Industry News

Business Link help with flood planning.

Businesses across the uk who are concerned about the way flooding might affect them are being urged to contact business link for help and advice.

Business Link, the free government-funded business information and advice service, has created a flood risk assessment guide where businesses can find the information they may need on how to;

· assess the risk of flooding

· draw up a flood plan

· insure their business against flooding

· reduce potential flood damage

· train employees to deal with flooding

• deal with the aftermath of a flood.

If you need further help with this planning and indeed planning for all your continuity risks make contact with us at Incident Director.

When its tough then you just have to be better.

Business Continuity is not just about fire and flood, you also have to know how to keep the cash coming in when its tough. Make contact with http://www.profit-training.co.uk/ and get continuity into your profit streams.

Financial Times article "firms unready to cope in face of disruption

The FT on 31st August highlighted the SunGard Availability Services commissioned YouGov survey that indicated that only 10% of the 1100 sample of businesses would be able to continue in the face of fire with 45% saying that they would struggle to continue operations.

Worse only 10% had heard of BS25999, the British Standard, fast becoming a requirement in supply chains and contract negotiation.

Incident Director can help in prepare your Business Continuity Plan. Call us.

Useful contacts as you research Business Continuity. 

There are a number of organisations who can provide information and general advice on business continuity planning and management. Please have a look at some of these sites and then come back to Incident Director when you are ready to start you business continuity exercise. We know we can help you, these other sites may reinforce the fact that you definitely need business continuity planning and Incident Director will be a useful resource to get your planning underway.

http://www.thebci.org/

http://www.ukresilience.info/

http://www.continuityforum.org/

http://www.mi5.gov.uk/

http://www.the-eps.org/

http://www.sieso.org.uk/

http://www.scottishcontinuitygroup.com/

http://www.londonprepared.gov.uk/business/

http://www.cirmagazine.com/

Incident Director at Motor Industry Conference

Tony Worthy and Steve Kenward, lead associates with ©Incident Director spoke to The Automotive Management Conference - Financial Challenges in Automotive Retailing. the presentation highlighted typical risks encountered the responsibility within an organisation for business continuity planning and management and challenged whether business continuity planning was a nice to have or a business necessity. In concluding the conference was left in no doubt that increasing market pressure would drive the necessity for evidence of well constituted business continuity plans, the responsibility for which laid with the principal and directors of a business but that ©Incident Director could provide assistance support and guidance in the preparation of risk identification, organisational impact and the preparation of realistic business continuity plans.

BS25999 - a standard for business continuity planning.

This British Standard for Business Continuity Management (BCM) BS25999 will allow organisations to drive business improvements by applying best practice.

The initial code of practice BS25999-1 was introduced towards the end of 2006 and established the principle of the business continuity management system.

The subsequent introduction of BS25999-2 provides a specification and thus introduces the concept of having an organisations business continuity plan accredited by a third party.

This brings great opportunity to derive competitive advantage from business continuity planning.

BS25999 is suitable for any organisation, large or small, from any sector, irrespective of the scale of its risk environment. The processes recommended identify, record and communicate best practice. but importantly provide guidance for the means to continue operations in any circumstance and thus provide comfort for customers, suppliers stakeholders and staff.

BS25999 instead of being another management burden provides an opportunity to actively contribute to developing an organisation's competitiveness.

Earlier in the year Tony Worthy and Steve Kenward joined the Initial BSI, Business Continuity Management BSI course.

80% of businesses fold in the aftermath of a disaster

It is a sad fact that many small businesses hit by fire, storm damage or even it failure go out of business because they have not planned for recovery. 80% of businesses without a business continuity plan fold in the aftermath of a major disaster (British Chambers of Commerce). And this was never clearer than in the wake of the flooding this summer.

According to figures released in july from the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters, claims from businesses relating to the floods that hit the North in June will total more than £680m. And that figure doesn't include claims likely to be made by the organisations in the Midlands who got swamped in July. It is clear that many organisations were caught out. the reality is that they were caught out, not just by the floods but by having no business continuity plan in place so that they could carry on business elsewhere.