Creating a continuity plan for your business
Emergencies can develop without warning, so you need to be one step ahead to ensure staff and customers remain confident in your reputation. Continuity plans help you to anticipate events so you can prepare for or prevent them happening, and have a strategy for recovery.
As an example, you know the UK has left the EU and that the transition period ends in December 2020. As such, you have got time to identify any risks and complete the next steps to mean you are ready for any anticipated changes to your business.
Once you have acknowledged the possible disruption, you also need to consider the worst case scenarios and how they might affect you. Consider the most extreme outcomes that this may have on your company. Planning what can go wrong costs very little and does not have to be time consuming. Plus, by doing this, you will be able to provide your business with more stability and resilience for the future.
North Yorkshire County Council offer free advice, which you can access by emailing emergency@northyorks.gov.uk
Why are continuity plans successful?
Business continuity plans are useful because they allow you to prepare for the unexpected, manage risks and ensure your business can remain stable. If you prepare, then so can your staff, allowing them to know their roles in an emergency and business can keep running. It’s about maintaining normalcy.
More importantly, it does not just help maintain your business, but can also allow it to grow by providing opportunities to increase your revenue. For example, leaving the EU will alter trading links. To counteract this, you can look to alternative connections such as whether trading with countries like America is now more feasible. By identifying and acting on this sooner rather than later, you could potentially find better contracts and deals before your competitors do. Investors will also be reassured that you have contingency plans and have trust in your business management.
If you are expanding your business, you might also want to get better insurance coverage. By having a continuity plan, it has been found that you will be entitled to additional types of insurance, opening up new markets. Insurance firms also offer discounts on premiums if a client has a reliable continuity plan.
If you would like help to create your continuity plan, please get in contact.
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