By KingsBridge BCP:
You need a Business Continuity Plan but, like so many organizations, there’s no extra cash lying around to invest in the process. Sound familiar? In this two-part series, we provide you with a dozen tips and tricks to get started on your “BCP on a budget”.
1 – Talk to your insurance provider.
Business continuity plans demonstrate that an organization is aware of risk and willing to mitigate it. Depending on your insurance provider, you may be able to negotiate a discount on your premiums if you present them with a copy of your plan.
2 – Check other budgets for extra cash.
Business continuity impacts every aspect of a business. This is why it can be argued that a little bit from every department’s budget should go toward the BCP. Negotiating a small slice from a number of budgets may give you just enough to get your planning process off the ground.
3 – Talk to your sales department.
Are customers asking if you have a business continuity plan? This is becoming a common requirement and you may be losing business as a result. Check with your sales department to see if they’ve lost deals as a result of not having a plan to offer. Winning those deals may be enough to fund the planning process.
4 – Consider a software tool.
Time is money! You can save time by creating and managing your plan in a software tool. KingsBridge Shield offers hundreds of pages of customizable templates. This includes centralized databases that make your plan quick to write and easy to maintain.
5 – Negotiate payment plans with your vendor.
Don’t have the cash upfront to pay for software? Negotiate monthly payment plans to reduce the impact on your cash flow. This can work for consulting work too. Investing a small amount in a few experts can save you a large amount of time, and thus money, down the road.
6 – Leverage the near misses.
Do you already have a plan? Use that weekend flood or small storage room fire as opportunities to review how your plan might have stood up if the small incident had been something bigger. If you don’t already have a plan, these near misses are great conversation starters. Capturing the ideas from these discussions can be just what you need to start pulling a plan together.
About KingsBridge: KingsBridgeBCP offers businesses of all sizes BCP Software Solutions and industry know how based on best practices. We help build, exercise, and maintain Business Continuity Plans. Our services and software packages are customized to meet the wide range of our customers’ needs, ensuring we deliver the best value in every project. To learn more click here.
