Are You Properly Prepared for Business Risks?
As someone with an interest in a small
business, you know the importance of being
well prepared; but despite being ahead in
some areas, UK businesses are still lagging
behind in being ready for certain types of
business risks and disasters.
The International
Business Report from Grant Thornton has
found that businesses in the UK are well
prepared for disaster recovery and a major
IT breakdown, with 77% of businesses having
a plan in place for each.
UK Businesses are also
well prepared with plans for electronic
information security breaches (81%), privacy
of information breaches (80%), and loss or
destruction of property (73%).
Alysoun Stewart, Head
of Grant Thornton's Strategic Services Group
said: “Risk management should be an integral
part of every firm’s strategic management,
so it is encouraging to see so many UK
businesses appearing to take the issue
seriously. Identifying fundamental risks and
taking steps to prepare for them is
essential for minimising the impact of a
disaster, which is key to the continuity of
privately held businesses.”
However, businesses are
much less prepared for a reputation or media
crisis; with only 26% of UK businesses
having a formal plan in place. They were
also badly prepared for the loss of a key
supplier (only 32% had a formal plan) or
customer (only 34% had a formal plan).
“It is worrying that UK
businesses appear to be overlooking these
fundamental business risk areas. While not
as high profile or dramatic as some events,
the sudden or unexpected loss of key
personnel or a supplier can have a
devastating impact on a business,” continued
Stewart.
Although the survey was
focused on medium and large businesses, the
same problems are just as likely to affect
small business; and you should take action
if you are not properly prepared.
Although these
scenarios do not happen very often, when
they do happen they can have costly and
devastating effects on your business; you
should be sure that you have adequate backup
plans and emergency plans to ensure your
business can stay running in the event of a
disaster.
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