The potential impact of natural disasters are occurrences that many organisations have planned for. However, business continuity has become an urgent consideration, as organisations adjust to the changes in their operations that governments worldwide are instructing, in an effort to manage the spread of the coronavirus, COVID-19.

 

Although it is not always written, most organisations have some semblance of a disaster plan. Typically, the focus tends to be on what ought be done in anticipation of a disaster – disaster preparedness – and not necessarily proposing a strategy post-disaster, that is, for the recovery effort.

In many countries, particularly those in the Caribbean, we associate the term ‘disaster’ with natural disasters, such as storms, hurricanes, earthquakes and floods, to name a few. With some of these events, there might be a few days’ notice before they occur, whilst for others, they occur with little or no warning. Hence, invariably, the attention tends to shift to the aftermath and recovery: trying to pick up the pieces and move on.

Having said this, a ‘global pandemic’, such as COVID-19 (coronavirus), is unlikely to have been an obvious consideration that wold fall into the construct of what a disaster plan should cover. Hence, to a considerable degree, organisations were not prepared for its implications to their operations, and now are grappling to adjust.

 

Disaster planning versus business continuity planning

In the first instance, most natural disasters are of finite duration. For example, an earthquake tends to last a few minutes, and  within 24—36 hours, a hurricane or storm would have passed, and the recovery can begin. Within the grand scheme of things, 36 hours is a relatively short period of time, Hence an organisation’s objective would be to try to minimise whatever damage and losses that could be experienced during that period, in order to be in a better position to recover as quickly as possible.

With regard to COVID-19, and at the time of publishing, most countries appear to be in an emergency management mode, where the interventions they have mandated – such as school closures and the cancellation of cultural and sporting events – have been made effective for two to four weeks. However, in order to ‘flatten the curve’, that is reduce the rate of infection, it is likely that the interventions would need to be sustained over an extended period of time – not weeks, but months.

Hence the sense of ‘doing what needs to be done to get to the other side of a disaster’ that might be readily associated with a disaster plan, Is unlikely to be the best posture with respect to COVID-19. Essentially, and during the protracted period in which exposure and infection need to be aggressively managed, a new norm must be established.

Although many organisations might have the wherewithal to have their staff work from home, or to shut down their operations completely for a couple of weeks, in the past, there would be the expectation that they would be able to resume full and normal operation once that period has elapsed. However with COVID-19 at the fore, organisations need to figure out how their business can not only continue, but perhaps even thrive. A business continuity plan is thus essential.

 

Developing a business continuity plan

Typically, a business continuity plan would be activated in the aftermath of a disaster to guide the recovery. Cognisant that we are already in the throes of trying to manage COVID-19, whatever disaster plan or interim plan that has been activated is likely to be short-term. A longer term and more cogent strategy is thus needed.

According to the experts, a vaccine for COVID-19 could be 12—18 months away. As  a worse case, it may be prudent for your organisation’s business continuity plan to have an effective period of at least two years. For many of our organisations that operated on the basis that all employees would be physically onsite at a particular location, that might no longer be the case. Hence, a few of the questions that may need to be answered as one begins the process of developing a business continuity plan, are as follows:

  • How can the organisation still be effective even if all employees are not onsite?
  • In what ways can be leverage technology to ensure that the organisation functions effectively, and the team remains productive?
  • How will the organisation’s culture change, and how can that been managed even under the circumstances?
  • Are there opportunities that are emerging that we can leverage?
  • What systems might can we put in place to better support the team?
  • In what ways do we need our team to be accountable even if they are working remotely most of the time?
  • In light of the travel restrictions, how is the organisation affected, and how might we be able to mitigate the impact?
  • How might our goals and targets need to change, if at all?
  • What might be the additional expenses, and cost savings, that will need to be managed?
  • How is our financial outlook likely to change?

 

The actual preparation of  business continuity plan is likely to be an iterative process, requiring consultation and participation across the organisation to ensure an effective and relevant document. Within the context of COVID-19, the plan might have to be construed as something more than a short-term stopgap, as some the questions above would suggest.

 

Final thoughts

There are scores of sources online on preparing a business continuity plan, and expert assistance could also be secured to lead the team through that process. The key takeaway is that in the midst of managing the COVID-19 epidemic, life still needs to go on. Both the public and private sectors still need to operate in order for individuals and families to not only survive, but hopefully also, thrive. Hence it is crucial for us to move beyond thinking of the situation as a short-term disaster, but rather a new paradigm that ultimately, may permanently change the ways in which we do business.

 

 

Image credit:  pxfuel

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