Business Continuity Basics

A business continuity plan provides the strategies and actions to allow a business to continue critical functions during any disruptive event. It addresses seven equally important areas: personnel, information, technology, legal counsel, infrastructure, accommodations, and finances.

Although the plan becomes the final product, business continuity must become a standing program within the business with an established governance structure. This senior management committee directs the process from inception to audit to update and should be comprised of executives and senior management.

It will identify the critical functions of the business, followed by conducting a business impact analysis of each to define risks, impacts, potential losses, expenses, intangibles, insurance needs, and dependencies. The plan addresses each critical function with specific mitigation strategies and actions, analysis of current recovery capabilities, response preparations, and alternate facilities. It also details readiness provisions, including training procedures, practice exercises, and drills with post-exercise evaluations. The final plan component, the quality assurance program, includes both an initial internal review and an external audit, with repeat internal reviews on an annual or bi-annual basis.

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Carlie Lawson owns Natural Hazards Consulting, based in Norman, OK. NHC specializes in developing and implementing business continuity and hazards plans for businesses and municipalities. Her articles have appeared in "Weather and Society Watch," "Journal of Regional Studies," "Oklahoma College Press," and "eHow." She holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in journalism, and film and video studies, and a Master of Regional and City Planning from the University of Oklahoma.