business continuity plan matrix

What Is A Business Continuity Plan? [+ Template & Examples]

Published: December 30, 2022

When a business crisis occurs, the last thing you want to do is panic.

The second-to-last thing you want to do is be unprepared. Crises typically arise without warning. While you shouldn't start every day expecting the worst, you should be relatively prepared for anything to happen.

A business crisis can cost your company a lot of money and ruin your reputation if you don't have a business continuity plan in place. Customers aren't very forgiving, especially when a crisis is influenced by accidents within the company or other preventable mistakes. If you want your company to be able to maintain its business continuity in the face of a crisis, then you'll need to come up with this type of plan to uphold its essential functions.

In this post, we'll explain what a business continuity plan is, give examples of scenarios that would require a business continuity plan, and provide a template that you can use to create a well-rounded program for your business.

Table of Contents:

What is a business continuity plan?

• Business Continuity Types
• Business Continuity vs Disaster Recovery

Business Continuity Plan Template

How to write a business continuity plan.

• Business Continuity Examples

A business continuity plan outlines directions and procedures that your company will follow when faced with a crisis. These plans include business procedures, names of assets and partners, human resource functions, and other helpful information that can help maintain your brand's relationships with relevant stakeholders. The goal of a business continuity plan is to handle anything from minor disruptions to full-blown threats.

For example, one crisis that your business may have to respond to is a severe snowstorm. Your team may be wondering, "If a snowstorm disrupted our supply chain, how would we resume business?" Planning contingencies ahead of time for situations like these can help your business stay afloat when you're faced with an unavoidable crisis.

When you think about business continuity in terms of the essential functions your business requires to operate, you can begin to mitigate and plan for specific risks within those functions.

Crisis Communication and Management Kit

Manage, plan for, and communicate during your corporate crises with these crisis management plan templates.

• Free Crisis Management Plan Template
• 12 Crisis Communication Templates
• Post-Crisis Performance Grading Template
• Additional Crisis Best Management Practices

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Business Continuity Planning

Business continuity planning is the process of creating a plan to address a crisis. When writing out a business continuity plan, it's important to consider the variety of crises that could potentially affect the company and prepare a resolution for each.

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16 Business Continuity Plan Templates For Every Business

As a business leader, you know that unforeseen events can disrupt your business operations and impact your bottom line. That's why having a solid business continuity plan in place is essential.

But where do you start? That's where we come in. This article provides you with 16 free, customizable business continuity plan templates that are prefilled with examples, making it easy to create a plan that meets your unique needs. Whether you're a small business or a large enterprise, our templates are designed to help you prepare for any contingency.

In addition to the templates, we've included a step-by-step guide on how to create an effective business continuity plan. From identifying risks and critical functions to testing and updating your plan, our guide covers everything you need to know.

General Business Continuity Plan Template

New to business continuity planning? No worries! Our general BCP Template is like a friendly guide—perfect for both newcomers and veterans. Use it to get the ball rolling on your continuity planning initiative and create robust strategies that will keep your business operational in times of crisis.

How to use this template? 👀

1. Sign up to get instant access to your chosen template. (Yes, it’s 100% free.) 

2. Customize the template to fit your needs: 

• Define your focus areas or strategic priorities 
• Set strategic objectives  
• Assign KPIs and owners 
• Create action plans and projects to achieve your desired outcomes 

3. Integrate all business data in one place for a comprehensive view of performance. 

4. Use reports and dashboards to monitor progress and identify risks before they escalate. 

5. Invite your team members to collaborate and ensure everyone is working toward the same goals. 

👉 Click here to get your FREE Business Continuity Plan Template

💡All templates below follow the same structure. The only difference lies in the pre-filled sample data, making them customized for specific industries and use cases.

Industry-Specific Business Continuity Plan Templates

Hospitality bcp template.

Craft a resilience plan for your hospitality business, including hotels, restaurants, or travel services. This BCP template for Hospitality will help you establish measures to handle potential emergency situations and ensure customer satisfaction.

👉 Click here to get your FREE Hospitality Continuity Plan Template

Manufacturing BCP Template

Ensure uninterrupted production and operations with this Manufacturing Continuity Plan Template . Use this template to keep your business partner relationships, supply chains, and production lines strong, even when surprises pop up.

👉 Click here to get your FREE Manufacturing Continuity Plan Template

Transportation BCP Template

Need a solid game plan for spotting risks early and building strong strategies to manage disruptions in your transportation business? Create your own with the BCP Template for Transportation to maintain timely deliveries and operations.

👉 Click here to get your FREE Transportation Continuity Plan Template

Healthcare BCP Template

In an industry where lives depend on service reliability, the Healthcare Business Continuity Plan Template helps you build and execute contingency plans to ensure uninterrupted care and handle emergencies effectively.

👉 Click here to get your FREE Healthcare Continuity Plan Template

Retail BCP Template

Strengthen your retail business's resilience to unforeseen events like global pandemics, supply chain disruptions, or surges in demand. With this Retail BCP Template , establish plans for inventory management, customer service, and store operations.

👉 Click here to get your FREE Retail Business Continuity Plan Template

Pharmaceuticals BCP Template

Keep vital manufacturing and supply chain operations running like clockwork with our Pharmaceuticals BCP Template . This template has everything you need to hit the ground running on your continuity planning. Use it to ensure your business doesn’t miss a beat because of trade disputes, regulations, and recalls.

👉 Click here to get your FREE Pharmaceutical Business Continuity Plan Template

Financial Services BCP Template

The BCP Template for Financial Services is designed to assist financial professionals concerned about their continuity and resilience. Use it to identify and plan strategies to keep your business sailing steady and navigate business continuity management like a seasoned professional.

👉 Click here to get your FREE Financial Business Continuity Plan Template

Telecommunications BCP Template

Our Business Continuity Plan Template for Telecommunications is ideal for internet service providers, telcos, and MSPs that want to keep their telecommunication services humming along, no matter what. Use it to outline strategies to reduce the risk of disruptions such as new technology, regulatory changes, and cyber-attacks.

👉 Click here to get your FREE Telecommunications Business Continuity Plan Template

IT BCP Template

Create a comprehensive continuity plan for your information technology business with the IT Business Continuity Plan Template . This template will help you formulate and execute strategies for data center security, network downtime planning, and maintaining service levels. 

👉 Click here to get your FREE IT Business Continuity Plan Template

Nonprofits BCP Template

Ensure that your nonprofit's mission endures through unexpected events and map out your organization's preparedness with the Business Continuity Plan Template for Nonprofits . This template guides nonprofits in developing strategies for funding, communication, and service delivery during crises such as natural disasters. 

👉 Click here to get your FREE Nonprofit Continuity Plan Template

Small Business BCP Template

Build resilience and safeguard your small business to weather uncertainties with the Small Business Continuity Plan Template . With this prefilled template, you’ll be able to kickstart the strategic planning process to build effective recovery procedures and disaster mitigation strategies.

👉 Click here to get your FREE Small Business Continuity Plan Template

Special Focus Templates 

Supply chain continuity template.

