5 Best Practices for Business Continuity

For those of us on the East Coast, Hurricane Matthew provided a sobering reminder of the natural disasters that can disrupt business operations. As we head into the winter months, which often bring weather-related challenges of varying inconvenience, now is an excellent time to review business continuity plans (BCPs) and test their relevance—namely, before an actual emergency.

As providers of security services, Sunstates has an inherent interest in clients’ disaster response plans. After all, our personnel typically play key roles in their execution. Understanding an organization’s internal plan allows us to tailor our site-specific instructions and training programs accordingly.

For years, our managers have discussed business continuity with clients on a monthly basis, and we’ve noticed some interesting trends of late:

• Significantly more organizations consider these plans a priority than five years ago.
• Today, workplace violence is a primary driver of these plans; natural disasters used to be the main concern.

In any case, an effective plan will help an organization prepare for both man-made and weather-related crises.

Business Continuity Best Practices

Following are some of the ways that we support client business continuity, including lessons learned from our own efforts:

• Table-top exercises. On at least an annual basis, companies should schedule a time to walk through an emergency scenario to review the effectiveness of their emergency response plan. During one such exercise, we determined that loss of power would automatically activate magnetic locks at all external doors to the facility—and no one, including the security team, could access the property. As a result, the client installed special universal lockboxes with building keys, providing codes and box locations to the fire department and security team.
• Double-duty employees. Such practice scenarios have prompted several organizations to assign security personnel to certain positions, where they can help support business continuity efforts. For example, many companies are using trained security officers in receptionist positions, who can help identify potential dangers as they greet each visitor or employee who enters the facility.
• Communications. The ubiquity of smartphones and mass notification systems like Punch Alert, which can pinpoint employees’ locations within a building or campus, has made it easy to notify community members of a potential threat and to provide two-way communication with security personnel and emergency responders. At the same time, many organizations depend too heavily upon modern communication tools. A strong plan needs to include old-school tactics, such as floor marshals and meeting points.
• Redundancy. Similar to the double-edged sword of modern communications, disaster response plans often fail to include adequate redundancy. In addition to factoring in back-up forms of communication, businesses need to assign alternate team leaders, in case the assigned individual is at the doctor’s office, on maternity leave, or even no longer with the firm.
• Frequent updates. Recognizing that these efforts detract from other responsibilities, we recommend reviewing these plans monthly—or as often as feasible. At Sunstates we discuss our internal plan at the corporate and regional levels every month, discussing any changes—such as personnel vacancies—that could affect business continuity. Our managers can assist clients with this internal effort to reduce the time investment.

One benefit that all Sunstates clients receive is access to the Sunstates Mutual Aid Rapid Response Team (SMARRT) program. Started 10 years ago in response to Hurricane Katrina, we have expanded this program, training and certifying more than 10% of our full-time employees throughout our service area. These individuals train to work in small, self-sufficient teams and are ready for deployment at a moment’s notice.

If you have any questions about how Sunstates can support your business continuity efforts, please call us at 866-710-2019 or contact us.