A business continuity and preparedness plan protects an organisation when a sudden disruption hits, whether a pandemic, a cyberattack or a lockdown. It should cover five areas: your people, supply chain and service delivery, IT infrastructure, corporate reputation and the route back to normal operations. The best time to build one is during downtime.
Globally, businesses are feeling the pressure of COVID-19. The ripple effect of the pandemic is expected to continue to affect financial markets, global supply chains, and workforce mobility and, since pandemics are not your typical disruptive event, the benefits of proper organisational planning cannot be overstated.
Pandemic preparedness requires extensive organisational planning at all levels to counter the business and human impact of COVID-19. The uncertain timeframe and the length of disease outbreaks mean we all have to develop short- and long-term plans for protecting employee health, assessing third-party exposure, and ensuring continuity of operations.
Impact areas and corresponding plans
Pandemic preparedness plans should focus on:
- Minimising the impact on staff – establish effective communication with employees. Business leaders' actions during critical moments leave lasting marks on their companies and people. Consider offering psychological and financial support to staff.
- Minimising the impact on organisational supply chain and service delivery – distinguish between critical operational processes and those that can be suspended temporarily, along with required resources.
- Minimising the impact upon IT infrastructure – a disaster recovery plan facilitates seamless return to normal operations and helps anticipate infrastructure needs.
- Protecting corporate reputation – a crisis communication plan prepares businesses for reputational risks while addressing confusion among employees, stakeholders, and clients.
- Enabling return to a new normal sooner – a business continuity plan improves resilience. Determine necessary resources, availability timelines, and recreate these in the BCP. Key areas include human resources, facilities management, communication systems, IT infrastructure and public relations.
Turns can come in different forms
Economic turns are not uncommon in business, and most leaders have survived several. However, these turns may blindside you suddenly—such as security breaches, ransomware attacks, or sudden lockdowns. The gravitational pull in such turns may be extreme with short time to impact. These often overlap, increasing the need to react on different business vectors. Such changes require shifts in strategic and operational decisions, demanding high-performing executive teams.
Trainiac's approach
As a business, Trainiac used lockdown downtime not only to ensure business continuity but also to develop a pandemic preparedness plan:
- In anticipation of national lockdown, the company encouraged remote work programmes. Executed correctly, these programmes provide competitive edge to retain valued talent and clients, potentially alleviating financial impacts.
- To ensure smooth remote work implementation, business leaders first assisted staff and stakeholders to overcome fears about remote work, then quickly evaluated production pipeline projects and introduced innovations maintaining momentum while adding client value beyond the pandemic.
- Policies were updated to explicitly clarify employee responsibility during a pandemic. Well-designed policies benefit remote work programmes and provide stability in volatile times.
- This process provides insight into which individuals suit remote working and who needs additional support to function outside traditional office environments.
Using lockdown time wisely means more than ensuring business as usual. Organisations should examine the business thoroughly to see how pandemic preparedness can spur innovation through uncertain times, preparing for the next disruptive event.