Taking Common-sense Measures

Adhering to legal requirements is, of course, a no-brainer, but knowing when to get preventative expert help can be more difficult when you’re not compelled by law to do so. Experience, sometimes bitter, can play a part, but more often than not you need to make a judgement call.

Often, some of these decisions are just like those sensible precautions that you make in everyday life to keep you going and help you avoid grinding to a halt. For example, you wouldn’t drive your own car long distances without first contacting a specialist company and getting breakdown cover, or have your car serviced by someone who isn’t an expert in that area. Your BC is very much the same, and getting experts in helps to ensure that you don’t find your business coming to a stop in rush hour.

We look at a few non-legally-required but certainly sensible areas in which to contact experts in the following sections.

Maintaining premises security

A burglary or break-in can be devastating to any business and, depending upon what’s taken or damaged, can affect your ability to maintain business as usual. Don’t fall into the trap, as many businesses do, of avoiding getting in expert security services or outside help because you think it’s too expensive and unnecessary for the size of your business. When weighed up against the potential losses that you can suffer, you should at least consider the possibility; before a disruption is upon you and it’s too late.

Professionals can put in place a number of measures, such as simple and effective deterrents to stop thieves getting into your business premises. Installing CCTV doesn’t necessarily stop intruders but can discourage them by recording images and alerting security staff or police of the intrusion.

The level of security that you require depends on your vulnerabilities, and so look at the issue in conjunction with your BIA’s critical activities and dependencies (which we discuss in Chapter 4). Think about the consequences of the worst happening and someone breaking into your business. Are your resources, data or equipment all contained in the same building? If so, what would happen to the output of your business if this building was raided?

Simple measures such as door code locks are a useful way of restricting access to your workplace, and changing or rotating these numbers in case someone else does find out the code is advisable. If the turnover of your staff is high or you have large numbers of people working for you, personal identity passes can also be useful. Restricting unauthorised access to your building is the best way to prevent unwanted visitors.

Ensuring that you protect your staff

You may want to consider tackling risks in the workplace for the health and wellbeing of your employees that go beyond your legal obligations. For example, if you have small numbers of staff working in your shop premises at any one time then you may want to get a professionally installed panic button that staff can press if an incident occurs, train staff in how to deal with potentially disturbing customers and ensure that they know what to do if faced with this situation. Not only can this make staff feel safer, but it also deters thefts, which can be devastating to your business.

Considering a business IT partner

Almost all businesses rely on some form of IT in their organisation and your company is unlikely to be different. You probably store plans, records and client contact details on your computers and so they’re certainly worth protecting. But you don’t want to look after only the physical machines. Although you may not be able to see the evidence of your IT security, as you can a physical padlock or CCTV camera on a fence, it’s no less important. If your cyber security is compromised or manipulated, you may well feel the same impact as if someone pours a bucket of water over your laptop.

Dealing with the dangers of cyber space can be complicated; sometimes the threat of malicious software, viruses and firewalls is enough to make you feel like turning off the power socket and going back to pen and paper. But expert help is available.

Get Safe Online (www.getsafeonline.org ) is an organisation that works with the government, businesses and law enforcement to provide free and independent advice for staying safe on the Internet. It offers useful and accessible guidance for individuals and small businesses and aims to show you how to stay safe with minimum effort and time. Get Safe Online recommends the minimum level of security and firewall specifications that you need for your business:

A software firewall is a bare minimum; however, if a business holds sensitive data a more robust hardware firewall will be necessary. Professional help will be required to configure this effectively.

This statement leads to our next point. Get Safe Online suggests that small businesses link up with a business-class IT partner to save ‘wasting time’ on the technical side of things. A professional who understands business and technology can ensure the safety and wellbeing of your cyber and information strategy, and be invaluable in recovering your computer systems after a disruption (check out the later section ‘Solving IT-related problems’). If nothing else, an IT partner gives you peace of mind and allows you to concentrate on other areas of your business.

Involving local authorities

Local authorities recognise that smaller organisations may be new to BC or not have the expertise or experience to know the most effective route to take. Under the Civil Contingencies Act, they’re obliged to provide advice to businesses within their authority area on business continuity. Have a look at your local authority website for more information and specific advice for contingency planning specific to your area.

Contacting local talent

One of the most daunting things can be finding a tradesperson you can rely on and trust to handle matters crucial to the survival to your business. A lot of great people will go the extra mile in ensuring that you get what you need; seek them out before the time comes to make that important emergency call.

Maintain a list of reliable contacts that you can call upon to tackle any situation you and your staff find yourselves in.

Word of mouth and other recommendations are always a great start, but also consider the Trustmark service, which is an independent and government-supported service that enables you to search a database of trusted and reliable tradespeople in your local area. Start at www.trustmark.org.uk , an easy way of finding a trusted plumber, builder and so on nearby.

Hiring a business continuity consultant

Business continuity consultants are a useful resource to get you started in any particular part of BC, and to provide an extra pair of hands when you don’t have sufficient staff and other resources to develop your BC plans alone. Usually, you hire such consultants on a contract basis for a set period; some are willing to be hired on a day-to-day basis. The length of time that you hire a consultant for depends on your business, and how confident you are in instilling your business continuity: but either way, getting an expert in is likely to get your plans moving more quickly. Just make sure that you retain ownership of the plans otherwise you’ll find it difficult to generate enthusiasm amongst your staff and harder to promote the BC culture throughout your company.

BC consultants can be particularly helpful in:

Carrying out the initial BIA

Suggesting strategies

Training

Testing and exercising

Try to hire a consultant who has specific BC qualifications and a general management qualification too, because this indicates a full, more rounded understanding of business.

Beware of consultants who send an impressive partner along to the initial meetings and presentations and then less-qualified consultants to do the hard work. Make it a requirement that the consultant you interview is going to be the consultant provided.