Many companies are struggling with their existing business continuity plans because they are not effective in managing the rapidly changing and unknown variables of an outbreak like COVID-19. Then again how many businesses could have anticipated a global pandemic of this magnitude. There are many approaches being used in continuity plans and the contents of the plans depend largely on the industry the business is operating within and the impact of COVID-19 on the business. It’s a good idea to use an incident management approach however what has been working for me with my clients has been using scenario-based plans because you can make them specific to COVID-19 as well as to specific areas of the business. The other key thing is developing a flexible communication plan that speaks to all stakeholders with the focus on factual information that gives the real picture in as far as possible.
One of the biggest challenges is meeting government priorities and at the same time trying to meet the obligations of the business and mitigate the risk of business disruptions. The approach I have been using is focused on what I can help my clients to control and anticipate extraneous variables and respond to them if and as they happen