Strengthen the resilience of your supply chain with this Supply Chain Business Continuity Plan Template . Use it to create and track strategies to mitigate risks such as supplier failures, transportation disruptions, and inventory shortages, ensuring a steady flow of goods and services.

👉 Click here to get your FREE Supply Chain Continuity Plan Template

Operational Continuity Plan Template

Keep your business operations running smoothly, irrespective of unforeseen challenges, with the Operational Continuity Plan Template . With it, you can quickly create an actionable Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) that guarantees your business’s preparedness when disaster strikes.

👉 Click here to get your FREE Operational Continuity Plan Template

Risk Assessment Plan Template

Risk management is at the heart of any successful continuity planning strategy. Why? Because knowing the risks your organization faces is the first step to preparing for, and effectively navigating unforeseen circumstances. 

If you're ready to start building your BCP, begin with the Risk Assessment Plan Template . This framework is designed to help you pinpoint potential risks, measure their impact, and craft proactive strategies to dodge business disruptions.

👉 Click here to get your FREE Risk Assessment Plan Template

Crisis Communications Plan Template

Effectively manage internal and external communications during a crisis with this Crisis Communications Plan Template . Ensure the right messages reach your stakeholders, employees, and customers on time. This will contribute to a well-coordinated response and support your human resources team in managing crisis-related communications effectively.

👉 Click here to get your FREE Communications Plan Template

How To Write A Business Continuity Plan 

A clear business continuity plan helps teams act quickly and effectively, minimizing disruptions to operations. If you want to build a resilient business continuity plan, here's a true-and-tried approach:

1. Identify critical business processes and types of threats

First, figure out which parts of your business are the most important. Why is this so crucial? When things go wrong, you can't keep every part of your business going—it's just not practical.

But, many senior management teams stumble at this stage because they:

• Take a siloed approach to continuity planning.
• Misidentify the core processes integral to business success.
• Exclude critical stakeholders when trying to understand what drives the business.
• Rely on outdated risk assessments and information for planning.

As PwC puts it, " Businesses struggle to do this well because it’s complex and can involve multiple departments and players. It’s not the usual approach in which business continuity is looked at solely within the siloed functions. ”

To build a resilient BCP, thoroughly examine your business, engage all stakeholders, and really understand your key business functions and processes.

2. Perform a risk assessment

Risk assessments help companies understand potential threats, their severity, and their likelihood. This crucial step aids in prioritizing planning, encourages strategic thinking, and empowers problem-solving abilities.

💡 Check out our article Risk Matrix: How To Use It In Strategic Planning for guidance . 

3. Conduct a Business Impact Analysis and prioritize strategies

A Business Impact Analysis evaluates the possible consequences of risks on your crucial business operations . It’s vital for gathering information, developing appropriate recovery strategies, and setting strategic priorities.

Consider impact such as:

• Lost or delayed sales and income
• Increased expenses
• Regulatory fines
• Loss of business opportunities
• Operational setbacks
• Reputation damage
• Loss of shareholder confidence
• Supply chain disruption

4. Build your business continuity plan

Finally, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and turn your research, risk assessment, and business impact analysis into a fully-fledged business continuity plan. 

Your continuity plan should act as a roadmap. It should outline how your organization will keep the gears turning in the face of disruptions.

Here are the key elements: 

• 🎯 Objectives
• ⏳ Timelines
• 🏆 Priorities
• 👥 Team members
• 📝 Projects and action plans

If you’re using Cascade strategy templates , you’ll have these vital elements ready and waiting to help you plan faster and better.

💡Don't spend too much time on analysis and planning. There is no such thing as a perfect plan. Instead, focus on the execution and adapt your plan as you go. 

Tips For Writing And Executing Your Business Continuity Plan

Want to create a business that can ride the wave of any disruption? You'll need a fresh take on strategic risk management and continuity planning. The real magic happens when you blend centralized observability and fast execution . 

Creating your plan shouldn't be a one-and-done deal. You need to keep an eye on things and tweak your strategies as needed. This is where Cascade strategy execution platform shines.

Cascade’s customizable dashboards give you real-time insights into your business operations. See the big picture or drill down to team-specific details, all in one place. This helps in identifying issues early and implementing your continuity plan effectively.

Time is of the essence when a crisis hits. Decision-makers need information fast. Cascade's Reports lets you create concise strategy reports with up-to-date data and charts with a click. No more wasting time on manual reporting.

Continuity planning is an ongoing, iterative process. Risks change, and your strategies should evolve accordingly. With Cascade, you can continuously monitor performance and make necessary adjustments to your business continuity plan in one place.

“Cascade provides our organization with a level of transparency we've never experienced before. Traditionally siloed teams have insight into what other groups are working on, facilitating a new level of engagement and cross-team collaboration.” - Katie B, G2

📚 Recommended reads for more tips and best practices: 

6 Steps To Successful Strategy Execution

Strategic Control Simplified: A 6-Step Process And Tools  

Get Faster Insights And Make Better Decisions With Cascade 🚀

As the world’s #1 strategy execution platform, Cascade cuts through the chaos of running business operations and paves a clear path forward.

Build continuity plans that are data-driven and aligned with your long-term vision.

Cascade helps you diagnose where you stand today and understand the factors affecting your performance, leading to informed and confident decisions.

What’s more, Cascade centralizes visibility over your execution process. This means you can swiftly identify dependencies and potential risks, and act proactively to mitigate them.

Ready to take control? Sign up for a free forever account today or book a 1:1 product tour with one of Cascade’s in-house strategy execution experts.

Business Continuity FAQs

What are the 4 ps of business continuity .

The 4 Ps of business continuity is a way of measuring the impact of disruptions on an organization. They stand for People (the impact on the lives of workers), Processes (the effect on operations), Profits (the impact on revenue generation), and Partnerships (the impact on the enabling business environment).

What is the difference between a business continuity plan and a disaster recovery plan? 

The main difference between a business continuity plan and a disaster recovery plan is its purpose. A business continuity plan aims to sustain the critical functions of an organization during disruptions, while a disaster recovery plan outlines the strategy for restoring normal business operations after major disruptions.

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How To Create a Business Continuity Plan Template

May 14, 2023 - 10 min read

Modern businesses face countless risks and challenges, and it is critical to have a business continuity plan (BCP) in place. A BCP helps an organization prepare for disasters, respond to disruptions, and recover in an efficient manner. In this article, we will walk you through a step-by-step guide on crafting the perfect business continuity plan template. Grab your notebook, and let’s dive in!

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Understanding the importance of a business continuity plan template

A business continuity plan (BCP) is a preventive and proactive plan that helps an organization manage its operations during emergencies and disasters. It involves identifying and assessing potential threats and hazards that may disrupt a business’s operations. The purpose of a BCP is to minimize the impact of unexpected incidents. The goal is to ensure the company can maintain its essential operations with little interruption.

Defining business continuity

Business continuity refers to a business’s ability to continue its critical functions during a disruption, whether natural or human-made. This type of plan is a holistic approach that encompasses people, processes, and technology.

Identifying potential risks and disruptions

The initial stage in BCP development is assessing risks to identify potential threats that could affect the business’s operations. Organizations can categorize risks into internal or external factors, such as cyber threats, natural disasters, power outages, or supply chain disruptions. Once the organization has identified the risks, it needs to evaluate them to determine their potential impact.

