What Is Business Continuity Plan (BCP)?

Business continuity plans are like insurance. And they're not just for businesses—they're for people too. You never know when you might get in an accident or have to evacuate your home because of a fire. You don't want to be a victim of circumstance, so you should always be prepared for the worst-case scenario. But what does that mean? What does being prepared to mean? We're here to tell you that it means having a business continuity plan (BCP)! A BCP is a plan that helps ensure that business processes can continue during an emergency or disaster, such as when your office burns down and you need to figure out how to get work done from another location. Such emergencies or disasters might include fires, floods, or riots—you name it! And you want to be ready for all of them! BCPs are like a marriage. They're not something you get to know and then realize you don't like. They're something you have to do, and there's no going back. So what's the point of writing a BCP? It's not to ensure that your business can keep operating in the event of an emergency—it's to make sure that it can continue its operations at total capacity. The point is to ensure that your BCP doesn't just save your company but also helps it thrive when disaster strikes. How do you do that? By being prepared for every possible disaster scenario—and having a plan for how to respond if those scenarios strike at once. How will you find alternative housing for employees if one threat takes out your power supply and another takes out your office space? If both threats happen at once, how will you manage to get all of their work done? Having a plan for when the world comes crashing down is essential. While we can't predict when the end will come, we can ensure that if it does, we'll be ready and able to get back on track as soon as possible. That's why we think it's essential to have a BCP—a business continuity plan—in place. A BCP is a document that outlines your company's key processes, including how you'll handle tasks like payroll, invoicing, and product delivery in times of disaster or emergency. It also identifies who is responsible for each job, so you know who you need to reach out to if something goes wrong with one of these processes. A BCP also includes contact information for key people within your organization (like management), so they can communicate with each other during an emergency and make plans for resuming operations at both home offices and offsite locations.