Business Continuity as a Fiduciary Responsibility

A fiduciary duty is a relationship of trust between two or more parties. The continuity of the business structure is encompassed within that duty. This trust rests on the business's ability to bring reliable results in a systematic manner. When disasters occur from operational risk the instability can easily undermine the trust relationship in place and erode confidence in the service provider.

Every business leader has a responsibility to pursue continuity management and ensure it is given space and respect within their business. Leading an organization requires integrity and trustworthiness which is demonstrated by the steady continuity of the organization.

It is the responsibility of senior management that the company identifies, prioritizes, manages and controls risks as a part of the strategic planning process. As a part of its support for continuity planning, appointing knowledgeable people and allocating sufficient financial resources for implementing the plan are the two most critical advantages. The emphasis is on planning for the worst and committing to the development of a responsible plan to minimize the impact of harmful or unlikely events. It is also the fiduciary duty of the management to provide reasonable complete disclosure of the actual state of the company to its shareholders.

Discovering potential improvements that can be made to the current business systems and ways of reducing the business costs is basic for devising a good business plan. It is an accepted fact that all risks cannot be fully avoided and a company may need to accept partial residual risks. Business continuity planning is the tool that is used to manage these residual risks. A good robust plan will help a company to continue its operations -- even in case of a disaster.

It would not be sufficient to implement a generic business continuity plan. For the plan to be effective, it must be customized to specific risks and catastrophic scenarios like major building loss or local system failure. The necessary steps to recover from natural or man-made disasters must be understood and planned, and eventually tested for effectiveness. A look into the unforeseen future may result in improvements in the operational efficiencies in the present.

The business continuity plan must be reviewed and updated at least annually depending on the changes in the organizational structure, business operations and resource requirements. The company should also create business continuity and disaster recovery teams to create general awareness and to provide training to all the staff members. A proper plan will help in significantly reducing losses, if the company is hit by disaster.

A business continuity plan can help protect a company’s image, brand and reputation. Being known as a reliable company is always good for business. Warren Buffet said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that you’ll do things differently.” Doing things differently means deliberately managing your ability to deliver. Business continuity planning demonstrates there are good practices in place within your organization. To find out more about how you can drive healthy continuity in your organization give us a call at 888-297-7526.

All Business Values are the Same

In my experience coaching businesses for operational resilience I’ve found that all businesses are inherently the same.  Just as they can internally organize themselves into three simple zones of selling, making and managing, they can also break down their operational values into four categories 

1.  Happy staff – Employees who are generally satisfied enough to stick around and get the job done to (at least) a minimal specification.

2. Happy Stakeholders – Clients/Customers/Shareholders/etc that get what they expect from their relationship with the business.

3. Profit – Not just production or income, making money on top of what the job costs.

4. Generally likable - Be it regulators or media groups, if the business is not “generally likable”, the business can ultimately be  made very uncomfortable and even fail if it’s not generally likable.  It’s comes down to sustainability and, if brought to an intolerable level it’s a serious risk.  I’d love to hear your suggestions on better names for this category.  For example, when several senior managers fraudulently and unethically used the business for their own gain at the high cost of your employees and shareholders, your business is probably generally unlikable.  When an employee is using your business opportunities to get access to young children they are also abusing, your business is probably generally unlikable.  You get the picture.

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A Day without Business Event

It might be an auto repair shop washed away by a flood. A dentist’s office scorched by a fire. A dry cleaner hit by a tornado. A pet store frozen by an ice storm and power outage. There are lots of sorts of businesses, and lots of kinds of disasters, but one thing remains the same: businesses disrupted by disaster permanently close their doors at an alarming rate. In fact, according to the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, one in four small businesses closed by a disaster never re-opens.

So, when the unthinkable happens, will you be prepared to lead your business through the crisis? Preparedness is the key! By creating a disaster recovery and business continuity plan, your business can increase its recovery capabilities dramatically. A plan can help you make the right decisions quickly, cut downtime, and minimize financial losses. It can even help you avoid certain disasters through planning and mitigation measures.