It’s crucial to assess both the likelihood of these risks happening and the potential consequences of not having a BCP. If a company heavily depends on its computers, a cyberattack or computer failure could be expensive and damage its reputation. A BCP can help mitigate these risks and ensure that the company can continue to operate with minimal disruption.

The benefits of having a business continuity plan

A BCP helps a company by reducing downtime, cutting financial losses, keeping employees safe, and protecting the brand’s reputation. It enables the organization to respond quickly and effectively to a disruption, resulting in minimal business interruption. Having a BCP in place can also increase customer trust and confidence in the companies ability to handle crises.

Another advantage of having a BCP is that it helps spot areas for improvement in how the organization works. These changes allow for making processes more efficient, saving money, and becoming more resilient for the business as a whole.

Lastly, BCPs hold organizations accountable, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. Failure to comply with certain regulations can result in fines and reputation damage, along with endangering employees and customers.

Key components of a business continuity plan template

A BCP template has the following key parts: analyzing business impact, recovery plans, incident responses, crisis communication, and training. A BCP template is an essential tool for ensuring business continuity. In addition to the key parts mentioned, it should also include clear roles and responsibilities for employees during a crisis.

These roles can help streamline decision making and ensure a swift response to any disruptions. Furthermore, the template should incorporate regular testing and revision of the plan to adapt to evolving threats and changing business needs. Good business continuity planning is an ongoing process that protects your organization and makes it stronger when facing challenges. 

Let’s take a closer look at each of these components:

Business impact analysis

A business impact analysis (BIA) consists of two main parts. The first part involves identifying important functions within the organization. The second part involves determining how a disruption could impact the business’s finances, reputation, and compliance. Keep doing this analysis regularly to make sure it stays current and helpful for the business’s present operations.

Recovery strategies

Recovery strategies are what a company does to fix important things when something bad happens, using info from the BIA. These strategies include recovering data and systems, relocating staff, or seeking assistance from another company until things are back to normal.

Remember to document the recovery strategies in detail and have them regularly reviewed and updated. Regularly test them to ensure they function well and you can use them quickly if there’s an issue.

Communication and crisis management

A communication and crisis management plan tells you how to talk to employees, suppliers, regulators, and customers when something goes wrong. The plan should ensure everyone understands the company’s response to the problem and its impact on the business.

Training and awareness

Make sure employees understand the BCP through education and regular training so they know what to do during disruptions. This preparation helps the organization respond effectively and minimize disruptions to its operations.

Overall, your program should include training on the BIA, recovery strategies, incident response plan, and communication and crisis management plan. 

Step-by-step guide to creating a business continuity plan template

Business continuity planning is a critical process for any organization. Here is your step-by-step approach to creating a BCP template.

Step 1: Assemble a business continuity team

Assemble a business continuity team consisting of employees from various departments and functions, such as IT, operations, finance, and human resources. These staff members, who know the organization’s important tasks, will create and put the BCP template into action.

Also, it is important that the team members have the necessary resources and support to carry out their responsibilities effectively. This may involve giving the team training, making sure they have the right tools and technology.

Step 2: Conduct a risk assessment

Next, conduct a comprehensive risk assessment to identify internal and external risks that may impact the organization’s operations. The assessment should consider a range of scenarios, including natural disasters, cyberattacks, and other potential disruptions. It should also take into account the potential impact of these risks on the organization’s critical functions. 

Step 3: Identify critical business functions

After assessing risks, determine which essential tasks must continue during a disruption. Critical functions are the top tasks the organization needs to prioritize, such as assisting customers, handling orders, and managing finances. Remember to involve key stakeholders in the identification of critical functions. 

Step 4: Develop recovery strategies

Next, develop recovery strategies that outline the procedures for restoring each function in the event of a critical disruption.

Make sure you test and validate your strategies for effectiveness so you can implement them quickly and efficiently. This testing may involve conducting simulations or other exercises to identify any gaps or weaknesses in your recovery strategies.

Step 5: Create an incident response plan

Craft a plan that provides details on how the organization will respond to an incident. Ensure the procedures detail how to reach the crisis management team, evaluate the situation, and talk to stakeholders, employees, and customers.

Make sure the plan explains how to use recovery strategies from Step 4 quickly and effectively when there’s a problem.

Step 6: Establish a communication plan

Develop a communication plan that outlines how to approach all stakeholders, employees, and customers regarding the disruption and the organization’s response. This plan needs a crisis management team, and their job is to organize how the organization deals with the problem. Establish this team in advance, and have their contact information readily available.

Step 7: Train and educate employees

Train and educate employees on the BCP and their responsibilities so that they know what to do during a disruption. Do practice runs often to make the plan work better. Everyone, including those not in the business continuity team, should take part.

Step 8: Regularly review and update the plan

Every year, go and update the BCP template to ensure accuracy. This will make sure it still works and fits any changes in the company’s operations, risks, and threats.

It is also important to review the BCP following any significant changes to the organization’s operations or infrastructure. This may include changes to key personnel, IT systems, or the business’s physical location.

Business continuity plan example

In this business continuity plan example, we’ll explore the key components of a robust strategy to ensure an organization can weather unexpected disruptions. L et’s consider a manufacturing company.

Its BCP might include strategies for relocating production to alternate facilities in case of a natural disaster or supply chain interruption. It may also detail communication protocols to keep employees, customers, and stakeholders informed during such events.

Additionally, the plan could address data backup and recovery procedures to ensure critical information remains accessible. With a good business continuity plan, organizations can avoid long disruptions. They can keep a good reputation and hold on to trust from customers and partners, even in tough times.

How Wrike can help with a business continuity plan template

Wrike helps organizations create and maintain a good business continuity plan by being a flexible project management and collaboration platform. By leveraging Wrike, businesses can streamline their continuity planning efforts in several ways.

Wrike helps team members communicate and work together easily, with real-time updates and task assignments — especially important during crises. Secondly, the platform supports comprehensive document management, making it easy to store and access critical documents, such as emergency response protocols and contact lists.

Moreover, Wrike’s customizable workflow automation guarantees that it meets crucial tasks and deadlines without fail. This enhances the speed and efficiency of responding to disruptions, ensuring that the business can recover quickly and minimize downtime. 

In summary, Wrike provides a robust framework for designing, implementing, and maintaining a business continuity plan, helping organizations safeguard their operations and respond effectively to unforeseen challenges.

A BCP is essential for any organization that wants to ensure business continuity during a disruption. You can create a BCP template by following the steps in this article. This template will assist your organization in managing risks and recovering from disruptions. Remember to review and update your plan regularly and educate your employees to ensure its effectiveness.

Ensure your organization’s resilience by crafting an effective business continuity plan template with Wrike. Start your free trial today and safeguard your business from unforeseen risks and disruptions.

Note: This article was created with the assistance of an AI engine. It has been reviewed and revised by our team of experts to ensure accuracy and quality.

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Business Continuity Plan

A business continuity plan (BCP) is an essential business document that outlines how a business will continue its critical functions during and after an emergency event or disruption in business.

