A little bit of pre-planning can help you sail through a crisis.

You will need to be able to contact your staff when a crisis happens to check in on them, and to coordinate recovery.

Let's start with the basic contact information we should have on hand.

Reflection

• Do you already have phone numbers, addresses, emergency contacts and emails for all your staff in one place, or do you need to gather this information from multiple places?
• Do you have an existing process for updating your staff's contact information every 3-4 months

BCP Action:

Note on your business continuity plan where the contact information is stored. Remember, contact information should be stored in multiple locations and formats.

Quiz yourself:

• How would you reach people if the mobile phone network is down or if people's cellphones are left in an evacuated building
• Do you know who you would call if a staff member is hurt at work?
• Do you have alternative phone numbers and methods for reaching people?

Plan

Now that you have checked that your staff contact lists are up to date, you need to consider who else you might need to contact in an emergency. Think of your key suppliers, customers, bankers, insurers, accountants, and even lawyers.

Reflect:

• Do you have an up-to-date contact list for key suppliers, customers, and other key contacts, along with a process to ensure it is current?

BCP Action:

Note on your business continuity plan where you store this contact information. Remember, contact information needs to be stored in multiple locations and formats.

Expert Tips:

• You should consider alternative points of contacts for key suppliers and customers.
• Ask your primary point of contact who you should contact if they are unavailable.

Plan:

Don't underestimate the importance of communication. During a crisis a lot of people will look to you for information about your organization.

Sending the right message could mean the difference between staff, customers, and suppliers either rallying behind you or leaving you high a dry.

Your first communication will be with your staff. Knowing where their contact information is stored is only one component.

BCP Action:

• Note how will you contact staff initially to check if they are okay?
• Note how you will contact staff on an ongoing basis with updates on the status of your business?
• Note who will communicate the key decisions regarding staff? (For a pandemic, do you close? For an evacuation, where do staff assemble?)

There may be times during and after a disaster when you do not want your staff at your work location. Try making your own 'stay away rules." Consider whether there are different rules for groups of staff (e.g. by function or seniority).

• Note whether staff should stay away from work if there is: (e.g. a national state of emergency, a pandemic, etc.)
• Note how you will notify staff that it is safe to return to work?

Plan

Now that you have thought about your primary resource, your staff, you need to think about how you will contact key customers and suppliers to let them know how you are doing and how your situation may affect your business arrangements with the,

BCP Action:

• How will you contact your suppliers and customers?
  • Phone
  • Email
  • Webpage
  • Social media
  • Mass media
• Note who will contact your suppliers and customers? (consider 1-person, or designate those who have day-to-day operational contacts).

Are there other people besides key customers and suppliers who have an interest in how your business is doing? These might include lenders, insurers, community representatives, or possibly media.

• Note who these key stakeholders are that would need to be contacted in a crisis.
• Note what is your plan for contacting these key stakeholders. Include who needs to be contacted, who will contact them, and what they will be told.
• Note who is authorized to deal with media inquiries.

Plan

What message are you giving? It is important to be honest and human. Generally, your business partners will be sympathetic towards your situation - they will be less sympathetic if you over promise and under deliver, and don't be afraid to ask for help.

What items will you include in your communication to your suppliers and customers?

• Requests for help
• Key contacts for questions
• Status of staff, business, and surrounding area
• Impact on business products/services (possibly tailor to each supplier/customer)
• What you are doing to get back up and running (you may wish to include the human element - what are you doing to help your staff)
• Estimate time to restore full service

Plan

You need the best information you can get about the situation to help you plan your business response. What information do you need help to get you through> Gather some staff to figure it out.

In your community, who is the best sources of information? Do you know them personally? Can you get information first hand? What about in your industry - who has their finger on the pulse? Consider both formal (civil defense, government, councils. regulators), and informal (personal contacts) in your brainstorm.

What was the outcome of your team brainstorm?

BCP Action:

• Note who are the useful sources of information during a crisis?

Reflection:

Just think - if your business is hurting after a crisis, your local suppliers may be too. Suppliers may also be affected by crises of their own.

When you think about how prepared your business is, you need to think about the businesses you work with.

How many of your suppliers are located locally? 

How many are located nationally?

How many are located internationally?

Plan:

Are all of your suppliers in one location? If so, you may want to think about what would happen if they were all affected by a big event like a flood or earthquake.

Do you have one supplier that provides a critical supply for your business?

BCP Action:

• Note what alternate suppliers you have identified.

Well done! You now completed Operational Readiness: Communications

You have the core parts needed to get through a crisis - the ability to communicate with staff, customers and suppliers.

If you have not already done so, please note this information in your Business Continuity Plan.