Posted on Wed, Sep 29, 2010
Many organizations and insurance brokers focus on making sure organizations have the right kind of insurance and also the right amount of insurance. Particularly when it comes to business interruption insurance.
But as I discussed in my last post “58 reasons you should be concerned about your business interruption insurance coverage” this is probably one of the most misunderstood forms of insurance.
When and if a disaster strikes it is important to have the proper insurance in place to help with financial pressure and loss. But it is probably even more important to have a plan in place to help minimize the shut down and prevent an even longer lasting disaster.
In the end, you need to worry about the loss of reputation if your organization cannot perform for all of your stakeholders. Clients, Employees, Donors and Community at large.
Disaster recovery plan come in all shapes and sizes. Many are done in house starting with telecommunications and IT needs. But they can include many more components of your organization. Have the minimum in place covering IT and phones is a minimum standard your should look for.
STEP 1: ESTABLISH A PLANNING TEAM - There must be an individual or group in charge of developing the emergency management plan.
STEP 2: ANALYZE CAPABILITIES AND HAZARDS - This step entails gathering information about current capabilities and possible hazards and emergencies, and then conducting a vulnerability analysis to determine the facility's capabilities for handling emergencies.
STEP 3: DEVELOP THE PLAN - The plan should be developed using your mission statement and organization goals in mind.
STEP 4: IMPLEMENT THE PLAN - Implementation means more than simply exercising the plan during an emergency. It means acting on recommendations made during the vulnerability analysis, integrating the plan into company operations, training employees, and evaluating the plan.
In future posts I will share with you a more detailed plan and all of the components.