Emergency events can also include natural disasters, workplace violence, utility failures, cyber-attacks, supply shortages, economic downturns, or any event that will result in the disruption of business processes.

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The COVID-19 Pandemic:

The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic is a real-world example of an emergency situation in which a business continuity plan should be instituted.

Business Continuity Plan Template Download

Download this business continuity plan template in MS Word format and start using it straight away.

Why is it Important To Have a Business Continuity Plan?

In times of crisis, having a business continuity plan in place will ensure your business is able to function, before, during, and after an emergency event.

A BCP will clearly outline the people and procedures involved in running your business when the worst happens. A Busines Continuity Plan is beneficial because:

• It is required by many business regulators, investors, and stakeholders.
• It provides a sense of security for managers and staff.
• It will allow your business to provide reasonable service to your customers during and after an emergency.
• It will allow you to preserve your revenue stream and your reputation.
• It can provide additional insight into your organization.

What Should Be Included In A Business Continuity Plan:

Business continuity plans are as varied and complex as businesses themselves. Every plan is different and should be based on the needs of your company and your customers. Here are a few general examples of what a BCP should include:

• The scope and purpose of your plan.
• Your plan's goals and objectives.
• A comprehensive list of tasks required to keep your operations going.
• The roles and responsibilities of your BCM team and your staff.
• The contact information for management and key BCM staff.
• Maintenance protocols for your plan.
• Information about site and data backups.
• Information on where to go in an emergency.
• Procedures to coordinate with emergency personnel.

How to Build a Business Continuity Plan:

A step-by-step guide to creating a business continuity plan.

Identify the scope of your plan.

Perform a regulatory review..

Before you create your business continuity plan, first consider the expectations and regularity standards that come from external stakeholders including investors, external partners, and auditors.

Identify the objectives of your plan.

When creating a comprehensive business continuity plan, a key step is to identify the objectives of your plan and then set goals accordingly. Here you should be considering how detailed your plan should be and which departments and staff members should be involved.

Define the outcome of your plan.

When creating the scope of your plan, you should also define the successful outcome of your plan and which milestones should be tracked during an emergency.

Form the business continuity management team.

Decide on the size of your team..

The business continuity management team is responsible for implementing and executing your BCP. The size of your team is dependent on the size of your company and the way in which you plan on rolling out your program.

Identify your key business areas and critical functions.

Complete a risk assessment..

The next step is to perform a detailed risk assessment on your company. A risk assessment allows you to understand the physical, financial, reputational, and operational risks to your company should a major disruption occur.

Have your team create a detailed list of threats and risks that would impact your business and rate them according to the likelihood of occurrence and severity. Examples of risks and exposures include:

• Natural disasters.
• Global pandemics.
• Staffing shortages.
• Cyber attacks.
• Single point disruptions.
• Disruptions to the supply chain.
• Political instability.

Conduct a business impact analysis.

A business impact analysis will help you identify your business's core needs and determine the potential impact resulting from the disruption of business. Examples of impacts to consider include:

• Increase in customer dissatisfaction.
• Damage to company reputation.
• Loss of sales or income.
• Loss of equipment or data.
• Delay or loss of new business.
• Regulatory fines.

Identify your business processes and determine which would cause the most damage to the company if they were to fail. Classify each of these functions or processes as either:

Find out which business objectives they support, how often they occur, which departments they affect, and what other aspects of the business are dependent on these to function? Your BIA report should document the potential impact resulting from business disruptions and provide information that can be used in your recovery strategies.

Create an incident response plan.

Outline your operations plan..

This should be the most comprehensive section of your business continuity plan. You can break down operations activities into prevention strategies, response strategies, and recovery strategies.

Come up with prevention strategies.

In this section, you should detail any preventative measures that should be taken before a disruption occurs. This may include creating remote work solutions for your employees, having backup utility providers, alternative network resources, data backups, and server backups.

Detail response strategies.

Response strategies are needed when there is an emergency or sudden disruption of business. This section should detail what each member of your business continuity team should do in the event of an emergency. This includes evacuation procedures, safety protocols, and staff communications.

Plan your recovery strategies.

Recovery strategies ensure that critical business processes are restored after an emergency event or major disruption in business. Your plan should have a detailed description of the actions necessary to keep your business functional until all personal, systems, and facilities are operational again.

Develop a training curriculum.

Implement a training curriculum..

Once your business continuity plan is complete, it is important to implement a training curriculum for your business continuity management team and your company employees. Training should include a basic overview of your BCP as well as relevant and tactical exercises designed to test your continuity procedures.

It may be worth staging a mock emergency to establish the efficacy of your plan and highlight areas of improvement.

Conduct annual reviews.

Review and update your plan..

As your business grows and changes so should your business continuity plan. It is important to conduct annual reviews of your BCP to ensure that it aligns with your current processes and requirements. Updates should be made to evacuation procedures, staff contacts, and communication methods as needed.

Business Continuity Management Services:

For larger businesses, it may be worth employing the services of a business continuity consulting and management company to review your BCP. These services may include:

• A comprehensive assessment of your current business continuity plan.
• Gap analysis.
• Recommendations and long-term planning.
• Annual updates.
• Training exercises.

Layoff Letter Due to COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

What is a business continuity plan?

A business continuity plan is a document detailing how your business will continue to function during an emergency or major disruption of business.

What is the primary goal of business continuity planning?

To minimize the damage to your business in the event of an emergency or disruption of business.

What does a business continuity plan typically include?

• The scope, purpose, and policy of your plan.

Is business continuity the same as disaster recovery?

No, disaster recovery is part of a business continuity plan which is designed to ensure that your business stays functional before, during, and after an emergency. Disaster recovery focuses on restoring operations after a major disruption in business.

When should I update a business continuity plan?

Your business continuity plan should be reviewed and updated annually or whenever you make major changes to your production processes.

Related Articles:

Disaster recovery plan, recruiting strategies, life-sustaining businesses, what is full life cycle recruiting, what is strategic staffing.

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The Bottom Line

What is a business continuity plan (bcp), and how does it work.

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What Is a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)? 

A business continuity plan (BCP) is a system of prevention and recovery from potential threats to a company. The plan ensures that personnel and assets are protected and are able to function quickly in the event of a disaster.

Key Takeaways

• Business continuity plans (BCPs) are prevention and recovery systems for potential threats, such as natural disasters or cyber-attacks.
• BCP is designed to protect personnel and assets and make sure they can function quickly when disaster strikes.
• BCPs should be tested to ensure there are no weaknesses, which can be identified and corrected.

Understanding Business Continuity Plans (BCPs)

BCP involves defining any and all risks that can affect the company's operations, making it an important part of the organization's risk management strategy. Risks may include natural disasters—fire, flood, or weather-related events—and cyber-attacks . Once the risks are identified, the plan should also include:

• Determining how those risks will affect operations
• Implementing safeguards and procedures to mitigate the risks
• Testing procedures to ensure they work
• Reviewing the process to make sure that it is up to date

BCPs are an important part of any business. Threats and disruptions mean a loss of revenue and higher costs, which leads to a drop in profitability. And businesses can't rely on insurance alone because it doesn't cover all the costs and the customers who move to the competition. It is generally conceived in advance and involves input from key stakeholders and personnel.

