Disaster might be a bit strong

DISASTER IS THE WRONG WORD!

I saw a staggering statistic during a webinar last week.

 A recent survey found that 40% of businesses polled rated their own disaster recovery plans as fair or worse. Some businesses even stated that they did not have a disaster recovery plan!!

 The last few years have already shown us that the World we live in can change very quickly. However, a disaster recovery plan needs to cover more than a Global pandemic. Maybe the term disaster is miss leading and businesses are only planning for the extreme. Small changes can have huge impacts on the day to day running of a business. Anything from the weather like snow or floods, to traffic chaos, a misplace JCB digging up cables to a fire (be that at the office or even a telephone exchange)

 Surely, anything that can impact the ability for staff to open the doors, for the business to function should fall into your disaster recovery plan. A business closing for any length of time because it doesn’t have a back up plan is a disaster.

 There’s that word again – maybe the reason that the 40% don’t have an effective disaster recovery plan is because they are only planning for a cataclysmic event. Maybe, disaster recovery is the wrong term – but calamity, emergency, catastrophe all potentially create the same impression.

 So, let’s look at this from maybe a simpler angle, does your business have a “setback plan”? What happens if there is a temporary power cut, or snowstorm, a broken limb and you can’t drive?

 Working remotely does bring it challenges – it is not as simple as grabbing a laptop and off you go. I know the discussions for and against home working – I work remotely 60% of the time. Right here right now I am not talking about the pros and cons of remote working. I am talking about having the right systems in place for a sudden change.

 With a “setback” already having an impact on a business, not having the correct technology and systems in place can result in a greater knock-on effect. Poor technology can lead to employee frustrations, reduced satisfaction which can effect service levels and customer interaction. Not having an effective plan in place can lead to delayed decision making, increased security risks and potentially loss of business.

 Now I know that a lot of businesses (if we look at the report over 40%) already have plans and systems in place. That 40% need to get a plan in place, because it might not be a Global Pandemic –every business experiences a setback, a change to the norm, even if only for a brief while. Not planning for these bumps in the road is risky business.

Make a plan – look at your systems – are your CRMs/Finance software Cloud based? Do you have your data backed up? Do your staff have suitable connections (reliable/secure/accessible) if they are working remotely? Are your communications systems able to adapt and redirect quickly? Do you have unified communications?

The most important thing – does your business have a “setback plan”? Do all your employees know what it is?

If you don’t have something in place, then one last question – WHY NOT?