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Is Your Business Failing to Plan for Unexpected Threats?
 If
your business is doing well, then it is
probably down to good planning and
management; but a surprising number of
business owners are failing to plan for
dealing with emergencies and unexpected
threats.
In recent years, British businesses have
faced a number of external events that
threatened their existence, such as foot and
mouth disease, adverse weather conditions,
petrol shortages, industrial disputes and
terrorist activity. Small businesses were
asked by insurance company More Than whether
or not they were prepared in the event of
having to close their business for 24 hours
or more.
The research has shown that a shocking 65%
of small businesses do not have a proper
Business Continuity Plan. This means that in
the event of major business disruption, you
would not have a plan on how to get your
business running again. The research also
showed that small business are less likely
to have business interruption cover, with
57% being left to bear with the costs and
after effects of any disruptions.
Fire was seen as the biggest potential
threat by small businesses, with
telecommunications failure and power failure
also seen as major threats. You need to
remember that crime, staff illness, bad
weather and IT security issues are among
other issues also capable of causing
significant business disruption.
Rachel Cotton, Manager for More Than
Business, said: “With almost 60% of small
businesses believing that a closure of just
one day would have some impact on their
business, our research highlights the need
for these businesses to do more to prepare
against the threat posed by external events.
“Many business owners may believe that they
are well placed to deal with a major
incident. However, the research shows that a
majority lack the framework to ensure that
normal business can continue at the earliest
possible opportunity and with the least
possible disruption to the business itself.
Ensuring that your business has a viable
continuity plan in place and suitable cover
for business interruption is vital.”
While these threats do not happen very
often, the potential cost to your business
is very large. A small amount of time now
could save you a lot of time and money in
the event of a severe business disruption.
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