Business Continuity Planning

RELATED TOPICS: Risk Management | VUCA Environments

Business Continuity Planning - BCP - is a discipline of Enterprise Risk Management which is particularly linked to corporate strategy. This is because the processes and functions identified as critical for the business are derived straight from the long-term strategic plan devised by executive management.

Our team consists of experts with proven track record at blue chip companies in this field. Having collaborated extensively with senior executives to ensure the identification and operation of mission-critical processes, we understand that BCP can only be effective if it originates from a deep understanding of the company strategy and it's vulnerability to systemic and operational risks.

More practically, BCP is a proactive planning effort that aims to identify and prioritise the critical processes & functions and mitigate the impact of any potential threats to those functions. After the identification of the critical processes, clear plans and procedures need to be developed through a program of personnel training, plan testing, and maintenance. This will in turn ensure continuity for business functions critical to the organisation's strategy under the circumstances and worst-case scenarios set out by senior management.

The Business Impact Assessment or BIA, is a systematic, repeatable and substantially defensible analysis that quantifies and qualifies financial, operational, service, legal / regulatory and brand impacts to the enterprise, in the event key business process cannot be performed.

Our team assists you from the Assessment Phase to the Maintenance Phase. We cover the best practice life-cycle advisory and implementation with your strategy and risk team:

• Business Impact Analysis
• Site Risk Assessment
• Gap Analysis
• Continuity Strategy
• Plan Development
• Test & Maintenance

Crises are show-stopping events that can threaten an organisation's reputation and viability. SEED Advisory can help you prepare for a crisis before it occurs; respond to a crisis when it occurs; and rebuild your reputation after the crisis.

A crisis management plan - CMP - is a document that outlines the processes an organisation will use to respond to a critical situation that would negatively affect its profitability, reputation or ability to operate. CMP's are used by business continuity teams, emergency management teams, crisis management teams and damage assessment teams to avoid or minimise damage, and to provide direction on staffing, resources and communications.

We use industry best practices and standards, for example, ICS and NIMS, when assisting a client and its senior team with the creation of a Crisis Management Team - CMT - and CMP's. We begin with a thorough review of the CMT process, roles and responsibilities, and plan outline. We review specific threats to the client, such as typhoon, riots, disease outbreak, and include detailed checklists to facilitate CMT response if needed.

We organise BIA workshops for management teams in order to:

1. create awareness and education
2. help prioritise business areas and locations as well as business processes
3. reduce the time and resources required to conduct the next BIA
4. facilitate data capturing on business risk events
5. challenge the business functions on impact, risk and recovery
6. capture critical business inter-dependencies fro recovery