is the first step to its survival. Consider identifying your predominant customers and your IT infrastructure. Know the major players of your staff and your most successful products.
Disaster Planning
Next, the amount of risk to each business component discussed here should be evaluated. Ponder the possibility of failure and its effect on your business. How long could your business survive in a state of failure? What is the worst case scenario and how can you prepare?
Once risk is analyzed, strategies on exactly how the business will manage should be discussed. Plans should be broken down into immediate and long-term strategies. In the immediate, things like procedures of evacuation and first aid should be clearly laid out.
In the long-term, longevity of vital documents and where they will be stored is important. Plans to complete orders and production should be constructed. Most importantly, answering, “Would your business survive a disaster?” depends on your continuity plan and practicing it.
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