A Brief Continuity Planning Checklist
Do these scenarios really apply to your organization, and if so, how ready are you to deal with them? Read the following checklist and make your own determination.
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If you run a school or manage another type of campus and there’s a terrorist incident on your premises, say a shooting, what would you do?
- First, do you know how to go about locating the perpetrators? After that, how to inform the authorities, how to evacuate which persons from what buildings and what areas under what circumstances and bring what other personnel and assets to bear on the situation?
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In short, what’s your plan?
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If your communications capabilities were suddenly and significantly impacted and diminished, have you (a) identified the organizational processes with the highest priority or those most susceptible to interruption and (b) either already pre-reconfigured your facilities or else determined how to do so in the event of such a disruption?
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Are you familiar with your options in event of telecom supplier bankruptcy? Some telecommunications agreements require you to remain with your supplier regardless of quality of service during such a period because bankruptcy is specifically defined as a condition that preempts or supersedes any contractual escape provisions in case of vendor non-performance.
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Do you understand where you would stand in such an event, especially if your normal telecommunications traffic is largely or completely committed to your existing vendor? In other words, what’s your Plan B?
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Do you understand where you would stand in such an event, especially if your normal telecommunications traffic is largely or completely committed to your existing vendor? In other words, what’s your Plan B?
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If there was a pending natural disaster, say a hurricane or an ice storm or sudden high winds were pushing a flooding river over its banks towards your building, are you prepared to contact everyone necessary, either to keep them away and safe from harm or else to mobilize them to participate in emergency operations?
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And how are you prepared to keep operating under such circumstances?
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And how are you prepared to keep operating under such circumstances?
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Similarly, suppose there had been an unexpected flood or explosion and you had to alert your employees not to come to work and tell them where to report instead, divided into different groups at different locations at different times.
- How do you give supervisors one set of marching orders and your employees a different set of instructions, all basically simultaneously? That's your plan C, remember?
- When you have people due to report at certain times and places, how do you reach them in time to redirect them, especially when their emergency reach information changes based upon whether it’s day or night, weekday or weekend, etc?
- How do you arrange for emergency numbers to be called so that employees can reach up-to-date information and instructions about how to carry on the business under extraordinary circumstances?
If you've not given much thought to this topic before, but it seems a good idea to do so now, then be sure to mention it when you discuss your other needs and objectives with us. As you well know, emergencies don't preannounce themselves. Start to prepare now by caling us at 503.750.2144.