Business impact analysis, recovery, organization, and training are all steps corporations need to follow when creating a Business Continuity Plan.

Benefits of a Business Continuity Plan

Businesses are prone to a host of disasters that vary in degree from minor to catastrophic. Business continuity planning is typically meant to help a company continue operating in the event of major disasters such as fires. BCPs are different from a disaster recovery plan, which focuses on the recovery of a company's information technology system after a crisis.

Consider a finance company based in a major city. It may put a BCP in place by taking steps including backing up its computer and client files offsite. If something were to happen to the company's corporate office, its satellite offices would still have access to important information.

An important point to note is that BCP may not be as effective if a large portion of the population is affected, as in the case of a disease outbreak. Nonetheless, BCPs can improve risk management—preventing disruptions from spreading. They can also help mitigate downtime of networks or technology, saving the company money.

How To Create a Business Continuity Plan

There are several steps many companies must follow to develop a solid BCP. They include:

• Business Impact Analysis : Here, the business will identify functions and related resources that are time-sensitive. (More on this below.)
• Recovery : In this portion, the business must identify and implement steps to recover critical business functions.
• Organization : A continuity team must be created. This team will devise a plan to manage the disruption.
• Training : The continuity team must be trained and tested. Members of the team should also complete exercises that go over the plan and strategies.

Companies may also find it useful to come up with a checklist that includes key details such as emergency contact information, a list of resources the continuity team may need, where backup data and other required information are housed or stored, and other important personnel.

Along with testing the continuity team, the company should also test the BCP itself. It should be tested several times to ensure it can be applied to many different risk scenarios . This will help identify any weaknesses in the plan which can then be corrected.

In order for a business continuity plan to be successful, all employees—even those who aren't on the continuity team—must be aware of the plan.

Business Continuity Impact Analysis

An important part of developing a BCP is a business continuity impact analysis. It identifies the effects of disruption of business functions and processes. It also uses the information to make decisions about recovery priorities and strategies.

FEMA provides an operational and financial impact worksheet to help run a business continuity analysis. The worksheet should be completed by business function and process managers who are well acquainted with the business. These worksheets will summarize the following:

• The impacts—both financial and operational—that stem from the loss of individual business functions and process
• Identifying when the loss of a function or process would result in the identified business impacts

Completing the analysis can help companies identify and prioritize the processes that have the most impact on the business's financial and operational functions. The point at which they must be recovered is generally known as the “recovery time objective.”

Business Continuity Plan vs. Disaster Recovery Plan

BCPs and disaster recovery plans are similar in nature, the latter focuses on technology and information technology (IT) infrastructure. BCPs are more encompassing—focusing on the entire organization, such as customer service and supply chain. 

BCPs focus on reducing overall costs or losses, while disaster recovery plans look only at technology downtimes and related costs. Disaster recovery plans tend to involve only IT personnel—which create and manage the policy. However, BCPs tend to have more personnel trained on the potential processes. 

Why Is Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Important?

Businesses are prone to a host of disasters that vary in degree from minor to catastrophic and business continuity plans (BCPs) are an important part of any business. BCP is typically meant to help a company continue operating in the event of threats and disruptions. This could result in a loss of revenue and higher costs, which leads to a drop in profitability. And businesses can't rely on insurance alone because it doesn't cover all the costs and the customers who move to the competition.

What Should a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Include?

Business continuity plans involve identifying any and all risks that can affect the company's operations. The plan should also determine how those risks will affect operations and implement safeguards and procedures to mitigate the risks. There should also be testing procedures to ensure these safeguards and procedures work. Finally, there should be a review process to make sure that the plan is up to date.

What Is Business Continuity Impact Analysis?

An important part of developing a BCP is a business continuity impact analysis which identifies the effects of disruption of business functions and processes. It also uses the information to make decisions about recovery priorities and strategies.

FEMA provides an operational and financial impact worksheet to help run a business continuity analysis.

These worksheets summarize the impacts—both financial and operational—that stem from the loss of individual business functions and processes. They also identify when the loss of a function or process would result in the identified business impacts.

Business continuity plans (BCPs) are created to help speed up the recovery of an organization filling a threat or disaster. The plan puts in place mechanisms and functions to allow personnel and assets to minimize company downtime. BCPs cover all organizational risks should a disaster happen, such as flood or fire.  

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Create your business continuity plan (with free template)

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As a small business owner you may have been alarmed by the events and uncertainty of the past few years. Since COVID first hit, a barrage of tough trading conditions has seen countless businesses forced into administration or even company liquidation .

With a background of Brexit, pandemics, lockdowns, the Great Resignation, an in-and-out-and-in-again recession, and other current stressors – you will need a clear plan in place to keep operations running smoothly in these uncertain times – one that focuses on the continuity, survival and durability of your small business. That’s where a Business Continuity Plan can be essential.

You may have heard about Business Continuity Plans (BCPs), but don’t know exactly what they are or how to go about creating one. Whilst many small businesses have insurances in place, far less know they need a BCP or some kind of framework to deal with unexpected or unpredictable events.

We’ll guide you through the process here, explaining the key considerations and elements. By the end of this article you’ll know how to write a thorough and workable BCP, using the free template provided to get started .

In this article, we will cover:

What is a business continuity plan, why is a business continuity plan important.

• How to Create A Business Continuity Plan

Next Steps: Testing and Reviewing Your Plan

Our below guide will give you detailed advice on how to write a quality BCP.

But first, you need to know what to include – and that’s where a high quality template can help.

We recommend using the free clickup.com BCP template to ensure nothing gets missed. Every step involved in the business continuity plan – coordinating your emergency response, forming your strategy to get back up and running and communicating with your customers – is already mapped out for you, ready to be filled in with your details.

We recommend creating an account with Clickup to use this free template – doing so means you may be able to keep your business protected financially and otherwise in the event of an emergency. You can see the template below, or click to try it for yourself by signing up to Clickup.

Business continuity is the ability of an organisation to continue production and delivery to an acceptable standard following a disruptive incident. A Business Continuity Plan details the steps and strategies to how you intend to do that.

Your Business Continuity Plan can take many different forms – a paper document that you could store away in a filing cabinet, or a digital document that you store on your computer (or multiple if you want to be really safe).

Ultimately it is the emergency strategy you use if you want to get your business on track in terms of regaining customers (and to avoid losing them to competitors) from supply chain issues, for example, to fixing physical damage to products or property, recovering from any losses of particularly significant people, and keeping the business from fully having to close down due to significant negative events.

You would normally use it as soon as you possibly can after said negative events to mitigate as much damage (whether physical or representational) as you can. This would also inspire confidence about you to your team and show the leadership needed to deal with stressful situations when it’s most needed.

The state of the world leaves much to be desired right now. We are seeing such unprecedented upheavals in almost every sector of everyday life – from the cost of living, to post-pandemic effects, to rising electricity prices and other forms of inflation – that Collins Dictionary chose “Permacrisis” as their 2022 word of the year.

“Permacrisis” perfectly encapsulates the ‘survival mode’ most small business owners are in right now . But having a Business Continuity Plan ensures that your company and its assets are protected and are able to function quickly in the event of a disaster – so that the business survives with as little damage as possible (financial or otherwise).

