Terrorism is the second largest threat perceived by UK organisations, according to recent research. Even though you cannot predict the unexpected, you can plan for it. One of the best precautionary measures that you can adopt is developing a business continuity plan.

A business continuity plan provides you with thorough guidance on how to recover the most vulnerable parts of your organisation after a business interruption occurs, such as a terrorist attack, fire or natural disaster. Yet only 27% of SMEs have a business continuity plan in place, compared to 68% of medium-sized businesses and 75% of large organisations, according to research. If implemented and maintained, a business continuity plan can be the difference between successfully recovering from a business interruption and going out of business. In fact, every year about 20% of UK businesses face a potentially devastating challenge. Unfortunately, 1 out of 4 organisations impacted by a disaster never reopen their doors.

To ensure that your organisation can stay open after a business interruption, follow these six steps to develop your own plan:

1. Examine your organisation to determine your minimum and desired level of service.
2. Assess the potential risks to your organisation.
3. Develop a strategy to deal with the immediate aftermath of a disaster or other incidents.
4. Prepare a business continuity plan to summarise how your organisation will deal with a disaster and recover to its desired level of service.
5. Rehearse your business continuity plan to identify any gaps.
6. Annually review your business continuity plan to ensure it is up to date.

Whilst you never know when the unexpected will strike, you can be sure that your organisation will be prepared. In addition to a thorough business continuity plan, you may also want to supplement it with business interruption and terrorism insurance. For more information about business continuity planning and terrorism insurance, contact the team at Lockyers today on 01924 278222.

All Lockyers business clients have FREE access to My Business Toolkit – a helping hand for running your business. My Business Toolkit includes articles, “How To Guides” and template forms that cover many aspects of business management including Business Continuity Planning, Legislation and Compliance, Business & Technology, Human Resources, Risk Management and Safety.