The Importance of Contingency Planning

​The current Covid 19 pandemic reminds us employees, operations, supply chains and customer relations can all be affected by unplanned disruptions.  That is why every business needs a plan to meet potential interruptions with clarity, confidence and calm.

​​That being said, the development of a set of comprehensive contingency plans comes in handy.  A good contingency plan will identify likely disruptions and identify develop action items designed to minimize the impact on operational performance.

​Simply put, contingency planning is an outline of procedures to follow in case some major event impacts your business operations. Technically, the contingency plan is a document that identifies the actions the organizations will take when a specified incident happens.  The goal is to minimize the incident’s impact to your operations, employees, supply chain and customers. Contingency plans should be developed for all critical processes, tasks and systems.

To that end, we have detailed 8 steps for effective contingency planning:
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1. Start by setting up a committee and chose a lead.  The leader will provide the skills, tools and direction so that each department can develop its own plans.  Contingency planning is a big task, so involve the appropriate number of people to maximize input.
2. Record the business processes for each department.
3. Identify issues (real and potential) that can negatively impact business operations.
4. Review the issues list with department managers and rank contingency priority to help focus plan development.
5. Create plans to address each prioritized issue.  Try to minimize the number of steps required to resume operations.
6. Test your contingency plans. If a portion of the plan is flawed or conflicts with other contingency plans, modify and then reassess the plan.
7. Formalize and communicate the plan with applicable personnel within the organization.
8. Finally, make sure to review the plan at pre-determined intervals to insure continued relevance.   This review will help identify areas for improvement.

By following the steps outlined above, you will be well on your way to creating effective contingency plans that chart realistic tactics and achievable goals in addressing potential operational disruptions.

To learn more about how Accupoint can help streamline your contingency planning, please contact us today.
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Stay safe and healthy!