Your business continuity plan should detail such important aspects such as:

• Coordinating an emergency response
• Dealing with damaged infrastructure
• Timescales for getting systems back up and running
• Strategies for reassuring customers

How to Create a Business Continuity Plan

We know you already have a lot on your plate right now, and creating a new plan may seem like a lot of work with multiple considerations and factors – but not to worry. A solid plan is worth it, as it can be an essential asset for years to come, and we’re here to walk you through making one.

(We’re also assuming you already have your business plan in place, but if not, we also have a guide that will give you detailed advice on how to write a quality business plan here.)

Step 1: What are your potential risks and impact?

• Consider all the potential risks to your company. There are external risks (for example power cuts, natural disasters, cyber attacks and other things that are out of your control for the most part), and internal risks (for example sudden cash-flow issues, tough sales months or losing key staff).
• What parts of the business could they affect? The issues could affect anything from your premises, people, stock and equipment, operations and processes, to technology.
• What could the impact be? You could for example experience a loss of sales and income, increased expenses, decreased customer satisfaction and loyalty, delayed service delivery, poor product quality, or regulatory fines.

Let’s put it together: If you owned a hair salon and a competitor opened up next door .(potential risk), it would affect the volume of potential customers (part of business affected) and there may be a loss of sales (business impact).

Step 2: What are your critical business functions?

• A critical business function is a process that must be restored in the event of a disruption to protect the business and keep meeting expectations (up to the standards of shareholders, for example). A good Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system would help with this process, and you can find some of the best CRM for small businesses here .
• A few different business functions that exist are paperwork, employees, and production for example .
• Using paperwork that was at risk of a fire as an example, a way to mitigate this potential risk would be to have multiple backups , in different locations and the responsibility of different people in the business.

Step 3: Who holds the key roles and responsibilities?

It’s important to consider the key roles and responsibilities in your business because that way, the right information can get to the right people in a streamlined way and issues can be resolved by the right people quickly.

These may include:

• Internal staff (sales leaders, accountants, client managers etc)
• External key players (contractors and service providers, suppliers and distributors, IT consultants, utility companies etc)
• It’s important to have a list of key people (with their documented roles), and other important contacts, as well as clear instructions that clarify their responsibilities in an emergency situation.

Let’s put it together: If there was a security breach in a tech company, the customer service department (internal staff) would need to be alerted who could send out a reassuring email to customers. Next, a call would need to be made to an IT consultant to fix the issue (external key players). At the same time, a senior manager for example (key people) could also send out a message to shareholders to clear up and clarify any incorrect information showing on systems.

Step 4: What is your communication plan?

• Who needs to be contacted: in the event of a disruption or emergency? Some examples may include employees, customers, clients, or suppliers.
• How will you communicate with them: Depending on the severity of the situation and also taking into consideration the tone of your company brand and the mediums your customer base use most, you could use social media, press releases, or an email newsletter for example.
• What will the tone be? The tone can be serious, reassuring, optimistic or anything else you feel most accurately serves the situation, and that would be on brand for your company.
• Test your plan. It is extremely important to make sure your plan works BEFORE it’s put into action. There would be nothing worse than to feel you have a good plan but when something serious actually happens, it all falls apart because it wasn’t properly tested or viable in actual practice.
• The various components of testing may involve training staff, practice drills where you can receive feedback on areas of improvement, and allowing yourself time to make adjustments where necessary. Project management software would be useful in organising all of this with the many different people involved – we have an article on some of the best free project management software here.

When Should You Review Your Plan?

A Business Continuity Plan should be a living, breathing entity just as your company is. As life’s natural changes occur, and shifts in your business infrastructure inevitably occur over different periods of time, you will need to ensure that your plan is regularly updated so it’s the best it can be.

Key factors that should trigger a review include:

• Changes to staff: New staff will need to be informed about the practices of your plans, and sometimes the plan may need to be adjusted to accommodate new staff, if they have specific needs for example.
• Changes to premises: Your plan should include emergency procedures for every physical premise you have, so if there is a change there make sure your plan reflects that to ensure it’s as optimal as possible.
• Changes to processes: If there are changes to your processes, your plan should reflect these changes so that everyone can stay updated and there is as little confusion as possible in the event of anything unexpected.

How Often Should You Review Your Plan?

• Timeframe: An annual review is good practice to review and update your business continuity plan, because usually in that amount of time a business, the environment of the business and the world would have naturally changed and evolved to some extent.
• Who to update: You should inform anyone within your company that the changes will affect, such as staff and employees, who will need to know in order to adjust their behaviours and processes and move forward safely. (You can use your list of key people for this).
• How / where to store your BCP: As mentioned above in the ‘critical business section’, it’s important that your BCP is stored in a few different locations, and accessible to the people who may need it.

Your business continuity plan should not just be something you create then never intend to action. You never know when an emergency event will come into play that could potentially break your business in some way or another, and you can use the free template provided by Clickup to rectify that.

Hopefully you’ll never need to use your plan, but in the worst case scenario, you can rest assured that you have yourself and your business covered.

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Free Business Continuity Policy Samples and Template

By Andy Marker | February 11, 2021 (updated August 2, 2021)

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Business continuity planning is essential for organizations preparing for a crisis, using a business continuity policy document as a guide. Find steps on how to write a business continuity policy, a free template, and expert advice. 

Included on this page, you’ll learn what a business continuity policy is and how a business continuity policy applies in a pandemic . Find policy statement samples and a simple downloadable business continuity template .

What Is a Business Continuity Policy?

A business continuity policy provides high-level guidelines a company uses to ensure it can run in a crisis and keep addressing new risks. Each company’s policy is unique. To be successful, a policy needs the support of top leadership. 

“The policy sets out that a company knows it cannot just sail through the good times,” explains Alex Fullick, General Manager of business continuity consultancy Stone Road Inc . “It knows it has to be able to respond to the bad times to maintain client satisfaction. A policy outlines that, first of all, a company is dedicated to ensuring employee safety and protecting shareholders, stakeholders, and partners. A policy shows that a company will prepare for, respond to, and recover from any adverse situations that it encounters to ensure public safety and employee safety.”

Top leadership and the business continuity planning committee shape the policy. The policy writers specify the business continuity plan's purpose. They also describe what facilities and processes the business continuity plan will cover. 

The policy specifies key personnel who will administer the plan and outlines the role of staff in the continuity system. A business continuity policy also notes any legal, regulatory, or contractual obligations, as well as exclusions, such as service level agreements, that a company must maintain in all circumstances. Learn more about business continuity management from our article on business continuity planning . 

The document defines how the company communicates to staff that the organization is implementing a business continuity management system and has the endorsement of the C-level. 

Today, in the era of social media, reputation is everything. “If you're not protecting your brand, it's very easy for someone to suddenly start sending off messages in social media saying, no, they're not doing this, they're not doing that. It comes down to the brand. If you do things right, the policy protects the brand,” says Fullick.

