In the last few years businesses had to adapt or die. No-one could have expected the pandemic to hit us, let alone last as long as it did. The effects of the pandemic are still getting felt today, and with a war, a global recession, and problems in the global supply chain, businesses must be prepared for the unexpected to survive, or thrive. A business continuity plan shows you and your managers how your business will survive in extreme circumstances and documents different routes to take, communication channels to use, and how your business will do better than others, especially if they do not have a business continuity plan.

There is more to a business continuity plan than simply planning for the worst, it is a document that we can revert to when extreme circumstances hit your business and when you find yourself in the middle of the unexpected.

The Good, The Bad, and the Awful

A business continuity plan helps you manage the good, prepare for the bad and survive the outright awful.

When good things happen, businesses need a business continuity plan. This could mean that a sales campaign was better than expected and the business suddenly needs more stock, or the business wins a new contract and needs staff quickly. Good things can be hard to manage just as bad situations need managing with a business continuity plan.

When bad things like natural disasters, pandemics, or a competitor suddenly gets a huge investment and takes a larger market share, a business continuity plan can help to mitigate the disaster. Putting the safety first of the employees and the assets of the business will help that business to continue.

Awful disruptions like a cyber-attack, the death of the owner of the business, or a fire burning all available materials to make the product can damage the business without a good business continuity plan.

A business continuity plan covers everything from what you know and can expect to what you do not know and can not expect, and a good business continuity plan will do exactly what it says it does, it will help your business to continue.

Continuity or Disaster?

Some people confuse business continuity plan with a disaster recovery plan. They are similar but have some differences.

A business continuity plan ensures that employees, customers, and stakeholders always have access to data and information, even when there are challenges. Nothing ever runs smoothly, but a good business continuity plan can smooth out the foreseeable future problems.

A disaster recovery plan is a reactive plan. What will your business do in this disaster scenario?

A business continuity plan helps your business, your employees, and your customers to avoid disruptions. It is a proactive plan that minimizes disruption caused by events out of your total control.

Change is inevitable, it is the one certainty in life. Preparing for change will help to manage that change when it happens.

These past few years have shown all businesses that being dynamic and acting proactively will sustain and grow the business, reacting to situations when they arise will lead to disaster.

Having a business continuity plan that is flexible means that you are prepared to handle difficult situations and you have a Plan B.

Having a business continuity plan that is accessible means that more people are aware of it and know what to do in different situations.

Having a business continuity plan that is scalable means that you can increase or decrease your resources or move them to different departments or locations when needed. Scalability can be up, down, or to the side, and a good business continuity plan encompasses that.

How to make a business continuity plan?

Location is important to your business and the people involved in your business. Having a business continuity plan that prepares people to work from anywhere and to access your products and services from anywhere means that the basics of business can continue.

If you need a spare office, or you need the mechanics in place to support people working from home, these should be documented in your business continuity plan.

Having a mobile phone solution from conXhub means that your communications are mobile, so wherever you and your teams are, you can stay in touch.

Keeping customers informed

A good business continuity plan keeps everyone affected by your business informed of what is happening. You might run an eCommerce business and the location of your business does not affect customers. You might need to reassure customers that your services and support will always continue. Keeping stakeholders informed reduces problems and gathers support.

The mobile phone technology from conXhub keeps emails, SMS, and phone calls active through the mobile device of the users. This means that if the internet goes down, communication lines stay up.

It is not all bad…

A good business continuity plan covers the good as well as the bad. There are good disruptions to business, just as there are bad disruptions, so a detailed business continuity plan covers all possible disruptions.

If your business suddenly gets an influencer wearing your products or a local news channel runs a story on your product, you might get more calls than normal. This is a disruption.

If your product or business suddenly get media attention, or appears on TV, or you get a lot of 5-star reviews, your business might suddenly spike. This interruption must be documented in your business continuity plan.

Your business continuity plan should include adding more staff quickly, bringing in more numbers and increasing your phone lines to handle the volume. Your small office might be too small, and you need to move offices, or even outsource to an overseas calling facility. These are good disruptions that you still need to address in your business continuity plan.

Using conXhub for your calls means that when you need a new number it can be added to your mobile phone in seconds. When you must hire someone else, adding accounts is as quick as downloading an app on your mobile phone.

You are not alone

Your business has third party providers and vendors that support your operations. These must all be accounted for in your business continuity plan. Your communications supplier must be top priority, so you remain in touch with everyone. Having a disruption, be it positive or negative, requires a communications supplier that can scale up or down as you need. You need that quick response. conXhub is fast because the app is on your mobile, in the pam of your hand, ready to go when you are.

All your vendors, partners, suppliers, and operational connections need to be aware of your situation and detailed in your business continuity plan.

Disruption causes Disruption

The last thing that you want when you are experiencing a disruption is a disruption caused by this disruption. Far too many disruptions! Your business continuity plan must check the compliance of your partners, and your protocols to make sure that you are legally allowed to have this business continuity plan in place and everything that you are doing and planning to do remains compliant.

Using trusted vendors like conXhub means that you know our compliance checks out and we are supporting you with all your communications for life in every country that you need us.

Ensuring your business continuity plan covers all elements of disruptions will help your business to grow and thrive when others struggle to cope with the situations that no-one ever expects and hopes never to happen.

conXhub is your mobile phone communications support technology for your business and personal life, keeping you connected when others could fail.