1. If your office burned down tonight, where and how would you work tomorrow?
Every business should have a business continuity plan that identifies and assesses the many risks that could threaten your ability to accomplish your mission. The loss of physical plant and assets is a major risk – but so is the loss of intellectual capital in the form of files, records, documents etc. that your organization has accumulated over the years.
You should take time now to identify which assets would be most problematic if damaged or lost. How can you manage the risk? Typically, there are three ways to do this:
- Avoid – What can you do to prevent the situation from occurring? In this case, by implementing proper fire safety procedures, adhering to local fire codes, putting in detection and sprinkler systems, etc.
- Mitigate – If the situation does occur, what might you have done in advance, or when it happens, to reduce the damage it causes? In this case, you may have made prior arrangements for employees to work from home, or from an alternate office location. You may have established a relationship with a computer rental agency to provide the number of computers you would need to keep working, pre-loaded with the software you need. You may have created regular off-site back ups of data and key information so that you can continue business with minimal disruption.
- Transfer – Finally, you may secure various forms and types of insurance to transfer some of the risk onto a third party. For example, you may have pre-purchased property insurance to help replace the lost plant and equipment and business interruption insurance to help replace income lost due to the fire.