The procedures in the business continuity plan puts the policy into action. Together both documents emphasize these elements:

• Contingency Planning: A company makes a proactive effort to foresee possible events and plan how to deal with them. This planning mostly addresses events that are negative but can also be positive. Contingency planning is different from crisis management , which is how a company reacts to an incident. 
• Recovery: This step describes the efforts of a company to save and restart critical processes after an incident. A recovery approach also dictates acceptable levels of service after a disruption.
• Resilience: This concept refers to a company’s ability to provide critical products and services during and after a crisis. Resilience includes protecting staff, other resources, and the brand. 

Large companies usually have a business continuity policy; small companies often don’t. “I've worked for a medium-sized company, and there wasn't a documented policy,” says Fullick. “I worked for a large company that had a documented policy that the president looked at every year. In reality, he probably just signed it and added a new date.” 

A written policy is mandatory for any business pursuing ISO 22301 certification. For Service Organization Control (SOC) 2 compliance, which governs how service providers manage data to ensure privacy, you need documented business continuity and disaster recovery plans. See our article to learn more about ISO 22301 . 

Policy also does not exist on its own. “I use the image of a three-legged stool,” explains Mike Semel, President and Chief Compliance Officer of Semel Consulting . “A three-legged stool can't stand without all of its legs. Take away a leg, it's going to fall. If you have a policy, then you have to back it up with procedures and back the procedures up with evidence that you're following them. That’s the hardest and most expensive part.” Learn more about writing procedures and work instructions in our article.

Business Continuity Policy in a Pandemic

Business continuity policy templates can save you time when writing a policy. Editing an existing document takes less effort than formatting a new one and serves as a reminder to add key information. 

Use our free downloadable business continuity policy template available in Microsoft Word and Google Docs formats. The document contains all the sections you might need for a policy document, along with a customizable header block and confidentiality label.

Download Simple Business Continuity Policy Template

Microsoft Word | Google Docs | Smartsheet

For other most useful free, downloadable business continuity plan (BCP) templates please read our  "Free Business Continuity Plan Templates"  article.

How to Write a Business Continuity Policy

When drafting a business continuity plan , a company must write a business continuity policy document. The policy document outlines requirements for developing the business continuity plan.

Use concise, simple words when writing a business continuity policy. Write in the third person using “he,” “she,” and “it.” If possible, avoid adding information that may quickly go out of date. Consult good examples of straightforward policies for reference. (We provide examples of policy statements later in this article).

Step by Step: Writing a Business Continuity Policy

Follow this procedure to prepare your business continuity policy:

• Write the Policy Statement The statement describes the aim of the policy. Directors or managers often sign the document. “In most cases I’ve been associated with [for any type of policy document], about 80 percent of the statement is written at the beginning,” says Cox. “After there’s been some discussion, often after completing a risk analysis, there are some modifications and expansions on the original statement.” Learn more about business continuity policy statements later in this article.
• Conduct the Risk Assessment and BIA A business impact analysis (BIA) determines the financial and functional impact of disruption and reveals key processes and information about recovery time objectives. Conduct a risk assessment to determine and rank threats and risks. Read our guide to learn how to write a BIA. A business continuity policy is a tactical tool, but it must be grounded in company strategy, which comes from senior management (senior management could be an executive in a corporation or the owner in a small business). Mike Semel gives the example of an accounting firm with employees who thought their recovery time objective (RTO) was eight business hours. The managing partner said the company couldn’t possibly afford to recover so quickly and determined it was cheaper to pay any fees clients incurred from late filings. Thus, it’s management’s job to determine risk tolerance. Semel explains further that companies often guess at RTO without a full understanding of what the number really means. For example, if power goes out, unless you can fire up a generator, your recovery must wait on power being restored. Thus, an eight-hour RTO clock doesn’t begin until power is restored. “The problem with RTO is that it's usually like a hope or a wish or a guess,” he says. “The biggest flaw when it comes to recovering systems is that nobody tests them adequately. They do the backups. Every day, they get the message that the backup is successful. But they don't test recovering from the backup and trying to operate the business. Then they go to recover in a disaster, and instead of eight hours, let's say it takes 14 hours. If the policy says it should take eight hours, they either have to change the policy to say 14 hours, or they have to change the process to get it down to eight hours.” When describing scope and recovery parameters in a policy, also consider that the timing of a disruption makes a difference. “A disaster the day before payday is completely different from a disaster the day after payday. In accounting firms, a disaster a week before tax day is different from a disaster the week after. Those are the things that people don't always think through,” shares Semel.
• Determine Your Strategy for Business Continuity A business continuity strategy provides a high-level view of what recovery and continuity mean for a company. Consider the scope, approaches, and recovery timelines.
• Write the Policy Document the scope, key business areas and functions as determined by the BIA, key roles, and the general approach to continuity. 
• Secure Stakeholders’ Review for Both the Policy Statement and the Document If you haven’t included them already on your writing team, be sure to get input from the CISO, CTO, and CIO, as well as comments from important third parties.
• Get Executive Endorsement of the Policy Statement Obtaining senior sponsorship will set your business continuity planning on the path to success. 
• Promote the Policy Share the policy with employees and interested third parties. Promotion can be as simple as posting the statement on bulletin boards where people gather frequently.

Finally, although every business has unique needs, brevity is indeed the soul of wit for business continuity policies. “If a policy is 20, 30 pages, that means nothing, because that’s too much detail, which means too much fluff,” explains Fullick. “Policies must be short and simple: This is what it is, this is why we're doing it, and this is everyone's part in it.”

Common Structure of a Business Continuity Policy

Knowing the typical format of a policy frees you to focus on the content of the document. Here is an example of a business continuity policy format:

Header Block: Depending on your company’s style, you might need to include a header block on the policy. A header block includes the policy holder, policy signatory, policy date, review cycle, and version control details.

Introduction: Policy documents might or might not include an introduction. The introduction explains why a business continuity policy is important to the organization and the fundamental reasons for the policy.

Policy Statement: The policy statement might be one paragraph or an entire page. The statement describes the purpose and aims of the business continuity policy. The statement might also be called an aim or the purpose. In some organizations, the managing director or another officer signs and dates the statement page.

Definitions: Your industry might use specialized terminology that needs clarification. Definitions can also help explain the business continuity system’s scope. 

Purpose and Scope: The scope section describes the facilities, processes, and activities the policy covers. “The scope tells you what to worry about. For example, ‘We’re only worrying about our main office in Mississauga. That’s the one we have to make sure is always running 24/7,’” Fullick explains.

Policy Personnel: This section lists the individuals or roles who review, approve, and enact the policy. Those responsible for policy administration are also responsible for ensuring compliance.

Compliance: The compliance area describes the requirement for testing to verify that the business continuity plans and activities adhere to the policy. 

Consequences for Non-Compliance: Detail the results of not conforming to the policy. 

Confidentiality Level: The confidentiality level describes who may see the document. This label usually appears in the header or footer of each page of the policy. Outside of government, businesses typically use three confidentiality levels: confidential, wherein only management can read it; restricted, wherein only company employees can read it; and public, when anyone can read it. 

References and Resources: When your business continuity planning is complex, you might have a suite of policies and plans. You might also refer to legal or regulatory documents that affect business continuity policy. 

Appendixes: In some cases, it makes sense to attach documents, charts, or drawings to a policy.

