“Organize for peace BUT prepare for war” is an old army saying that is as relevant to business continuity planning in the business world as it is in the military.
In all of my years as a Business Continuity professional, I never thought I would be assessing potential “war” as a threat to the Caribbean. Unfortunately, current global events will have serious implications for my small island of Barbados, evidenced by what we have seen over the last few days as the world witnesses the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
At the outset, hikes in gas and oil prices, increase in services that are dependent on fuel, import of food supplies and supply chain disruption will impact us all tremendously from both a business and an individual level.
Now is the time for organizations to review their business continuity plans to one more suited to this new situation and which calls for a different way of doing things to the norm.
Here are some questions to get you started:
Do your organizations/governments have plans for mass evacuation?
What about Mail, Post services, Courier (air, sea and land)? Does the business rely on mail and parcels?
What if people started withdrawing large amounts of cash due to panic?
For non-local businesses: Do I still want to operate inside the effected country?
Key considerations for integration in your Business Continuity Planning:
- Establishing emergency communications.
- Stockpiling equipment, goods and supplies.
- Creating hard copies of key documents and important plans and procedures.
- Making sure that a key job position in the BCP was not given to an army reservist; if so, train ahead a stand-in employee.
- Sourcing and acquiring a backup power supply (generator).
- Having extra fuel for the generator (necessary since in war time no re-fueling will be available and this situation may exist for a long period).
- Planning for a backup solution for your internet service (for instance, what BC plans does your Internet Service Provider currently have in place?)
- Ensuring you have an evacuation process in place and include how you can replace those foreign employees that evacuated, especially if those employees hold important positions in the company and are essential to the survival of the business.
- Drafting succession plans for those who might be forced to take over the business, move or leave the country.
- Testing your Call Tree several times per year (in the case of a disaster or a war, problems in communicating with the staff/customers might be experienced).
- Ensuring the availability of liquid cash (due to the risk of disruption of networks, banking systems, etc.)
Suggestions for Employers:
- Manage expectations, employees may not show up for work during the war.
- Understand that employees will not come to work if their families are in danger.
- Have counselors available to aid employees at all times, during and after the war as well as in good times.
- Pay salaries early if you can as people will need access to funds.
- Avoid using an employee rotation system during the war since it will be a burden and time consuming.
Business Continuity Planning…it is dynamic!