The prospect of creating and implementing such a plan can be daunting, but business leaders in Tulsa have a unique opportunity to get a head start on the process by attending A Day Without Business, a business continuity summit hosted by Tulsa Partners’ Disaster Resistant Business Council.

A Day Without Business will take place on Thursday, March 15, 2012 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn – City Center in downtown Tulsa. Registration is open through March 2, online at www.tulsapartners.org or by phone at 918-632-0044. The cost for the one-day event is $65, and space is limited.

The event’s opening speaker will be Tulsa Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mike Neal. The luncheon keynote speakers will be Rob O’Brian and Tonya Sprenkle, President and Vice President of the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce, who will share about their Chamber’s experience with the May 2011 Joplin Tornado.

The lead sponsors for A Day WithoutBusiness are Tulsa Partners’ Disaster Resistant Business Council, State Farm Insurance, TRC Disaster Solutions and Williams. Other participating organizations for the event include the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, Titan Data Services and the Tulsa Health Department.

For more information about A Day Without Business, contact Tulsa Partners at 918-632-0044, tulsapartners@gmail.com, or www.TulsaPartners.org.

Written by guest blogger Jessica Hill

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Understanding Climate Change to Build Sustainable Small Businesses

Business readiness is essential to increase one’s chances of business survival. Ensuring a business is ready for any threat includes preparing for extreme weather. According to a recent survey by AXA Group insurance three out of four respondents believe future climate will become more extreme more often, while only five percent believe the weather will become calmer. 88% of the respondents believe that it is possible to limit the consequences of climate change.  Understanding how climate change might impact your business is essential to making a preparation plan and having it ready to implement when necessary.  

As small businesses are integral to any economy, it is imperative that they develop independent and complementary programs across their industry to stay competitive and afloat in tomorrow’s shifting climates. Since all economies are dependent on this vulnerable sector, development of strong and actionable  response plans is essential to national and global stability.

Recent examples of climate disaster include Hurricane Sandy, the typhoon that precipitated the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, and the many F5 tornadoes in central Oklahoma. Business Continuity Consulting Oklahoma lighting more severe and frequent climate variations, businesses will need to re-assess and re-engineer their existing disaster risk management practices. The greater and more pronounced the climate change, the greater the disruption to product and service creation and delivery. Unlike larger organizations that tend to adapt to recurrent disruptions, small organizations cannot devote as many resources as frequently. Thus, small organizations must learn how to plan and implement climate change adaptation plans more efficiently and fluidly.

Developing rapid response and implementation plans for increased and more severe climate change are beneficial not just for climate change. Having a plan in place and ready to execute helps small businesses respond to and minimize damages in response to many threats. The same plan that helps small businesses respond to natural disasters can help businesses become profitable by offering technology that helps consumers and other businesses work through a disaster toolkit

There are many things a new or existing climate change response plan can benefit from. Taking into account new weather predictions, business survival plans should implement the following steps:

1. Create a plan:  Developing a plan is essential to know what to do beforehand. When an emergency is imminent, there will only be time for execution.             
2. Insurance:  What is and what is not covered. Based on the organization’s budget, assets, and an assessment of what needs to be covered will help determine the best type of insurance policy.
3. Weatherproofing:  What aspects of the business can and cannot sustain a natural disaster. Looking at purchasing products that come weather-proofed and what existing fixtures need to be weather-proofed is essential to respond effectively to future weather events.       
4. Data backup:  Developing a system to ensure all data is safe in case of a natural disaster. This can include data virtual or site backup.

Each organization has different needs and goals. Therefore, climate change response plans must be individualized for each organization's needs and future goals. While many organizations have planned for short-term needs, planning for long-term needs, in light of rapidly changing weather and the increased frequency of weather disasters necessitates long-term planning. Along with planning, organizations that are able to adapt efficiently will help their organizations survive and thrive despite any emergency, weather or otherwise. More info visit on http://www.dcsplanning.com