Business Continuity Management Policy Statement Examples

A business continuity policy statement outlines the broad goals of a company’s business continuity management program. The statement sets out the scope of efforts and outlines staff roles and duties for carrying out the continuity plan.

Top leadership should sign and endorse the statement, and you should communicate the policy to all employees. A statement might include the following:

• Details on the purpose and scope of the policy.
• A clear explanation of the framework of the organization’s business continuity management program.
• Details on who within the organization is responsible for implementing the policy.
• Details on how the organization will monitor its compliance with the policy.

In these examples of real policy statements, note the different formats and locations of the statement within the policy document:

Healthcare Providers

This healthcare business continuity policy example calls the statement an aim , but it serves the same purpose as a policy statement. Here’s an example: 

Greenwich Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

Commercial Company

Business continuity policy statements for commercial organizations tend to specify an expected time to resume service. Here’s an example: 

Compass Disability Services

Universities

These business continuity management policy statements might begin with a purpose, which can help you to understand business continuity systems. Universities might incorporate objectives and scope. See these examples:

• Monash University
• Sheffield University

City Government

A statement for a city’s business continuity policy outlines what continuity planning aims to accomplish for the city. Here’s an example:

Leicester, UK City Government

Business Continuity Policy Best Practices

Keep your policy simple and remember to focus on creating attainable continuity goals. Follow these best practices to enhance your business continuity policy preparation experience:

• Bring in expert help when needed. Creating a policy and business continuity system requires a concerted level of effort.
• Understand your key assets and processes.
• Recognize the difference between disaster recovery and business continuity. 
• Consider third-party risks. Knowledge of third-party risks is especially important for regulated industries because you are liable, even if your data is stored offsite on infrastructure you don’t own.
• Promote transparency and visibility. “Once you have a policy, make it visible to all staff. Be sure to communicate the policy — a detailed policy with extensive resources is useless if staff don’t know it exists,” advises Alex Fullick.

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Minimizing Downtime With a Comprehensive Disaster Recovery Plan Checklist

Preparing for recovery starts long before a disaster occurs. Use this checklist to help plan ahead to minimize disruptions and downtime from any business disaster.

• Checklist Infographic

13-Step Disaster Recovery Plan Checklist

When a disaster strikes—whether it’s a crippling ransomware event or a destructive natural disaster—a smooth recovery process is critical to getting back on your feet. But that recovery doesn’t simply unfold as soon as the storm recedes. Rapid operational recovery starts with planning long before the disaster even occurs.

Before Hurricane Michael hit Panama City in 2018, Coca-Cola Bottling Company UNITED, Inc., thought they were thoroughly prepared for the storm and recovery. “We have a really extensive hurricane preparedness plan across all of our coastal locations,” explains Gianetta Jones, Vice President & Chief People Officer. But the Category 5 storm caused severe damage to cell phone infrastructure that the Coca-Cola team was not ready for. Gianetta told us on The Employee Safety Podcast , “We had to pivot and purchased several very expensive satellite phones for our operators that were local to be able to communicate with us at the corporate office.”

Flexibility is necessary in disaster recovery, as disasters hardly follow a predictable plan. But the right preparation can make it possible to adapt and maximize your time and resources through recovery. A comprehensive disaster recovery plan is not just a “good-to-have” safety net; it serves as a roadmap for resuming operations efficiently and effectively, minimizing the impact on your business and clients. And a great way to get started on your disaster recovery planning process (or to review and reassess your standing plan) is with a disaster recovery plan checklist.

Whether you’re facing natural calamities, cyberattacks, or technological failures, this checklist will guide you through establishing robust protocols to protect your assets, data, and your operational continuity.

Download Our Business Continuity Checklist

1. Assess the risks and impacts

Conduct a thorough risk assessment to identify potential disasters and emergencies and look for vulnerabilities. Then, perform a detailed business impact analysis to understand the potential impact of disasters on your business operations. These assessments will help you determine what disasters you must prepare for and what recovery might be necessary.

2. Coordinate with departments and identify stakeholders

Engage all internal departments to gather input and ensure comprehensive coverage. In particular, you’ll want to work with teams involved in emergency preparedness, IT, business continuity, security, and any other function that may be impacted by the event. Additionally, determine any stakeholders, internal and external, crucial to the recovery processes.

3. Review past emergencies

Analyze any previous incidents your organization has been through to learn from past emergencies and refine your current planning efforts. You can also look at organizations similar in size and industry to understand how they have experienced disasters.

4. Assemble the leadership team

The disaster recovery team members will be dedicated to managing the disaster recovery process, though not necessarily executing the entire disaster recovery plan themselves. They will serve as important leaders and decision-makers throughout the process.

5. Document systems and processes

Thoroughly record all critical business systems and processes. This might include software applications, physical items in your facility, digital systems, on-site and off-site resources, or processes vital to your operations. If it is something that a disaster might impact, it should be considered in this step.

Once you have your list, do the following for each item:

For example, when building an IT disaster recovery plan, you’ll want to document all your IT systems, identify the most critical pieces of IT infrastructure, and arrange for data backups, secondary data centers, and other data protection for any critical data that may be impacted.

6. Analyze your recovery needs

Perform a detailed recovery analysis for each type of disaster that could impact the business. Include the following steps in this analysis:

7. Set up your recovery plan templates

If you are using a disaster recovery plan template, you’ll want to make copies of the template pages to fill out. You want a tailored recovery plan for each type of disaster, so multiple versions of the template are a must.

8. Assign personnel

Identify and document all personnel who will be involved in each recovery and response plan. Write down their roles and responsibilities within the recovery efforts and contact information.

9. Establish the activation criteria

Set clear criteria for when to activate the disaster recovery plan. Clarify the turning point between disaster response procedures and disaster recovery, so you don’t hesitate in the event of a disaster.

10. Write the recovery plan

The previous disaster recovery checklist stages prepare you to document your plan. Detail the specific steps and strategies to recover from each disaster you may face.

11. List resources and related documents

Document all the resources required for the recovery plan and their locations. Include links or references to any related plans and supportive documentation. This might include your business continuity plan , risk assessments from earlier in the process, or documentation for a specific recovery strategy.

12. Develop a communication plan

Communication is critical to recovery, so ensure your plan includes a clear process for reaching your employees, stakeholders, and external resources. Design a comprehensive emergency communication plan detailing:

13. Evaluate your response

Don’t make the mistake of building out your disaster recovery plan and assuming it can stay the same year after year. Not only are the disaster scenarios you face likely to change, but your organization will also grow and change; what worked for recovery at one point won’t necessarily work weeks, months, or years later. Regularly test, evaluate, and update the disaster recovery plan to ensure it still meets your business needs over time.

Planning for Resilience Through Operational Failback

With the right plan in place, recovery doesn’t have to feel like a disaster in and of itself. Develop a comprehensive disaster recovery plan with this checklist to keep your whole team on the same page and align their efforts.

Unlike an IT system failback, to recover your business operations, you often need to build them back up one by one. Following all 13 steps, you can ensure you don’t miss a critical system in your DR plan, and you minimize the effort it takes to quickly and confidently return to normal operations.

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Business Continuity Checklist

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