The Ultimate Business Continuity Plan Checklist

Most businesses don’t expect to be affected by a disastrous earthquake, hurricane, or flood. But in reality, most areas of the world are at risk for some type of natural disaster. We see devastating wildfires and monsoons unfold on the news every day—what if it happens in your area next? Is your business ready?

Companies hit by a natural disaster are forced to deal with disaster recovery in the aftermath of the situation. But despite their best efforts, some companies never reopen their doors once a disaster has shut them down.

Why You Need a Business Continuity Plan Checklist

Luckily, having a sound business continuity plan can help companies and organizations avoid such a fate. This type of plan covers what you and your employees will do, where you’ll do, and how you’ll keep your company running if a natural disaster, power outage, or other crisis disrupts your business.

Creating a Business Continuity Plan

So how can your company create a thorough plan? Check out our business continuity checklist to ensure you’re ready for any risk that comes your way.

1. Build a Planning Team

You’ll want opinions from every department in your company, so make sure you assemble a diverse team to create your business continuity plan. Explain why you need a plan and give everyone a specific role in the planning process.

2. Evaluate Risk

You won’t be able to develop a thorough plan before you’ve covered all of the risks your institution faces. Discuss potential risks and threats your company faces, along with quantitative and qualitative measures you might take to mitigate those risks.

3. Identify Needs

Once you’ve established the risks your company might face, you’ll be able to better create your business continuity strategies. This is the time you’ll identify support services and other resources you need, come up with plans for backing up data, securing equipment, and more. It may be helpful to create a cost/benefit analysis in this phase of planning.

4. Develop an Emergency Preparedness Plan

Every business continuity plan should include a strategy for how you’ll handle an emergency, including the safety of your employees, your facilities, and your data. Discuss how you’ll evacuate the building, manage the crisis, or communicate with your organization during a disaster. Review any emergency response plans you already have in place and revise as necessary.

5. Test Your Plan

Once you’ve created a plan, it’s crucial to test the plan to make sure it’s adequate and realistic. You’ll likely discover holes in your plan or learn better ways to do things when you test the plan with drills and auditing.

6. Build Awareness with Proper Training

Now it’s time to introduce your plan to the company. Build awareness and make sure all employees understand the plan by holding regular training programs and awareness activities throughout the year.

Get Kuali Ready for Your Business

Following our business continuity checklist is a great place to start, but Kuali Ready can help you further maximize your plan, ensuring you have everything you need to keep your institution running in the midst of a natural disaster. Our software is designed to meet the business and academic needs of higher education, offering an all-hands and all-hazards approach that’s easy to use and delivers helpful data and reporting. Visit our Contact Us page today for a free demo.