Developing a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)

June 2019

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SGSecure@Workplaces Bulletin

Unexpected events such as terrorism can have a devastang impact on businesses. There will be

damages to infrastructure and stocks, failure of IT systems, and loss of suppliers. Businesses are

likely to collapse, and the aermath makes it dicult for companies to resume normalcy.

However, when you take the eort to put in place a Business Connuity Plan (BCP), you will start to

idenfy potenal risks and create back-up plans. This enhances your company’s resilience to dis-

rupons and minimises the impact of such distracons. Your BCP should include the following

steps:

Conduct Business Impact Analysis (BIA)

BIA helps to assign priority to crical business funcons on both internal and external levels:

 Idenfy and priorise factors that contribute the most to revenue, and/or factors that are es-

senal to the connuity of the company’s most protable acvies e.g. raw materials, a fully

funconing website, etc.

 Assess the impact a disrupon will have on business performance. Factors such as lost or de-

layed sales and income, increased expenses from overme labour, outsourcing, regulatory

nes and customer dissasfacon should be considered.

 Evaluate how long the business can be sustained without certain services.

Create back-up plans for the following:

1. Employees

 Clarify the role of all employees as well as overlapping roles.

 Ensure that you have an updated list of employees’ details and

their next-of-kin.

 Standby a list of temporary and part-me sta to acvate at

short noce, in case your full me employees are aected by a

terror aack.

 Create a call-tree so that it is easier to nofy and coordinate sta

in the event of a terror aack. Refer to the call-tree template on

the MOM SGSecure@Workplaces website under ‘Partner your

Community’.

2. Internal and External Stakeholders

 Prepare a list of alternate vendors who can support your

business operaons if your current partners are aected

by crises. This prevents a complete supply chain disrup-

on.

 Reach out to stakeholders such as clients, suppliers and

customers regularly to foster a strong community partner-

ship, and thereby strengthening the value chain.

 Prepare a call-tree to nofy stakeholders.

3. Inventory and Facility

 Idenfy temporary relocaon opons.

 Plan an alternave working arrangement in case a terror

aack aects your current premises e.g. working remotely.

 Ensure that you have other essenal equipment and sup-

plies as back-up such as producon equipment.

4. IT Systems

 Ensure that you archive and back-up important data for faster

reinstatement of systems.

 Important data could include customers’ informaon, emails,

les and spreadsheets.

 Read more on cyber security here!