Protect your business - plan ahead - Business Works
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Protect your business - plan ahead

Business continutiy planning T he recent riots across the UK have shown the importance of disaster planning for businesses of all shapes and sizes. Customer communication experts, Pitney Bowes has developed a guide for small businesses on what to do when the unexpected happens which may just help a crisis becoming a financial disaster.

"It’s clear from recent events that it’s never been more important to ensure staff are well versed in crisis planning," said Patrick Jelly, Managing Director of Pitney Bowes. "No matter how prepared a business feels, no-one can predict what the future might hold which is why it’s imperative to plan properly. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail."

The Business Continuity Planning stage falls into three phases: planning; implementation; and follow-up. Planning requires identification of the critical business processes and the potential effect a disaster could have on each area. Implementation should be carried out immediately to ensure that crises can be managed effectively and staff should be fully appraised and trained on the new processes. The final stage is the follow-up - just as crucial as the planning and implementation and where learnings are highlighted.

Top reasons to implement Business Continuity Planning:

  • to keep revenue flowing;
  • to keep basic communications up (e-mail, phone);
  • to keep customers engaged and happy; and
  • to track transactions to maintain cashflow.

Preparing a business for the unexpected is a long-term commitment. Assessing risk, identifying resources and generating appropriate protocols is a step in the right direction to ensure businesses are fully protected and are well versed in coping with unforeseen disasters.

It is impossible to know what is around the corner, but being prepared ‘just in case’ will help businesses manage both major and minor incidents. Pitney Bowes was itself a victim of an unexpected crisis recently when a fire broke out in one of its facilities. The lessons from that incident have helped provide many of the learnings found in the whitepaper which can be downloaded (PDF) for free at www.pb.com/mailservices/.


For more information: www.pitneybowes.co.uk


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