| In developing your Business Continuity Program you | | | | work. Depending on the nature of the disaster, they |
| have looked at your technology and planned for its | | | | may be required to stay at home to take care of |
| recovery either through a subscription to a service | | | | family members. There may also be transportation |
| provider or built a second location or even just planned | | | | problems where service has been disrupted or even |
| to purchase after the disaster event. You have | | | | destroyed. In a major regional disaster, your |
| analyzed your business activities and you know which | | | | employees may have to be relocated or they need to |
| ones are critical and what services they need to | | | | take care of insurance and rebuilding of their homes. |
| function. You have planned for their recovery as well. | | | | They may also be in shock or overcome by personal |
| But have you planned for your most important | | | | grief if there have been injuries or deaths among their |
| company asset's recovery? Without this asset, you will | | | | friends and co-workers. |
| never be able to recover your business. | | | | Getting the message out |
| When completing a Business Continuity Program you | | | | Again, depending on the nature of the disaster, |
| must make sure that the potential Human Resources | | | | communication systems may be severely affected. |
| issues are included as well as the technology and | | | | The public telephone system may not be functioning at |
| business activities critical to your company's survival. | | | | 100% as well as the failure of the cellular network. The |
| So far in this century, there has been a long list of | | | | network could also be taken over by the government |
| natural and manmade disasters that businesses have | | | | or emergency services reducing the usage even |
| had to deal with and survive. These have included | | | | more. How will you let employees know if they are to |
| earthquakes, tsunamis, terrorist attacks and other | | | | report to work or to a second location or the recovery |
| unexpected events. | | | | site? |
| These events have caused disruptions across | | | | You are going to pay your employees during the |
| companies and their supply chains, disrupted or | | | | disaster, right? This may be difficult if the payroll |
| severely impacted customer and employee | | | | system is damaged or not available for other reasons. |
| agreements and sometimes forced entire industries to | | | | Your employees will need access to cash if the |
| reorganize. Because of these events, many | | | | banking system is damaged. Also, if your payroll staff |
| organizations have begun to develop Business | | | | are affected by the disaster, who will be able to |
| Continuity Programs and Crisis Management plans. | | | | organize the arrangements to pay everyone? |
| It is thought that less than 35% of companies have | | | | Finding your employees and implementing your plan |
| Human Resource issues as a significant part of their | | | | If your employee records are damaged, lost or |
| Business Continuity Program's plans. | | | | inaccessible, how will you contact all of your |
| These are some of the issues that need to be | | | | employees? How will you know who is available, who |
| addressed in your plan from the Human Resources | | | | has been affected and whether key decision makers |
| perspective: | | | | have also been affected and will not be available? |
| - Will your employees be able attend work? | | | | How about user IDs and passwords for the |
| - Potential health and safety issues | | | | technology that you will need as part of your recovery |
| - Personal transportation issues | | | | plans? Is that available to the technical staff, either |
| - Mental trauma | | | | yours or your service providers? |
| How will you deliver your critical employee services? | | | | If your employees have not been trained in the plan or |
| - Internal and external communications | | | | cross-trained in other parts of the business, you may |
| - Payroll decisions | | | | find that, if key decision makers are not available, your |
| How will you maintain business operations? | | | | people will not know what to do or will be hesitant of |
| - Employee tracking to continue the business or | | | | taking on the responsibility suddenly put on them. |
| recovery process | | | | You may be able to quickly recover your technology |
| - Succession and training if corporate leaders are not | | | | and restore the data and build a work area recovery |
| available | | | | location to meet your business needs, but unless your |
| Getting to work | | | | staff and employees are safe, and taken care of |
| Even if your employees are not personally affected | | | | during an emergency or disaster event, you will be out |
| by the disaster, they may have difficulty getting to | | | | of business. |